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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.

The Household Support Fund is funded by the government.

Households with children

We have now sent the £40 vouchers to households with children who are getting income-related free school meals. The vouchers were sent in May 2023.

We're now 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, Housing Benefit, or Universal Credit

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 without children

We'll be announcing the support for households without children in the coming weeks. Please check back then for more information.

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.