Household Support Fund (HSF)
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We've been allocated funding from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) to support households in Luton between November 2024 and March 2025 with food, energy bills and other essentials.
Support may be provided in several 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 and have not received support for the Household Support self-application during this financial year (April 2024 – March 2025):
- 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 have children under 5 living with you in your household
- you need to use electrical medical equipment or devices for your long-term illness or disability
- you need support with your pre-paid utilities
You can apply for the HSF from November 2024 until March 2025.
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
As such, we reserve the right to amend, withdraw or substitute support offered under the scheme at any time. There is no appeal process for this scheme.
How to apply?
All applications will need to be submitted online. Residents can access the application and get support in completing the application at the library kiosks by booking an appointment.
- Anyone placed in Temporary Accommodation in Luton by another authority, will need to contact their parent authority to access their Household Support Fund offering.
- Support will be given in the form of grocery vouchers and utility vouchers using the Huggg portal. We will not be making any direct cash payments via BACS and will not be requesting any bank details for payment purposes.
We will only accept one application per household. We will assess each application based on their individual circumstances.
How much support you could be entitled to?
Details of the support packages are listed below. The minimum an eligible applicant can get is £100 grocery vouchers, and the maximum could be £500 worth grocery and utility vouchers. This is only an indication of entitlement, the necessary supporting evidence to qualify will need to be provided in your application.
| Criteria | Information | Documents to be provided | Support allocation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Any member of the household receives any of the benefits listed | The qualifying benefits are as follows:
|
Proof of benefits will need to be uploaded | £100 Voucher |
| Has a household income less than £34,100 | This criteria will ensure we are supporting low income households who may not be entitled to means tested benefits or free school meals at school. Household income includes the income for the applicant, their partner any adults living in the same household. | 3 month payslips along with 3 month bank statement or SA302 / last Tax return along with Bank statements will need to be uploaded | £100 Voucher |
| Has children under the age of 5 living in the same household | This criteria will ensure we are supporting parents with young children who may not be able to increase their income through work and may not have received any cost of living support from the government in the past. | Childs birth certificate or passport along with Child benefit award letter to Child Tax Credit award letter will need to be uploaded. | £100 Voucher |
| Uses electric medical equipment or devices for the long-term illness or disability | This criteria will enable us to provide support to people who require the use of medical equipment or devices for their long term illness or disability which results in them having higher utility bills. | Prescription for the device or mobility assessment plan detailing the need for the equipment will need to be uploaded. | £200 Voucher |
| Uses a pre-payment meter and supplier information for their gas or electricity | Pre-payment meters let individuals pay small amounts often, but it’s usually a more expensive way to pay. This criteria will ensure we capture most effected by the rise in energy costs. | Supplier information required. | £100 Voucher |
Conditions of the scheme
Only one application per household will be accepted. The total amount of support will depend on the individual’s circumstances. Any application made will not impact any targeted support applicants may have received through FSM food vouchers or as a care leaver. They can apply even if they have submitted a LWA application in the past. This will not affect any other benefits.
The council will assess and verify the claims using the information submitted and available to us. Awards will be made based on applicant’s personal circumstances, the conditions of the scheme and availability of funds. As such the council reserves the right to amend, withdraw or substitute support offered under the scheme at any time. There will be no appeals process for this scheme.
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.
If you have a question about your voucher, call 01582 510346 and select option 2.
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.
If you're in crisis or have an emergency, please see our list of emergency contacts.
The Household Support Fund has been provided by the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) to help local authorities support residents during the cost of living crisis. Below is a breakdown of the funds allocated to Luton Council since October 2021 and information on how the funding has been spent.
HSF 1: 6 October 2021 to 31 March 2022
Luton Council was allocated £1,829,274 by the DWP to support vulnerable households during the period 6 October 2021 to 31 March 2022. In line with DWP guidance we provided pro-active targeted support and application based support to households meeting the specific criteria detailed below.
Group 1
Description
- Households with children eligible for free school meals
- Care leavers
- Households living in temporary accommodation
Amount: £1,255,500
Est number of households*: 7,305
Group 2
Description: households identified through data held by the council as experiencing financial difficulty to apply for support
Amount: £479,379
Est number of households*: 1,582
Group 3
Description: residents who wished to self-refer via our local welfare assistance scheme
Amount: £22,705
Est number of households*: 380
Administration
Amount: £71,690
Est number of households*: N/A
Total spend
Amount: £1,829,274
Est number of households*: 9267
HSF 2: 1 April 2022 to 30 September 2022
Luton Council was allocated with £1,829,274 by the DWP to support vulnerable households during the period 01 April 2022 to 30 September 2022. In line with DWP guidance we provided pro-active targeted support to households meeting specific criteria detailed below.
Group 1
Description: households with children eligible for free school meals
Amount: £1,145,500
Est number of households*: 6560
Group 2
Description: care leavers
Amount: £44,631
Est number of households*: 643
Group 3
Description: pensioners eligible for pension credit
Amount: £500,000
Est number of households*: 4,273
Group 4
Description: pensioners not entitled pension credit
Amount: £81,690
Est number of households*: 1,631
Administration
Amount: £57,453
Est number of households*: N/A
Total spend
Amount: £1,829,274
Est number of households*: 13107
HSF 3: 01 October 2022 to 31 March 2023
Luton Council was allocated with £1,829,274 by the DWP to support vulnerable households during the period 01 October 2022 to 31 March 2022. In line with DWP guidance we provided pro-active targeted support and application based support to households meeting specific criteria detailed below.
* Households may have received multiple awards throughout the duration of the scheme. For example, families in receipt of free school meals will have been issued with vouchers in October, December, February and March. Additionally, Groups 1, 2, 3 and 4 are not mutually exclusive, therefore households may receive awards in one or more of the groups.
Group 1
Description: households with children eligible for free school meals
Amount: £1,024,755
Est number of households*: 6432
Group 2
Description: care leavers
Amount: £88,340
Est number of households*: 303
Group 3
Description: self-referral application scheme
Amount: £548,305
Est number of households*: 3103
Group 4
Description: tangible items via VCS organisations
Amount: £75,580
Est number of households*: 273
Administration
Amount: £92,193
Est number of households*: N/A
Total spend
Amount: £1,829,173
Est number of households*: 10,111
HSF 4: 01 April 2023 to 31 March 2024
Luton Council has been allocated £3,658,584 by the DWP to support vulnerable households during the period 01 April 2023 to 31 March 2024.
In line with DWP guidance we have identified groups for targeted support and also have a self-referral application scheme in operation. Details of how the council intends to spend the funding is publicly available on the Luton Borough Council website.
Full details of the spend and number of households supported will be published at the end of the funding period.
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