Household Support Fund 3 is now Closed

The council has now distributed all of the Household Support Fund 3 to vulnerable residents for the October 2022 to March 2023 period.

Household Support Fund 4 – Not Yet Open

The council has been again been successful in obtaining £7.1m of funding to support vulnerable households in Nottingham until 31^st March 2024 through the new Household Support Fund 4 from the UK Government via the Department for Work and Pensions.

Free School Meal vouchers have already been distributed to eligible families from this fund for Easter and will also be planned for all other school holidays until 31^st March 2024.

The arrangements for Energy Support and Supermarket Vouchers will be finalised over coming weeks and the launch date for residents to contact our community partners will be announced by the end of May 2023. The fund will continue to be used to help those most in need with energy, food and essential supplies through the current cost of living crisis.

Please note that until this date is confirmed on this website, neither the council nor its community partners will be able to accept new applications for support until the new scheme opens. The council will also confirm the launch date with a press release and through its media channels to reach as many vulnerable residents as possible.

Further information will be updated on this website when future support plans are confirmed.

Other forms of support will continue to be available, please see  www.asklion.co.uk for more helpful information and organisations providing assistance.

Free School Meals

Children who are entitled to Free School Meals will continue to receive support from the grant and get £15 Supermarket Voucher per week for October, Christmas and February holidays. These vouchers will continue to be provided via schools and from EdenRed in the normal way. You can check your eligibility for FSM and apply here.

Free School Meal – HSF Support in Nottingham City and Nottinghamshire County Areas

Through the HSF scheme the City and County Councils will be providing support to all eligible Free School Meals children.

Both the City and County Councils are operating different systems to provide this support and parents should check the respective websites for details, based on the location of your child’s school. Support is not determined by your home address, but where your child attends school.

If your child attends a school  in Nottingham City, click here for further information.

If your child attends a school in Nottinghamshire County Council, click here for further information.

Who should I contact?

The advice agencies and community organisations to contact are listed below. These organisations experience high levels of demand, but if you contact them via their contact details below, they will get back to you to arrange an appointment with you:

If you are a Pensioner, please contact Age UK Notts or Independent Age

If you are a Nottingham City Homes tenant, please contact their Tenancy Sustainment Team

If you are a Metropolitan Thames Valley Housing resident, please contact their Customer Services team

If you are none of the above, please contact any of the six Advice Nottingham agencies listed below.

Eligibility: All partners are focused on getting the vouchers to those Nottingham residents who are in financial crisis and need support the most. Each agency issuing vouchers will use their standard eligibility assessments. People who are eligible will be those in receipt of recognised means tested benefits, or some other identifier of low income, such as:

• Universal credit
• Income-based jobseekers allowance
• Income-related employment and support allowance
• Income support
• Working tax credit
• Child tax credit
• Pension credit

How can I redeem my voucher?

If you receive an energy voucher, instructions to redeem it will be included with your voucher.

If you receive a supermarket voucher, the instructions to redeem it are here.

Is any other support available?

A comprehensive directory of information on help and support available in Nottingham is available here www.asklion.co.uk/money

Advice agencies and community organisations to contact for support:

If you are a pensioner, please contact Age UK Notts by completing the following form:

https://forms.office.com/r/10YVn5nhCL

Alternatively you can contact Age UK on 0115 6976314.

Or you can also contact Independent Age on their helpline 0115 811 4300

Nottingham City Homes

You must be a Nottingham City Homes tenant to apply through us. We are only accepting applications for this round of Household Support Fund via the below online form. You will be contacted by an advisor within a month of applying (we call from withheld numbers).

https://tinyurl.com/NCHapplication

If you have a problem with a voucher once it’s been issued please complete the form below:

https://tinyurl.com/NCHQueries

Please do not reapply if you received Household Support Vouchers from Nottingham City between July and October 2022 as you will automatically receive 2 x £49 energy vouchers.

If you are a Metropolitan Thames Valley Housing resident, please contact:

Customers Services  
Email contactus@mtvh.co.uk
Or call 0203 353 3535

Advice Nottingham

If you are none of the above, please contact one of the following local advice agencies where your eligibility for energy vouchers can be assessed by contacting one of the organisations below. If you are eligible for support your application will then be forwarded to Nottingham City Council for issuing vouchers.

Free and confidential advice can also be obtained from the following organisations who will complete a full assessment with you and provide individual advice which may include support of energy vouchers. Please contact these organisations if you require advice for your own individual circumstances.

You can still get financial support and advice on asklion.co.uk

Advice agencies and community organisations are ideally placed to provide financial advice that can help you to get a whole range of financial support. This includes applying for benefits, tax credits, reducing debt, managing household bills and much more.

If you, or someone you know, needs financial support, your first step should be to contact one of the advice agencies or community organisations listed below.

By contacting these agencies, you will be able to talk to an impartial and confidential Adviser about the whole range of financial support and solutions available to you over the longer term.

A directory of information on help and support available in Nottingham is available here www.asklion.co.uk/money

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Supermarket and energy vouchers are always promoted through the Help & Support email newsletter from Nottingham City Council. Every month subscribers will also get information about the availability of vouchers, advice on debt and benefits, reducing household bills, employment and job-hunting support including training courses and much, much more. Share it with your friends and family and encourage them to sign up too! Click here to subscribe.