. The scheme was first brought in in 2021 with the aim to support vulnerable households. Currently, it's worth £842million and the pot of cash has been shared between councils in England. Those councils then decide how to distribute their share of the fund among residents. That means what you can get depends on where you live. In many cases, help is offered to households on benefits or a low income, but that's not always the case. Help includes free cash, grocery vouchers, or white goods. The amount you are entitled to will vary depending on the area you live in too and each council will have a different application process. To find your local council, use the gov.uk council finder tool. For example, residents living in Torridge can get between £600 and £1,000 and thousands of residents in Cornwall can get £160 in support . Meanwhile, those living in Medway in Kent can apply for up to £210 in support and in Bracknell there's £390 of supermarket vouchers being handed out. Bear in mind that some councils haven't opened the application process for the current round of funding as it was only renewed in April. 2.){kind=link}
HARD-UP households on Universal Credit and other benefits can get freebies on top of their usual payments.
And with bills and costs remaining stubbornly high, it’s important to take advantage of all the help that’s available to you.
From food and supermarket vouchers, to bill discounts and cash for school uniforms, we’ve rounded up some of the extra support that is available to people on Universal Credit and benefits in August.
The exact help you can get depends on your circumstances, but isn’t necessarily just for those on benefits.
If you were eligible for them all it could give you a boost of up to £6,938.