Last updated:
18th September 2023
Household Support Fund
Money to help if you're struggling with food, bills or energy costs
The current round of the Household Support Fund will close on Friday 29 September. A new round will open in October 2023.
People who have applied for help in the last six months will be able to apply again.
Who can apply
You can apply if you’re struggling to pay for:
- Food
- Bills
- Energy costs
- Other everyday essentials
If you have applied and received a grant from Age UK Berkshire or Citizens Advice Wokingham between October 2022 and March 2023, you can now apply again.
If you have a child or children who receive free school meals, apply for the Holiday Food Voucher option. This means you will get the most appropriate support for you and your family.
Apply for a Household Support Grant – open to anyone struggling with food or energy costs
Support is available to households who feel they are struggling with rising costs of living as well as people in receipt of benefits.
Our partners can provide £100 per household with a food, fuel or cash voucher.
- Call Citizens Advice Wokingham One Front Door on 0808 278 7958
- Apply on Citizens Advice Wokingham website
- Call Age UK Berkshire on (0118) 959 4242
- Email Age UK Berkshire
Apply for a Holiday Food Voucher – if you have a child who receives free school meals
If you received this support from First Days Children's Charity since October 2022, you do not need to apply again. You will automatically receive support from May 2023 half-term onwards.
If you are a new applicant, you can get £15 per week, per eligible child, during school holidays.
The amount you get in total depends on the number of children in your family who receive means-tested free school meals.
For new applicants from April 2023 onwards, once you’ve successfully applied, payments will be made for every school holiday until Easter 2024.
If you miss any school holidays due to applying later, you will get a back payment up to the previous school holiday when you’ve applied.
Future support
We will run another phase of the Household Support Grant from October 2023 to March 2024.
This may have different rules or payment amounts depending on the situation at the time.
Funded by Government
£842 million of additional funding has been made available to help the most vulnerable across England. In Wokingham Borough we have been given £1million.
The funding is an extension of the Household Support Fund and has been allocated by the Department for Work and Pensions to Councils in England, who use it to support those in need in their local area.
Visit the Government's cost of living help pages for more information.
