The Government announced in the spring statement that they would be extending the Household Support Fund for 2022/23 to help vulnerable people and families with food and energy bills over winter.
Payments will be made through a combination of automatic payments and online applications.
Government Cost of Living Payment
The Household Support Fund is a separate payment to the Government’s Cost of Living Payments being administered directly by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP).
If you're not sure if you received a Cost of Living Payment, check your bank statements for July, September, October and November 2022. If you qualified for the payments, they will have been paid directly into the account your Benefit is usually paid into.
If you did not receive the first £326 payment, but you believe you should have (because you met the eligibility criteria) you will need to discuss that with DWP directly, using their online form.
How the Household Support Fund is being spent
The scheme in Manchester will provide financial support to the following residents:
- School Holiday Funding - To support families and children, funding has been allocated to provide Free School Meals during school holidays:
- A £15 weekly payment for each eligible child for the autumn and spring half-term breaks and the Christmas holidays. Money is distributed to households on a pupil basis by Manchester schools.
- £190,000 has also been allocated to provide a Holiday Activity Fund (HAF) scheme during the autumn and spring half-terms.
- Support to Care Leavers - £10 per week to be given to all Care Leavers living in their own tenancies from October to March.
- Support for Charity and Voluntary Sector - £500,000 has been provided to advice agencies and the third sector in the city. This includes the Manchester Food Partnership and support provided through Manchester Care and Repair.
- Welfare Provision Scheme - £100,000 has been allocated to support our already established Welfare Provision Scheme. This gives further capacity to meet the growing requests for support for energy and wider household costs.
- Targeted help - The following groups will receive a payment directly from Manchester City Council:
- Working or Pension Age households (in work or out of work) in receipt of Council Tax Support on 17 November 2022, where there were less than five people including one dependant, and at least one of them was getting a disability benefit (such as Disability Living Allowance or Personal Independence Payments) will receive £220.
- Pension Age households in receipt of Council Tax Support on 17 November 2022 who do not receive Pension Credit, but who have income less than £10 above their applicable amount (this is the amount of money that the government says they need to cover their weekly living expenses) will receive £150
If you pay your council tax by direct debit, we will make the payment directly to your bank accounts. Otherwise, you'll receive a Post Office Voucher. Find out how to cash your voucher.
We will also be making payment directly where bank account details are held, to:
- Residents in receipt of Housing Benefit but no other DWP or HMRC (Her Majesty's Revenues and Customs) benefits, who have not had a cost-of-living payment
- Residents entitled to Council Tax Support on 17 November 2022 with 5 or more people living in the household on that day.
If we do not hold your bank details, but our records show you meet the eligibility criteria, we'll write to you inviting you to apply.
We expect to make payments during the week beginning 28 November 2022.
Applications
Some residents, who we believe meet certain eligibility criteria, will be invited to apply for a Household Support Payment online.