Household Support Fund

The Department of Work and Pensions has allocated approximately £2 million to support low-income and vulnerable households.  

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

To qualify for a grant, you must live in a household with children who are under 19-years-old and attend a school within Hillingdon on a full time basis, 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 receive
• housing benefit and/or council tax reduction.  

Please note: If you have any children under 5-years-old not attending school, children who are registered with Hillingdon as home educated or any children attending an independent special educational needs school, please see more information below.  

Food - supporting children attending Hillingdon schools

Subject to eligibility, you will receive £15 per child per week for a total of 4 weeks from October to March 2025. 

This will be split into 3 separate payments:  

• 1st payment (paid week beginning 28 October) - to cover the 1-week October half-term 
• 2nd payment (paid week beginning 23 December) - will cover the 2-weeks Christmas break
• 3rd payment (due week beginning 17 February) - will cover the 1-week February half-term

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 have children who are registered with Hillingdon as home educated or if your child attends an independent special educational needs school, please complete our online form below.
• The deadline for applications for the October half term is Monday 25 November - applications received after this date will not be eligible. 
• Notifications from schools must be received at least 2 weeks before the start of the school holiday period - we are unable to make payments retrospectively. 

Pensioners support

If you believe you may be entitled to pension credits and require support to make an application, please contact the local Age UK branch, email enquiries@ageukhhb.org.uk or call 020 8756 3040 (choose option 1).

If you are no longer entitled to receive the Winter Fuel Allowance, you were born before 23 September 1958 and, are financially struggling, please make an application for utility support.

Exceptional support  

If you need additional assistance, due to exceptional hardship, you may be eligible for help.

Grant criteria

Applications for pensioners and exceptional support 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 borough of Hillingdon.

Please note: 

• You may only make an application if you have not received support from the household support fund in the past 12 months.  
• Applications will only be accepted from residents living within the borough of Hillingdon. 
• We will not accept multiple applications to the fund - making repeat applications will only cause delays in getting support to others in need.  
• Applications will receive the grant award using a voucher system. There are no cash awards available.  
• 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 require proof of household income, which must include:
  • 2 most recent payslips/proof of earnings or benefits statements, last 2 months bank account statements, savings statements and investments statements
  • an income and expenditure form for the household.
• We may also request further information relating to your income and expenditure during the application assessment.  
• Pensioners must not be eligible for the Winter Fuel Allowance to receive utility support.
• All applications for pensioners support must include a utility bill dated within the last 2 months in addition to the above.
• Where the necessary supporting evidence is not included, applications will be rejected.  

Important: You will not be eligible for assistance if:  

• you have more than £500 in money, savings, or investments  
• you do not live within the borough of Hillingdon.

Apply for the household support grant

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.    

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

For information on additional support that may be available, visit the government's website.