Households receiving three benefits eligible for one-off free cash payment worth up to £500 – check if you qualify
UK households receiving any of three benefits could be eligible for one-off free cash payments worth up to £500.
The amount given depends on the size of the household and several other factors – check if you qualify.
Torbay Council will give a payment of between £250 and £500 to anyone in their district who meets the following criteria.
- Does not receive welfare benefits
- Has children or is in receipt of PIP, DLA or AA
- Has a low disposable income of £50 per week or less after all essential expenditures
Those who are in receipt of a means tested welfare benefit and either have children in their home or they or their partner is entitled to PIP, DLA or AA will qualify for a one-off award of £100.
To be considered for a one-off payment, Household Support, you must be:
- over 16 years of age,
- live in Torbay,
- a household with children
- a household in receipt of Personal Independence Payments (PIP), Disability living Allowance (DLA) or Attendance Allowance (AA)
The Household Support Fund is designed to provide short-term urgent financial help to Torbay residents who are under the cosh.
Funding for this scheme is provided by the Department for Work and Pensions.
Additional funding has been provided to other services, such as to provide food aid and debt advice services, that assist people through alternative means.
Applications for this funding can be made once by each household from April 1 2024 to September 30 2024.
Payments will start to be made around 19 May 2024.
To apply residents need to visit the Torbay council website where they can apply for the support through a form.
It comes as thousands of households must act now to avoid missing out on free cash.
There are just weeks left to claim £75 vouchers that can help pay for food and other essentials.
Pendle Borough Council previously issued Household Support Fund vouchers to help those struggling financially with food, bills and other expenditure.
A total of 2,600 vouchers were issued in June but some have still not been redeemed.
The council has posted a reminder on Facebook warning those who haven’t cashed in their voucher to do so before September 7.
Anyone who meets the following criteria could be eligible for a £75 voucher.
What is the Household Support Fund?
The Household Support Fund (HSF) was first set up in October 2021 and has now been extended five times.
Councils in England are now able to benefit from the latest round of funding costing £421 million.
Nationwide councils have received a portion of the cash to distribute to households in need.
But there is a postcode lottery to determine who qualifies and each local authority can set its own eligibility criteria.
Yet if you have a limited amount of money or savings in the bank, or are deemed to be vulnerable or on benefits, you will probably qualify for help
The HSF was recently extended in the Government’s Spring Budget until September and councils have already opened for applications.
For example, households in Leicestershire can apply for a financial award of £300 per household, which will be paid in the form of vouchers to support with gas, electricity and food.
The payment can be delivered as a Post Office voucher, which can be redeemed for cash to help with gas, electricity or water, or an e-voucher to help with food costs that can be converted to a gift card for major supermarkets.