Household Support Fund
Last updated: 18/01/2023
The Government has announced that a further Household Support Fund grant will be made available to county councils and unitary authorities in England to support those most in need.
Lincolnshire County Council have been allocated £5.46m for this third round of the Household Support Fund, which covers the period from 1 October 2022 to 31 March 2023. This winter, local authorities are asked to give particular consideration to households who have not benefitted cost of living support payments.
Lincolnshire County Council has worked in partnership with District councils to identify and agree the most appropriate methods for distributing this funding. In Lincolnshire, 56% of the grant has been used to fund support for children and young people eligible for free school meals, two-year-old early years entitlement and early years pupil premium.
This funding has been allocated through schools and early years providers to eligible families via a one-off payment of £100 per child. Eligible families received this support before the end of November 2022.
The seven District councils across Lincolnshire will collectively distribute approximately 25% of the grant funding to households in receipt of housing benefit only as these households have not benefited from cost of living support payments. If you are eligible, you will have received a letter from us with further details - you do not need to contact the council, you will have been contacted if you have been identified as entitled.
The remaining funding is being used to support households in exceptional need. In South Holland, the funding has been used to help local food banks provide emergency food parcels.
In an effort to reach those families and individuals that have not yet received any cost of living support, we are working with Lincolnshire Community Foundation who will be offering grants (not cash) to help with energy, food and essential living costs. Please visit South & East Lincolnshire Council's Partnership Household Support Fund or if you don't digital access call 01529 305825.
Not all households will be eligible for support. However, the government have put a number of arrangements in place, and this is just one.
Other support available
Residents facing financial difficulties can also visit helpforhouseholds.campaign.gov.uk for details of the other support available.
In addition, there is a Holiday Food and Activity programme for children eligible for benefits-related free school meals.
If you are finding it difficult to manage at this challenging time, please remember Citizens Advice South Lincs offer free, confidential and impartial advice to everyone to find a way forward whatever problem they may face. So please call their freephone advice line on 0808 278 7996.
How we have used personal information to identify eligible households/individuals, to provide targeted support to those most in need
For the Early Years element of the funding and associated entitlements, information is provided via parents' declarations, for the purpose of checking eligibility. For free school meal eligible (FSM) children, we have used information from parental FSM applications.
For the children in care element of fund distribution, we have used information held within children's services to identify eligible recipients. For the housing benefit only element of fund distribution, the Department for Work and Pensions, Lincolnshire County Council and District Councils have worked together according to government guidance, using benefits data and address identifiers about eligible residents in Lincolnshire.
This has helped us to ensure the grant funding is targeted appropriately and to facilitate payments under local arrangements.
Information is processed by us in order to perform our tasks carried out in the public interest and in the exercise of our official authority.