Household Support Fund

West Northamptonshire Council have received further funding from the Department of Work and Pensions to support eligible residents until 31 March 2024.

The Household Support Fund will be distributed in a variety of ways including

• Financial support for those on a low wage
• The provision of food for children eligible for benefits related free school meals during school holidays
• Financial grants for charities to extend the offer of support to families and individuals that they are engaged with and working with
• Working with our trusted partners to identify and support vulnerable families directly.

Please see below for further eligibility criteria for each scheme.

Please note that the criteria and type of support offered for each round of funding for the Household Support Scheme can be different.

Further support can also be found on the following web pages:

• Cost of living support
• Government Cost of Living Hub

Working on a low wage

Support is available for West Northamptonshire residents earning less than £400 per week.

This is not intended as emergency support payment.

All households who make an application will be sent information on how to access further support.

Please follow the link below to view the eligibility criteria and application form.

Only 1 application can be made per household.

Residents who have applied for previous rounds of funding will be able to apply again (subject to meeting the eligibility criteria).

The application may be closed at any point. The website will be updated with details, to ensure funds are made available throughout the year up until 31 March 2024.

We are currently aiming to process applications within 3 weeks.

Please do not submit duplicate applications or contact us to check the progress of your application if it is within this timescale. This will not speed up your application.

Support for families in receipt of free school meals

We are continuing to fund holiday food vouchers as part of the Household Support Fund (provided by the Department for Work and Pensions). This is for all students eligible for benefits related free school meals.

All eligible children will be allocated a supermarket voucher (valued at £15 per student, per week). These will be distributed to parents/carers by the child’s school or the free school meal team at the start of each holiday (May 2023, Summer 2023, October 2023, Christmas 2023, February 2024, Easter 2024, subject to individual school holiday dates).

Additionally, for the Summer 2023 school holiday, We will be funding a single £15 School Essentials voucher for each student eligible for benefits related free school meals. This voucher is to be used to support purchases of school essentials such as uniform, clothing and stationery at selected retailers.

Community funding

The Household Support Fund is also supporting community groups. This allows us to provide additional grants and financial support to charities and services offering the following

• Money and Debt Advice
• Energy Saving Measures and Guidance
• Food Aid; such as Food Banks and Community Larders
• Welcoming Spaces

This additional funding will allow many of our Voluntary and Community Sector Partners to expand the reach of services that they already offer.

For more information on where to find additional support on these services, please see the Cost of Living Support pages.

Last updated 24 November 2023