Lancaster City Council has set up the Household Support Fund Round 4. This funding has been received from the Department for Work and Pensions to enable us to support those most in need with the significant rise in the cost of living. This scheme is being run in partnership with North Lancashire Citizens Advice and the Lancaster District Food Justice Partnership. The aim of this scheme is to provide longer term support to our residents who are struggling financially. Please note this scheme may be suspended at any point for new applications depending on demand and availability. 

Eligibility

To be eligible for the scheme must be: 

• Aged 16 or over 
• A resident of the Lancaster District 
• Experiencing financial hardship and struggling to afford essential items or living costs 
• Be willing to engage with Citizens Advice and Lancaster City Council 

Application procedure

• Complete our short online form (or call 01524 582000 and press option 7 for an advisor to complete the form on your behalf)
• You must provide at least one month of recent bank statements for all open bank / savings accounts held adults within the household and a full breakdown of your universal credit statement. Please provide these as part of your application, or by email to hsf@lancaster.gov.uk, preferably as a pdf attachment (please see our FAQs below) 
• Once your application is completed we will call you within five working days to book a telephone appointment with an advisor.
• If the required documents have not been provided, we cannot proceed with your application. All applications will be closed 10 working days after they have been placed if the documents are not provided. If you are struggling to provide the required documents, please see our FAQ page below
• You can also provide your financial information directly at Morecambe Town Hall or Lancaster Town Hall Monday to Friday 9am-1pm.  

Assessment

As part of the assessment the advisor will: 

• Carry out a debt assessment and benefit check to identify debts they can support with and ensure you are receiving all the income and benefits you are entitled to 
• Put in any requests to the Household Support Fund for short term support 
• Carry out more in-depth follow-up appointments where required 

Any support through the Household Support Fund for essential items will be processed after your appointment with Citizens Advice as they will provide their recommendations to the council. 

What support is available?

The types of short term support the fund can help with include: 

• Utility bills 
• Food 
• Housing costs 
• Household appliances 
• Other essential items  

Apply now

• Apply to the household support fund

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• Please note any applications that are submitted without the required financial documents will not be processed until this has been received. All applications will have 10 working days from the date of applying to submit these before they will be closed. 
• If you have not heard from us and you believe all your information has been submitted, please email hsf@lancaster.gov.uk or call 01524 582000 and select option 7.
• For details on how Lancaster City Council uses your data, see our HSF privacy notice.

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If you are having trouble with any part of the application and would like to speak with one of our Resident Support Officers in person we will be available on the below dates;

Morecambe Town Hall, LA4 5AF - Monday - Friday 9am - 1pm

Lancaster Town Hall LA1 1PJ Thursday - Friday 9am - 1pm

Please ensure to bring your financial documents or a way to access them with you so that we can ensure that the application is completed in full for you.

Carnforth Energy Saving Workshop - Friday 22nd September 2023 (1pm - 4pm)

Crag Bank Village Hall, Carnforth, LA5 9EG

Come along and learn how you can reduce your energy bills this winter.

Lunch provided and Free energy saving devices will also be available to take away

Book your place here.

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Morecambe Energy Saving Workshop

More Music, 13-17 Devonshire Road, Morecambe, LA3 1QT

Come along and learn how you can reduce your energy bills this winter.

Lunch provided and Free energy saving devices will also be available to take away

Book your place here.

 

What documents do I need to supply? 

You will need to provide at least one month of recent bank statements for all adults within the household. Alongside this we will also need a full breakdown of your universal credit statement. 

If you need help with obtaining your bank statement, click here. (PDF, 105KB)

How do I provide a Universal Credit Statement? 

If you receive part of your income from Universal Credit, we will need to see evidence of this. If you're unsure on how to get a statement for this, please follow the steps below: 

1. Log in to your Universal Credit account here. 
2. Go to the Payments page. 
3.  Click on the latest statement. 
4. The statement will appear on your screen. 
5. You can then select the option to 'Print to PDF' or 'Save as PDF' 

How do I provide the financial documents? 

The best way to do this is to upload the documents through the application or if you are unable to do this email through to hsf@lancaster.gov.uk. 

You can also provide your financial information directly at Morecambe Town Hall or Lancaster Town Hall Monday to Friday 9am-1pm.  

Can I appeal a decision if my application is unsuccessful?  

As this is a discretionary scheme there is no right of appeal. However, if you think we have overlooked important information then you can ask for us to look at the application again by emailing hsf@lancaster.gov.uk providing reasons along with your name, address and reference number. 

This decision will be final.  

How long will my application take? 

Applicants can expect to be contacted within 5 working days of submitting a fully completed application containing all the required information. We will then provide a variety of dates & times for you to choose an appointment that suits yourself. Once this has been completed, we will aim to ensure any support is distributed within 2 working days of the assessment. 

Do I have to have an assessment over the phone? 

If you would like to have an appointment that is in person for any reason, please specify this on the notes section of your application and we can see what can be done for you. 

Can I apply if I have already applied to the Lancaster District Hardship Fund or Household Support Fund round 3? 

Applications can be submitted if you have previously applied to either of the previous rounds of support, however we will look at the level of support you have already received and whether you fully engaged with Citizens Advice before a decision is made on any new applications 

Can I apply more than once? 

We will only accept one application per household within a 6-month period. If you or someone else has applied already from your household the support will have been offered with all residents of the address in mind. 

How do I use my Huggg Voucher? 

To find out more information about using your Huggg voucher please click here.

How do I use my Huggg Paypoint Voucher? 

To find out more information about using your Huggg Paypoint voucher please click here.

Aldi Voucher FAQs 

To find out more information about using your Aldi voucher please click here.

I topped up my gas card/key or electricity card/key and the money hasn't been loaded. What should I do? 

Please contact PayPoint directly at enquiries@paypoint.com. 

If you have any further questions please email us at hsf@lancaster.gov.uk or call us on 01524 582000 and select option 7. 

We know people are worried so the government is offering help for households. See what cost of living support you could be eligible for:

• Find out more about Help for Households

Millions of the lowest-income households across the UK will get up to £1,350 from the Government in 2023/4 to help with the cost of living. Exact payment windows will be announced closer to the time but are spread across a longer period to ensure a consistent support offering throughout the year. They will be broadly as follows: 

• £301 – First Cost of Living Payment – during Spring 2023 
• £150 – Disability Cost of Living Payment – during Summer 2023 
• £300 – Second Cost of Living Payment – during Autumn 2023 
• £300 – Pensioner Cost of Living Payment – during Winter 2023/4 
• £299 – Third Cost of Living Payment – during Spring 2024 

Those eligible will be paid automatically, and there will be no need to apply. For more information, please visit GOV.UK

We know how tough things are at the moment, especially with the very large increases to the cost of living we are experiencing.

Because of this we have launched the Cost of Living Grants Programme. This programme is designed to allow us to assist people who need help in a quick and easy way with everyday essentials such as kitchen appliances, clothes, and energy costs.

This programme is open to anyone who is eligible for our support struggling to pay for items and services they need. And you can apply online the below link. We aim to assess your application within 5 days of submission.

Apply for a cost of living grant

Funded by the Department for Education, 'Happy Healthy Holidays' provides a great opportunity for local children and young people who are eligible for benefits-related free school meals to get out and about, get active and meet new friends. The sessions include a variety of fun activities alongside a nutritious meal each day.

Anyone with any queries on the programme can email HAF@lancaster.gov.uk and someone will be in touch.