Household Support Fund

On Wednesday 6 March, the government announced that the Household Support Fund would be extended from Monday 1 April until Monday 30 September 2024.

Applications for the current Household Support Grant have now closed.

Once the government has released the information relating to the new fund, we will update this page with full details.

About the Household Support Fund 

This new grant funding to local authorities is intended to support low-income households with the cost of food, utilities and related costs (and essential goods, in exceptional circumstances).     

The Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) has allocated approximately £4 million to support Hillingdon residents. For information on additional support that may be available, visit the government's website.


Households with children aged 0 to 19-years-old and in receipt of benefit-related free school meals.   

To be eligible for a grant, you must live in a household with children under 19-years-old who attend a school within Hillingdon, and you must be in receipt of at least 1 of the following benefits:   

  • income support 
  • income-based jobseeker's allowance 
  • income-related employment and support allowance 
  • the guaranteed element of pension credit 
  • child tax credit (providing you are not also entitled to working tax credit and your annual gross income is no more than £16,190)
  • working tax credit run-on (paid for 4 weeks after you stop qualifying for working tax credit) 
  • universal credit - your household income must be less than £7,400 a year after tax and not including any benefits you get
  • housing benefit and/or council tax reduction. 

If you have any children under 5-years-old not attending school, or any children attending an independent special educational needs school, please see further information below. 

Food - supporting children attending Hillingdon schools 

Subject to eligibility, you will receive £15 per child per week for a total period of 11 weeks (covering the 11 weeks of school holidays during the period of the scheme). 

This will be split into 6 separate payments: 

  • 1st payment (paid week ending Friday 26 May) - will cover the 1-week May 2023 half-term break
  • 2nd payment (paid week ending Friday 21 July) - will cover the first 3-week summer break
  • 3rd payment (paid week ending Friday 11 August) - will cover the second 3-week summer break
  • 4th payment (paid week ending Friday 20 October) - will cover the 1-week October 2023 half-term break
  • 5th payment (paid week ending Friday 22 December) - will cover 2-week Christmas break
  • 6th payment (paid week ending Friday 9 February) - will cover the 1-week February half term break. 

Utility costs - supporting families living in Hillingdon

If you are eligible for benefit-related free school meals and you are a resident in Hillingdon, you will be entitled to 2 cost of living vouchers valued at £50 per household to help towards your utility costs.  

  • 1st voucher (sent to you in October 2023)
  • 2nd voucher (sent to you in January 2024).

We will use the data for households eligible for benefit-related free school meals provided by schools. To qualify for these payments, you must be responsible for paying your household's utility bills.

Important: 

  • If your child receives benefit-related free school meals and you have not received a meal voucher, you must contact your child's school to check your eligibility - they will then notify Hillingdon Council.     
  • If you think you may be entitled to a payment based on the criteria outlined above and you have children under 5-years-old who are not attending school, or if your child attends an independent special educational needs school, please complete our online form below
  • Applications or notifications from schools must be received at least 1 week before the school holiday period - we are unbale to make payments retrospectively.


Care leavers  

To be eligible for a grant, you must be a care leaver who is known to Hillingdon Council, and you must currently be receiving care leavers' services from Hillingdon social care teams. We will be using our database to locate these customers - there is no need to apply.  

If you are a care leaver and eligible under this criterion, and not in receipt of support under a different criterion, you will be entitled to 3 food vouchers:

  • 1 voucher in August for £50
  • 1 voucher in November for £50
  • a final voucher in January for £65.

These vouchers will be emailed to you. Please ensure that your key worker has your current email address .


Low-income households who have not received the cost-of-living payment of £900 via the Department for Work and Pensions 

During the course of 2023/24, we will make payments of up to £900 to residents who are in receipt of housing benefits only and who are not eligible for the cost-of-living payment paid by the Department for Work and Pensions.  

We will be using the housing benefit database to locate these customers, so there is no need to apply.

Payment will be made in 3 instalments:

  • 1st payment of £300 (paid at the end of May 2023) - paid to those in receipt of Housing Benefit only as on Monday 1 May 2023. The final date for this payment is Friday 30 June 2023.
  • 2nd payment of £300 (paid at the of November 2023) - paid to households in receipt of Housing Benefit only as on Wednesday 1 November 2023. The final date for this payment is Sunday 31 December 2023.
  • 3rd payment of £300 (paid at the end of February 2024) - paid to households in receipt of Housing Benefit only as on Thursday 1 February 2024. The final date for this payment is Friday 15 March 2024. 

Exceptional support/payments    

If you need additional financial assistance, due to exceptional hardship, you may be eligible for help with food, energy, or other essential living costs.

Please note:

  • You may only make an application if you have not received support from the fund in the past 12 months. 
  • Applications will only be accepted from residents living within the London Borough of Hillingdon.
  • We will not accept multiple applications to the fund - making repeat applications will only cause delay in getting support to others in need. 
  • 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 joint income and savings. 
  • All applications relating to exceptional support are required to provide proof of household income, which must include either 2 most recent payslips/proof of earnings or benefits statements, last 2 months bank account statements, savings statements, and investments statements. We may also request further information relating to your income and expenditure during the application assessment. 
  • Applications where the necessary supporting evidence is not included will be rejected. 

Adult support    

If you are eligible for adult support, you will receive a one-off food voucher for £100 per household.  This will be emailed to you.     

You will be entitled to 2 cost of living vouchers valued at £100 per household to help towards your utility costs.  The first £50 voucher will be sent to you in October 2023, the second £50 voucher will be sent to you in January 2024, providing that you are liable for paying the utility bills.  This will be emailed to you. 

You will not be eligible for help if you: 

  • are eligible for the DWP cost-of-living payment
  • have more than £3000 in money, savings or investments 
  • are already receiving support under the benefit-related free school meal vouchers scheme.
  • you do not live within the London Borough of Hillingdon.


Essential goods 

Applications for essential goods will be assessed using the following criteria. You are experiencing financial hardship. 

  • You are not financially able to replace essential appliances.   
  • You live within the London Borough of Hillingdon.


Fraud 

You may face prosecution if you have manipulated or falsified your position in order to obtain this payment. If you are found to have made a fraudulent claim, you may be asked to pay the money back.   

We will be contacting residents to check that the information they have provided is correct.   

Page last updated: 25 Mar 2024