New update on £200 payments for cost of living from DWP support fund

People in Birmingham city centre on Boxing Day
-Credit:Birmingham Mail


A new update has been issued on £200 payments to help with the cost of living from a DWP fund shared among local authorities. Across the country, councils are using their portion of the £421 million Household Support Fund to provide one-off cash sums or other forms of help for energy, water and food bills.

Birmingham City Council is using its allocation for £200 hardship grants to eligible households who are struggling to pay for essentials. Similar sums will be offered by neighbouring Dudley when it reopens applications on January 22.

Responsibility for deciding who's eligible for help in Birmingham has been delegated to the Birmingham Voluntary Service Council, which has announced a new update. It says it is pausing the scheme until March so it can deal with all the existing enquiries.

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BVSC said in a new announcement: "Please be advised that the Hardship Grant Community Fund scheme is currently paused for new enquiries whilst the team work through the waiting list. If you have submitted a successful enquiry since the current scheme opened on November 25th, 2024, you are on the waiting list and will be contacted within the next six weeks to complete your full application.

"Please be patient whilst the team work through the waiting list. Additionally, please ensure that you have your voicemail turned on so the team can leave you a message if you miss our call and that your phone accepts calls from withheld/private numbers.

"Note that enquiries will reopen in March 2025. If you are not currently on the waiting list, or it has now been 12 months since your household last received a grant payment, you will be able to submit a new enquiry once enquiries resume in March 2025."

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It also warned people to watch out for fraudsters. BVSC said: "Please note that BVSC or Birmingham City Council does NOT send text messages to applicants or those on the waiting list asking you to click on a link and provide your bank details. This is a scam and is not associated with the Hardship Grant Community Fund or any other Household Support Fund activity.

"You do not need to pay any fee to apply for a Hardship Grant. Should any organisation request a fee from you to apply, please do not give them any personal details and contact BVSC immediately to report them."

Other local authorities have their own ways of using the Household Support Fund cash. For instance, in Doncaster, a one-off payment is being given to households who receive Housing Benefit, Universal Credit (if the claim includes the housing element), local Council Tax Reduction, or means-tested free school meals.

Working-age households in Doncaster can get £75 if there are no dependant children, £150 if they have one or two children, and £225 if there are three or more. Pensioner households will get a £50 payment if they are on Pension Credit and £150 if they are not receiving Pension Credit and are not entitled to it.

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