Household support fund
Energy and food cost support
Pensioner households not entitled to Winter Fuel payments this year, but known to be on low incomes and in receipt of Council Tax Support and/or Housing Benefit, will receive £200 from the Council through the Government’s Household Support Fund.
These households have already been identified and contacted and payments are in the process of being issued to those that have responded.
If you need additional financial help due to exceptional hardship, you may be eligible for help with food, energy or other essentials.
Applications for the household support fund will be made online, but please be aware that:
- you can only make one application in any six month period
- if you live with a spouse or partner, you must make a joint application for your household even if your spouse/partner does not apply. Your eligibility will depend on your joint income and savings
Please note that this funding is only available to households in receipt of either Housing Benefit or Council Tax Reduction. If your household does not qualify for either of these, unfortunately you will not be eligible for assistance and will be unable to progress an application.
If you are receiving either Housing Benefit or Council Tax Reduction, you can apply for this support, however please read the below tips before applying:
To apply for support, you will be required to create an online account. Once logged in, if you are not taken directly to the application page, you can find this application by using code 307B11.
In order to verify that your household is eligible for support, you will be asked to provide your property reference number. If you do not know your property reference number you can find this on the Gov.UK checker. Once found, this will provide you with a Local Authority reference number, which is the property reference that you require for your application.
If you are currently in a property which does not have its own individual property reference or multiple households likely to share a reference but you are receiving Housing Benefit e.g. a Bed and Breakfast, joint tenancy or houseboat, please contact 0808 175 3599 to obtain your relevant property reference to apply.
As part of this application, a bank verification check will be completed to ensure that the bank account declared belongs to the person applying for support. If at the end of your application you are advised that further evidence is required, this means that this bank check has failed and this further evidence is needed to consider your application. This could be because the name on your bank account is not an exact match to the details you completed as the applicant, such as missing middle name.
Please provide evidence that the bank account belongs to you e.g. bank statement which shows the account name, bank account number and sort code clearly visible. The quickest way to provide this is by uploading the statement to your application form which will allow us to verify the account details provided quicker. Alternatively, you can email this to householdsupport@cheshirewestandchester.gov.uk along with your 7 digit application reference. If you do not provide your evidence when requested then unfortunately we will be unable to consider your application so please ensure this is provided.
