Household Support Fund

PLEASE NOTE - This round of the Household Support Fund may close before the end of March, subject to the availability of funds. However, The Household Support Fund will open again in April and we will once again be accepting applications. 

About the Household Support Fund

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 01 October 2022 to 31 March 2023 inclusive. 

If your household has received help through either of the previous rounds of the Household Support Fund, we will not be able to issue any further funding. However we may be able to provide you with information about other support available, so please email: householdsupportfund@kingston.gov.uk

Local Authorities have discretion on exactly how this funding is used and the expectation is that it should primarily be used to support households in the most need, particularly those including children and pensioners who would otherwise struggle with energy bills, food and water bills. 

Energy bills may be of particular concern to low-income households during the period of the scheme and the Council will especially consider supporting households with the cost of energy. The fund can also be used to support households with essential costs related to those items and with wider essential costs. In exceptional cases of genuine emergency, it can additionally be used to support housing costs where existing housing support schemes do not meet this exceptional need.

Where needed, support with food, utility bills and other pressures will be provided through a voucher or small grant scheme.

If you believe you may be eligible, you can apply or a professional can do this on your behalf. 

Household Support Fund Form

To be eligible to access the support you will 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:

• You have insufficient funds to access nutritional meals
• You have insufficient funds to be able to keep your home warm, electricity or gas on and access to water for cooking
• You 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 that 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 

Please note the assessment may take some time, depending on demand and an application does not guarantee an award of funding. The fund will be distributed on a first come first serve basis and will only run until the funding has all been allocated and spent. 

If you have any questions you can email householdsupportfund@kingston.gov.uk or ring the council on 020 8547 5000 and ask to speak to the Kingston Stronger Together Hub about the Household Support Fund