Cash payments of up to £200 and sometimes more are available to help struggling families with the cost of essentials this winter. There are almost three more months left to see if you can claim, after the existing round of the Household Support Fund was extended until March 31, 2025.
It’s not yet known if the fund will be extended further into the next financial year, but we may hear more about that in March as the existing scheme comes to an end. Chancellor Rachel Reeves has confirmed to the House of Commons that the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) has been commissioned to set out an Economic and Fiscal Forecast which will be published on March 26, 2025. This will be accompanied by a statement to Parliament from the Chancellor.
The Department for Work and Pensions added £421 million to the Household Support Fund so it could continue for six more months from the start of October. The cash has been shared among councils across England to help local people cope with ongoing financial pressures. Some councils, but not all, are making cash payments from this fund.
Birmingham City Council is offering £ 200 hardship grants, handed out via Birmingham Voluntary Service Council to those on eligible means-tested benefits who haven’t received one of these payments in the past 12 months. Nearby, Dudley Council will also be offering £200 payments when it opens applications for its own £2.6 million portion of the fund on January 22.
READ MORE:
As part of the £421 million total, the Household Support Fund has provided an extra £49 million to 14 local authorities in the West Midlands. The aim is to help the 600,000 households living in poverty in the region with the cost of energy, water and food bills. Around 500,000 children and 200,000 pensioners are living in relative poverty after housing costs in the West Midlands, the DWP said.
Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall said: “Despite all the problems we have inherited, this Government has invested an extra half a billion pounds in the Household Support Fund, so we can families and the poorest pensioners who need it most this winter. This £49 million boost will support families who need it in the West Midlands with the costs of feeding children, heating homes, or helping people get to work.
“This comes alongside our work to fix the foundations of our country, grow the economy and deliver opportunities for people to get work and get on in work, so everyone feels better off.”
Households can apply through their local authority website with each council deciding how to distribute the cash based on residents’ needs. Funding is also being allocated to charities and third-sector partners to provide a range of services and products such as baby boxes, heating appliances and school uniforms.
Are there any more DWP cost of living payments?
No there aren’t, despite some recent reports appearing online. The DWP previously said it would not be making any more payments and none have been announced since then.
Under the previous government, a minister said: “There are currently no plans to extend the cost of living payments beyond the Spring [of 2024]. Cost of living payments enabled us to target further support during the rising cost of living pressures. Delivering lump sum payments got support faster to those who needed it, reflecting our commitment to providing direct and timely relief to those who need it most.”
The DWP’s own cost of living payments were made between July 2022 and February 2024 and came to an end with a £299 sum for those on Universal Credit, income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance, income-related Employment and Support Allowance, Income Support, Pension Credit, Working Tax Credit and Child Tax Credit.
In total, those on these means-tested benefits had five different cost of living payments of £326, £324, £301, £300 and £299. People on disability benefits such as PIP were given two separate cost of living payments of £150 each over that timeframe.
Some claimants may still receive one of these payments at a much later stage if a claim for an eligible benefit is backdated to cover the qualifying dates or if the DWP discovers someone was overlooked during the original rollout. This can happen especially with PIP, as it has been taking as long as 44 weeks to approve claims made in 2024, despite an average waiting time of 14 weeks. Similar delays have been affecting Disability Living Allowance, which is awarded to children under 16. In such cases, benefit awards that are backdated to the initial application date may result in eligibility for one of these £150 payments.
Get breaking news on BirminghamLive WhatsApp. Join our dedicated community for the latest updates. You can find out more in our Money Saving Newsletter, which is sent out daily with all the updates you need to know on pensions, PIP, Universal Credit, benefits, finances, bills, and shopping discounts.