Apply for the Household Support Fund
Between April 2023 and March 2024, the Department for Work and Pensions has allocated funding to Councils in England, to support those in need in their local area.
West Berkshire Council has been allocated funding to assist with costs such as energy bills, food, clothing and housing in exceptional circumstances.
The Household Support Fund is there to support those most in need. Priority will be given to households who are ineligible for other government support and vulnerable groups regarding the cost of living crisis.
Household Assistance
As with previous years, West Berkshire Council is providing assistance to households in crisis with short term financial aid. West Berkshire Council will also assist with signposting regarding household needs.
The 2023/24 Household Support Fund is limited to one successful application per household.
If you have previously applied between October 2022 and March 2023, you can now apply again.
Payments are set as a maximum for the following households:
- Family Household plus (3 or more children) - £300
- Family Household (1 to 2 children) - £250
- Single Household - £150
These documents are required to process an application:
- Declaration of Household income and expenditure
- One month's bank statement for all accounts
- A screenshot of your Universal Credit (UC) journal which details the amount you receive and confirmation that there is a child as part of the UC application - if you are not in receipt of UC then you'll need to provide a screenshot of your other benefits and what the entitlement is for
- Proof of Child Benefit award (where required)
- Confirmation of any savings
- Evidence of utility debts
- Supporting documents relevant to claim
Your application will not progress without these documents.
Please send any queries to hsf@westberks.gov.uk. You can read our answers to frequently asked questions here.
What funding has been allocated?
The following has been allocated to date:
Holiday School Meal Vouchers
West Berkshire Council will again provide free school meal vouchers during the holidays. Eligible children will receive a total of 7 weeks including 4 weeks in summer 2023, 2 weeks at Christmas 2023 and 1 week at Easter 2024. This is an increase of 1 week from last year, with vouchers being issued by the school as usual.
If your child attends a school supported by Oxfordshire CC a reciprocal arrangement is in place with Oxfordshire CC to support eligible children who attend school in their local authority area.
If your child attends school outside of West Berkshire and there is no reciprocal arrangement in place a claim can be made with the Household Support Fund (hsf@westberks.gov.uk) this will not affect any future claims against the fund.
Please see the following links for further information regarding Holiday Activities and Food (HAF) Programme and applying for Free School Meals.
Targeted Support
Recognising that pensioners have previously have had a low uptake of this fund in 2022/23, despite being vulnerable to the cost of living issues, additional funds have been set aside to provide targeted assistance for this group. Working with specific charities and partners to identify most in need.
The council has also prioritised funds to work with partners and charities to identify vulnerable households such as the disabled, unpaid carers and care leavers. As part of this, services will be provided to assist those in crisis situations with signposting to practical targeted support.
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