THOUSANDS of households can get up to £350 free cash straight into their bank accounts to help with rising costs.
The help is being dished out under the new round of £421million funding given by the government to the Household Support Fund.
Councils have been given a slice of the new funding on offer, which will be given out to struggling households to help them with the rising cost of bills and food.
Each council gets a different portion of funding depending on the size of the catchment area, population, and need.
The vouchers or grants on offer vary by location so you'll have to check to see what you can get and how your council will pay you.
You'll usually need to be on a low income to receive the help.
Wealden District Council is offering families £350 free cash to help with rising costs.
Applicants must be over the age of 18, have recourse to public funds, and live in the area.
They must also be finding it difficult to pay for heating, lighting, water or food.
Applicants must be in receipt of Housing Benefit and/ or Council Tax Reduction.
They must NOT be in the receipt of the following:
- Pension Credit
- Universal Credit
- Child Tax Credit
- Working Tax Credit
- Income Support
- Income-Based Job-Seeker’s Allowance
- Income-related Employment and Support Allowance
They also must not have received a Discretionary Housing Payment or Exceptional Hardship Payment within this financial year.
Payments will be made directly to the applicants bank account, make sure to allow 7 – 10 days for payments to reach your account.
You may be required to supply an up to date energy bill and/ or bank statement to further your application.
The documents need to be in the name of the applicant and registered at the application address.
Applications must be made online via the council's website.
Make sure to keep an eye on the council's website for updates and more information.
Funding is limited and will close on 31 March or when the fund has been used up, whichever comes first.
Other councils such as Runnymede in Surrey are also offering cash payments of up to £800 to residents.
Can I get help if I don't live in Wealden?
Yes - you can still get help under the Household Support Fund.
What support you can get will vary, because each council is in charge of how to spend the funding available.
Some decide to dish the help out automatically, while you'll need to apply in other cases.
Some councils choose to distribute funding in the form of vouchers, while others give out cash payments.
To get more information on what support is available, and how to get it, you'll need to contact your local council.
You can find yours using the gov.uk council checker tool.
What can I get?
Councils decide how to distribute their funding.
But in the last round of funding, you could get up to £250 in free cash support from some councils - like Rother in Sussex.
For example, thousands of residents in Luton are due electronic vouchers to help pay for food and other household essentials.
North Yorkshire council is giving out £325 help for struggling households.
Check your local council to see what it's offering.
What help can I get if I'm struggling?
Millions of households started receiving a £400 energy bill discount from October 1.
Households will have already received a £66 energy bill discount in October, November and £67 in December.
There will also be a payment worth £67 in January, February and March.
Between November 2022 and March 2023, a £300 one-off "Pensioner Cost of Living Payment" is being paid out to eight million households.
It is being given to those who already get the winter fuel payment - which is worth between £100 and £300 for those over state pension age.
Millions of households have also started to get the £150 Warm Home Discount between December 2022 and March 2023.
Check out more energy bill help you can claim, worth as much as £3,435 a year.
Do you have a money problem that needs sorting? Get in touch by emailing money-sm@news.co.uk