Household Support Fund
For Professionals
The Department of Work and Pensions have made additional funding available for low-income households in Kingston who meet the criteria and who are struggling to afford food, fuel, utility bills and other essentials.
This funding covers the period 1 April to 30 September 2024 inclusive.
Applications will remain open during this time, subject to the availability of funds.
Individuals can apply for this grant themselves or you can make a referral for an individual or household that you are supporting.
If the household you are applying for has received help through any of the previous rounds of the Household Support Fund, we will NOT be able to issue any further funding unless there are exceptional circumstances. We can however provide information about other support and services available, so please email: householdsupportfund@kingston.gov.uk
To be eligible to access the support they need to be a resident of the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames (or if homeless or with no recourse to public funds, have appropriate links to the borough) and one or more of the following eligibility criteria must apply:
- They have insufficient funds to access nutritional meals
- They have insufficient funds to be able to keep their home warm, electricity or gas on and access to water for cooking
- They have insufficient funds to be able to afford essentials such as food, toiletries (sanitary products, soap etc), clothing, blankets, boiler service/repair, and access to equipment including fridges and ovens.
- A household has an urgent housing need which can not be funded by an existing scheme e.g. housing benefits etc
- The household has a vulnerability or community care need
Council officers, voluntary sector partners and other referring professionals will be asked to assess needs against these criteria and confirm eligibility.
Individuals may be receiving other forms of support, including Universal Credit. If families are receiving support through other food or utility schemes this should be taken into account, and you should avoid duplicating existing support. However, families in receipt of other schemes are not excluded from receiving the grant. For example, a family may:
- have additional wider needs in terms of food and utilities
- require other essential supplies
- include individual family members that are not in receipt of support
Where needed, support with food, utility bills and other pressures will be provided through a voucher. If you believe you have a client or clients who may be eligible, please complete the application form via this link. Please contact householdsupportfund@kingston.gov.uk if you have any questions.
If you are working with families that may be eligible, please use the link below to complete the application form on behalf of the families and individuals you are supporting. The application form has all the details of what may be applied for and the eligibility criteria. However, you can also contact the KST Health Improvement Team at householdsupportfund@kingston.gov.uk if you have any questions.