Last updated:
24th November 2023
Household Support Fund
Money to help if you're struggling with food, bills or energy costs
Please note that it takes around 2 weeks for the Hardship Alliance to process each application and send out vouchers to the successful applicant. You do not need to contact them to track your application if it is still within the current processing times.
Household Support Fund
You can apply if you’re struggling to pay for:
- Food
- Bills
- Energy costs
- Other everyday essentials
The Household Support Fund has been allocated by the Department for Work and Pensions to councils in England.
Wokingham Borough has received more than £1million to help people locally.
Household Support Grant
The Household Support Grant provides support to anyone who is not part of a family where children receive means-tested free school meals.
If you have applied and received a grant from Age UK Berkshire or Citizens Advice Wokingham between April and September 2023, you can now apply again. New applications are welcome.
Higher amounts are being paid to households which are likely to spend more money on daily essentials like food and energy.
If you have a child who receives means-tested free school meals
- You can get £20 per week, per child, during school holidays
- Apply for Holiday Food Vouchers – details below
Pensioners, carers, disabled people and/or households with four or more people
- You can get a grant of £240
All other households
- You can get a grant of £120
How to apply for Household Support Grant
Support is available to households who feel they are struggling with rising costs of living as well as people in receipt of benefits. Apply now:
- 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 Vouchers – if you have a child who receives free school meals
The Holiday Food Vouchers scheme provides support to families where there are children who receive means-tested free school meals.
If you received this support from First Days Children's Charity since April 2023, you do not need to apply again. You will automatically receive support.
From October 2023 you can get £20 per week, per eligible child, during school holidays. This has been increased from October half-term 2023 onwards to provide more support during the winter months.
The amount you get in total depends on the number of children in your family who receive means-tested free school meals.
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.
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.
