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 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 need support with your gas or electricity bills
Apply to the Household Support Fund
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
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.
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
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