Household Support Fund (HSF)

We've been allocated funding from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) to support households in Luton between April 2025 and March 2026 with food, energy bills and other essentials.

Support may be provided in a number of ways including vouchers which can be used in supermarkets, and for gas and electric payments.

Who will the scheme help?

We've identified the following groups for targeted support:

• families with children eligible for free school meals (FSM)
• care leavers

An application scheme will also be available to Luton residents. Details of the eligibility criteria are provided below. You may still be eligible for support under the application scheme even if you have received targeted support.

Applying to the HSF application scheme

You may be eligible for support through the HSF application scheme if you live in Luton, have less than £6,000 in savings and either:

• you receive one of the eligible benefits
• your household income is less than £34,100 

How much support you receive will depend on whether:

• you're in receipt of any of the eligible benefits
• you need to use electrical medical equipment or devices for your long term illness or disability
• you use a pre-payment meter for your gas or electricity

You can apply for the HSF from October 2025 until March 2026.

Only one application per household will be accepted. We'll assess and check the claims using the information submitted and available.

Awards will be made based on the:

• applicant’s personal circumstances
• conditions of the scheme
• availability of funds

Support for children at school in Luton

Families with children who get free school meals will receive a supermarket voucher for each child during the school holidays.

This support can be worth over £190 per year per eligible child. If you have already claimed free school emails for you child you do not need to take any action and will receive this support automatically. If you think you are eligible but have not received any vouchers, please speak to your child’s school in the first instance.

If you have not applied for free school meals you will not automatically get this support even if your child is eligible. To make sure you don’t miss out please apply for free school meals.

You will receive a text message from ‘Huggg’ or an email from [email protected] with your e-voucher instructions before the start of every school holiday. Information on how to use you voucher can be found on the Huggg website.

Support for care leavers in Luton

If you are a care leaver you will be eligible for grocery vouchers. The vouchers will be given to you by your personal advisor (PA).

A care leaver is a young person aged 16 to 25 years old who:

• has been ‘looked after’ at some point since they were 14 years old
• were in care on or after their 16th birthday

If you are a care leaver having difficulties with the vouchers, or think you’re eligible for support but haven’t received a voucher, contact your personal adviser (PA) or call 01582 547820.

Help for residents who are in crisis

If you're in crisis or have an emergency, please see our list of emergency contacts.

Local Welfare Assistance (LWA) could help you in limited cases if you or your family are in severe financial hardship, especially if there is a risk to health or safety.

The fund does not give out cash payments, but may provide:

• a referral to the local food bank
• help with fuel payments

The fund is discretionary, there is no statutory right to support. We will help applicants who are able to demonstrate that they cannot access any other form of financial help or assistance.

Other sources of help

See our Luton, supporting you webpage, which include information on local support available.

For more information on other cost of living support available, visit GOV.UK - Cost of living support.

For information and support on finding employment please visit our help finding a job page or visit the finding a job GOV.UK.