Household Support Fund

The Household Support Fund supports residents with energy bills, food, and essential costs like Council Tax. Depending on your circumstances, you may be eligible for help from the Household Support Fund.

The scheme will run from 1 April 2023 to 31 March 2024. We'll be releasing the money in phases so we can support the people most in need. It also means we can support people whose circumstances change during the year. You may be eligible for payments in each phase.

To be eligible for a payment, you must be liable for the Council Tax, rent, or mortgage for a property in Middlesbrough, and you must live at that property.

The Household Support Fund is funded by the government.

Households getting benefits - with children

We've now sent vouchers for £35 per child to households with children who are getting income-related free school meals. The vouchers were sent on 7 and 8 August.

If you did not get a voucher, you can now apply online. We're accepting applications from families:

• with children under the age of 5, where another child in the household is getting income-related free school meals
• whose children attend a school outside Middlesbrough but they live in Middlesbrough, and they are getting income-related free school meals
• whose children are not eligible for income-related free school meals, but the household is getting Council Tax Reduction, Universal Credit, or Housing Benefit

If your application is approved, you'll get a £35 voucher per child.

It can take up to 21 working days for us to process applications. Please do not call us during that time as it slows down how quickly we can look at applications.

Households not getting benefits

To be eligible for a Household Support Fund payment, you must:

1. Have an income (before tax) of:
   • £30,000 or less if you're a single person household
   • £50,000 or less if you're a couple
2. Have less than £6,000 in savings
3. Not be getting any of these benefits:
   • Universal Credit
   • Jobseeker's Allowance
   • Employment and Support Allowance
   • Income Support
   • Tax Credit
   • Pension Credit

This payment is open to people with and without children.

If you've already had a payment from this section of the Household Support Fund since 1 April 2023, you're not entitled to another payment right now. The form below is for new applications only.

Once you've filled in the application, you'll need to provide your most recent bank statement and payslips as evidence. After we receive your application, we'll contact you and let you know how to do this.

If your application is approved, you'll get:

• £100 for a single person household
• £150 for a couple
• £200 if there are one or more children in your household

We can apply some, or all, of your payment to your Council Tax account, so you have less to pay, or to reduce the amount of arrears (debt) you have. This can help free up money to spend on other things like energy bills or food. We'll talk to you about this when we contact you about your application.

We aim to process applications within 21 working days, but due to high demand it may take us longer. We're working through them as quickly as possible. Please do not call us unless it's absolutely necessary, as it slows down how quickly we can look at applications.

Other support

We know people are struggling right now. If you're not eligible for help from the Household Support Fund, you might be able to get other help. You can find out more in the cost of living section.

We're working with partners including the White Feather Project, Together Middlesbrough, food banks, and Middlesbrough Environment City, and helping them to cope with increased levels of demand.

The government has lots of support available for people who are struggling. You can find out more on the government's cost of living hub.