Household support fund
Contents
The Department for Work and Pensions has announced a further extension to the Household Support Fund, round 7 funding will run from the 1 April 2025 to the 31 March 2026.
The funding will be split as shown below, meaning that eligible households can apply for support twice during round 7 funding period.
- 1 April 2025 to 30 September 2025
- 1 October 2025 to 31 March 2026
As you can see from within the announcement it states:
“On the 19 of March the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions announced that the Household Support Fund would be extended for a further 12 months, from 1 April 2025 to the 31 March 2026. As has been done for previous schemes, the fund will be made available to support those households most in need.”
This funding can be used at the discretion of County Councils and Unitary Authorities in England to support households with the essential costs relating to food and utilities. Staffordshire County Council are proposing to use this funding in the following ways:
Scheme 1 - Section 17 emergency payments
The Household Support Fund’s primary purpose is to support vulnerable households with energy and water bills, food, and wider essentials. Under Section 17 (6), financial assistance can be provided following an assessment and consist of support to overcome a crisis. We will support Section 17 expenses that fall within the Household Support Fund objectives.
Eligibility
This fund will be accessible by Social Workers or Senior Family Support Workers following the use of Section 17 Funding – Guidance for staff members. The funding allocation per household will vary, dependent upon the professional assessment of immediate household emergency need.
Scheme 2 - Education Support Fund
We will continue to work in partnership with our Education Settings in Staffordshire to provide £20.00* supermarket eVouchers for children that meet the eligibility criteria. The number of vouchers per child for each holiday is:
- Easter Holiday 2025 1x £20.00 voucher per eligible child
- Summer Half Term 1x £20.00 voucher per eligible child
- Summer Holiday 1x £40.00 voucher per eligible child
- Autumn Half Term 1x £20.00 voucher per eligible child
- Winter Holiday 1x £20.00 voucher per eligible child
- Spring Half Term 1x £20.00 voucher per eligible child
Eligibility
- The child needs to be attending an education setting in Staffordshire in the term before the holiday, and the setting must be claiming one of the following funding streams for the child:
- benefit-related Free School Meals
- benefit-related Think2 funding
- Early Years Pupil Premium funding (EYPP)
- We also provide education support fund vouchers for:
- children who attend alternative and independent provision who have been identified with financial exclusion
- our care leavers
For queries relating to scheme 2 please contact yourfamilyhub@staffordshire.gov.uk
Scheme 3 - care leavers financial support
We will continue to provide support for children who are leaving our care and moving into adulthood with four £65.00 supermarket eVouchers. These will be administered in April 2025, August 2025, December 2025 and February 2026.
We will also provide additional emergency support to enable our care leavers to have access to wider essentials through eVouchers. This supports our care leavers with energy and water, food, essentials linked to energy and water and wider essentials.
Eligibility
Known Staffordshire care leaver being supported by their personal assistant who will make the referral on their behalf.
Scheme 4 and 5 - professional's referral schemes
We will continue to provide a professionals referral route, so that residents in Staffordshire can access additional help from the professionals they are working with through scheme 4 and 5. This ensures that the household is accessing sustainable support from the professional going forward around their debt, finances or personal circumstances.
Professionals from the approved referrers list will be able to continue to identify households they are working with, who are facing financial hardship and are most in need. Particularly those who may not be eligible for other government support that has been made available but nevertheless still in need of financial assistance.
Scheme 4 and 5 are only available for people residing in the county area of Staffordshire (excluding Stoke-on-Trent City Council who administer their own scheme). Each household can access these schemes once during this six-month funding period. This enables the fund to benefit as many households throughout Staffordshire as possible.
This may include, but is not limited to, residents who are entitled to but not claiming qualifying benefits, people who are claiming Housing Benefit and a range of low-income households in need. Including households and families who are in employment and receiving support around their debt, finances, or personal circumstances. Including children of all ages, pensioners, unpaid carers, care leavers and disabled people.
Scheme 4 - supermarket eVoucher scheme
This scheme will see eligible households benefit from a supermarket eVoucher for £65 per household and £20 per additional dependent e.g. child under 18 years of age.
For queries relating to scheme 4, please contact: householdsupportfund@staffordshire.gov.uk
Scheme 5 - utility support
This scheme will see eligible households benefit from a one off £300.00 utility payment made direct to their utility provider by our third party.
For queries relating to scheme 5 please contact financialwellbeing@staffordshire.gov.uk
Eligibility
Household is receiving direct support around their debt, finances or personal circumstances by an approved referrer, and been identified as needing this type of support. The professional must be willing to make a referral on the households’ behalf into the schemes. If you are not working with an approved referrer, you may still be able to access these schemes through our Financial Wellbeing Family Hub Coaches – please see scheme 6 below. There is an expectation that any household who accesses the professional’s referral scheme accesses sustainable support for their debt, finances or personal circumstances.
Professionals referral scheme - approved referrer list
Individuals, families and households can ask a professional who they are working with, or who knows the family well, to make an application on their behalf. Examples of approved referrers are:
- Staffordshire County Council e.g. support workers / social workers
- Registered social landlords
- District and borough councils’ revenue and benefit teams
- Health e.g. Midlands Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust (MPFT), NHS
- Citizen's Advice Bureau
- SCVYS members
- Support Staffordshire members
- Police
- Family Hub partners
- Education settings in Staffordshire
- Staffordshire County Council commissioned services working directly with households e.g. Family Support Providers
Scheme 6 - financial wellbeing support
We will continue to invest in a programme of Financial Wellbeing Support which is offered to households who request this. This support is designed to provide households with a sustainable plan to manage and thrive once the household support fund ends.
Our 1-1 Financial Support can help households in Staffordshire to:
Listening to the feedback from our households, we have co-produced a programme of support that is tailored to individual needs and delivered in a way that works best for families. This support is delivered and guided by our Financial Wellbeing Coaches, who are there every step of the way.
Examples of this support include:
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1-1 Financial support sessions - Delivered over 2 private and confidential meetings, fully tailored to your household needs. These sessions provide personalised guidance, practical tools, and signposting to specialist support where appropriate
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Information, advice and guidance - We map out additional support available nationally and locally this enables us to provide more specialist help such as signposting to debt management services, talking therapies or Help to Claim scheme for Universal Credit applications.
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Online, a six-week self-help online course, each week the household are emailed simple activities that are designed to help them understand and improve their Financial Wellbeing, at their own pace.
If you would like to self-refer for our 1-1 sessions, please complete our online Microsoft form.
To contact your Financial Wellbeing Family Hub Coach, or for any queries relating to scheme 6 please contact financialwellbeing@staffordshire.gov.uk.
If you would like some more information on how Staffordshire County Council will use this funding, please view the cabinet report on our website. Any underspend across one of the areas can be used for any other scheme flexibly dependent on the needs.
There is also a range of support for people in need of help and support including:
- Here to help - cost of living support – On these pages you will find information, advice, and support to help you manage cost of living pressures.
- Help for households - Get Government cost of living support. View the Government's website to see what cost of living support you could be eligible for.
- Family Hub cooking - Staffordshire Connects - Find information about cooking on a budget on the Staffordshire Connects website.
- Family Hubs social media - We use these platforms to advertise any funding that can be applied for directly by families when it becomes available.