Household Support Fund

Cost of living support

We understand the challenges many are facing with the rising cost of energy and essential food items. You are not alone.

Visit our Cambridgeshire support with the cost of living page to discover a range of financial support resources to help you and your family.

Visit the Central Government cost of living support pages for advice and guidance on managing bills, coping with rising costs, and sources of financial support

The Household Support Fund (HSF) helps people experiencing immediate financial hardship to pay for food and household energy bills.

This is money the council has been awarded by HM Government to help those in need and most affected by the cost of living crisis to support them to resolve their financial issues. It is not charity and does not need to be paid back.

You can find out information on other forms of support for household bills on the GOV.UK website.  

Eligibility

Please note all applications are now closed.

The Government has provided a Household Support Fund to local authorities for the period 1 April 2023 to 31 March 2024.

In order that we can ensure we are supporting as many households facing financial difficulty as possible, we have had to review the number of financial awards we are able to allocate.

From 25 October 2023, the funding in Cambridgeshire will be offered to households as follows:

  • You are entitled to apply for a financial award of £110.
  • The financial award will be paid in one single payment, in your choice of cash or food/energy vouchers.
  • You can make two claims for the award, per financial year (1 April 2023 to 31 March 2024). You must allow 3 months between each application.
  • The maximum amount payable to you, per financial year (1 April 2023 to 31 March 2024) will be £220.

If you live with a spouse or partner, you must make a joint application for your household, even if your spouse/partner is not applying. Your eligibility will depend on your partner’s income and savings, as well as your own.

You are eligible to access this support through the Household Support Fund if all the following apply to you (and your spouse/partner):

  • currently live in Cambridgeshire
  • have £16,000 or less in money, savings and investments
  • have income levels less than identified in the tables below
  • have not applied within the last 3 months
  • If you are paid monthly the figures are before any tax due, though you should include all sources of income. This includes income from sources such as benefits, pensions, students or dependents grants and income from property or other investments

If you are paid monthly the figures are before any tax due, though you should include all sources of income. This includes income from sources such as benefits, pensions, students or dependents grants and income from property or other investments.

Gross annual income

No children

1 child

2 children

3 or more children

Single adult

£24,876

£30,465

£37,377

£48,735

Couple/Joint application

£34,494

£36,123

£42,418

£54,572

If you are paid weekly the figures relate to the amount you receive each week after any changes made by the tax and benefit systems.

Net income per week

No children

1 child

2 children

3 or more children

Single adult

£392

£605

£802

£1,016

Couple/Joint application

£593

£718

£911

£1,130

How to apply

All applications for the current round of the HSF are now closed.

Alternative support services are available:

Visit our Cambridgeshire support with the cost of living page to discover a range of financial support resources to help you and your family.

Visit the Central Government cost of living support pages for advice and guidance on managing bills, coping with rising costs, and sources of financial support.

We have built links with a network of support agencies across the county (our Trusted Partners), who offer help for a range of challenges individuals may face. You are welcome to connect with these agencies for support and advice.

To discover our trusted partners in your area, please look at the Trusted Partner section below.

Current processing times

We are currently aiming to process applications in 3 weeks

We are working hard to process applications within a reasonable timescale. We have had a large number of applications and are giving every applicant the proper opportunity for support. Every applicant will receive a phone call regarding their application with an opportunity for wider support.

Please do not contact us to check the progress of your application if it is within this timescale. This will not speed up your application.

We will review the information provided in your application and check that you meet the eligibility criteria.

We will then contact you to understand more about your circumstances and work with you to find the right tools to make a longer-term plan for a more financially resilient future. We will also discuss with you the details of any awards that you may be eligible for.

Trusted partners

We have built links with a network of support agencies across the county (our Trusted Partners), who offer help for a range of challenges individuals may face. You are welcome to connect with these agencies for support and advice.

If you represent a local community group and would like to be considered to issue Household Support Fund direct awards please email CommunityCV@cambridgeshire.gov.uk

Household Support Fund privacy notice

In these difficult times, we are working very closely with our district and city council partners, schools, voluntary sector organisations as well as the volunteers who are helping to deliver the vital support to our local communities. This means that we will need to receive and share personal information about our residents. Our Household Support Fund privacy notice provides information about what kind of personal information we request, what we may do with it and who may have access to it.

Fraud Statement

The County Council is required by law to protect the public funds it administers.

If you falsely declare your circumstances, provide a false statement, or provide false evidence in support of your application, you may have committed an offence under the Fraud Act 2006. Where the Council suspects that fraud may have occurred, the matter will be investigated and may lead to criminal proceedings.