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The Government has announced that Commissioners are to be appointed for Nottingham City Council.  For further information, the council’s response and FAQs can be read here.

Home Information for Residents Benefits Household Support Vouchers

Household Support Fund 5

Nottingham City Council is pleased that an additional round of the Household Support Fund was announced in the Spring Budget on 6th March 2024 which should mean up to £3.5m will be distributed in Nottingham this spring and summer. The money will be used to support struggling pensioners, families and the city’s most vulnerable households with the increased costs of living.

The money has come from the Government’s Household Support Fund and will be given out to people across the city to ease the pressure of increasing costs over the coming months. The council is awaiting formal confirmation of the award from Government, which once received and approved will be put into action to support vulnerable residents.

This is the fifth round of funding and previously the grant has been used towards a package of help and advice for Nottingham residents who receive Council Tax Support. This has included e-vouchers for energy bills and supermarkets, including throughout the school holidays for pupils who have free school meals (FSM).

The latest award takes the amount distributed to vulnerable people to more than £17m since October 2021.

More than 18,000 FSM children in Nottingham will continue to get supermarket vouchers for the Easter 2024 holidays, as well as access to free half-term activities through the Holiday Activity Fund.

The full programme of support and go live dates will be announced on this website once the formal grant award has been received and confirmed by the council.


 

Household Support Fund 4 – Applications Close 31st January.

The council will be closing the applications for Supermarket and Energy vouchers on 31st january as all the current funding has now been provisionally committed to all current applications.

Our fantastic community organisations and partners have worked extremely hard over the last 3 years to support vulnerable people in Nottingham and will not be able to issue any new energy or supermarket vouchers from the above date.

Free School Meal vouchers will continue to be provided for eligible families for the February half term holiday. Currently no funding is available for Easter holiday FSM vouchers.

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

Since October 2021 until 31st December 2023 the council has distributed a total of £16,871,107 in HSF funding to help vulnerable residents in Nottingham, with  £11,499,496 on food support and £4,472,744 providing household energy bills support.

Other forms of support continue to be available to those in need, so if you or someone you know is in need of support you can still contact one of the many organisations using the links below for help and advice.

Further information on the support that is available to help with the cost of living can be found on the UK government Website Cost of Living Hub here: Cost of living support: Overview - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Second 2023 to 2024 Cost of Living Payment dates announced - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

How to receive the vouchers

Digital Supermarket Vouchers will be provided through our new supplier Sodexo and residents are encouraged to provide an email to receive their vouchers when applying.

Energy Vouchers will continue to be provided through the PayPoint system and residents are also encouraged to provide either an email or mobile phone number when applying to receive their vouchers digitally.

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 Nottinghamshire County Council

If your child attends a school in Nottingham City

  • See below for further information.

Free School Meal vouchers

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 31st March 2024.

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.

Eligible families received a one-off £50 supermarket voucher for the summer holiday period prior to the end of term in July 2023. This provides a total of £170 in support for over 18,000 eligible children.

These vouchers will continue to be provided to parents via their schools  but will be through a new supplier Sodexo. Instructions on how to redeem your vouchers can be found here:


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

| Ask Lion - Nottingham City Directory

The advice agencies and community organisations to contact are listed below. Each of these organisations will be able to provide you with general advice, support and assistance.

Comprehensive directory of information on help and support available in Nottingham is available here Money | Ask Lion - Nottingham City Directory

Advice agencies and community organisations to contact for support:

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

Alternatively you can contact Age UK on 0115 6976314.

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

  • Customers Services  
  • Email MTVH co.uk
  • 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.

Advice Agency

Opening times

St Ann’s Advice Centre

The Chase Neighbourhood Centre, Robin Hood Chase, St Ann’s NG3 4EZ Tel

Downstairs in the Chase Centre

Tuesday and Thursday 1pm – 4pm

Meadows Advice Group

 

Queens Walk Community Centre, Queens Walk, The Meadows, NG2 2DF

Tel 0115 986 0197

By telephone

Wednesday 1pm and 4pm

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.

Advice Agency

Opening times

Nottingham Law Centre,

 119 Radford Road, Hyson Green, NG7 5DU

Tel 0115 978 7813

Telephone

Monday-Friday 9.30-4.30pm

Drop in

Monday-Friday 9.30-5pm

St Ann’s Advice Centre

The Chase Neighbourhood Centre, Robin Hood Chase, St Ann’s NG3 4EZ

Tel 0115 950 6867

Monday, Tuesday and Thursday

9am – 12.20pm and 1.20pm – 3.30 pm

Wednesday and Fridays 9am – 12.20pm

Citizens Advice Nottingham & District

 16-18 Maid Marian Way, Nottingham, NG1 6HS

Tel 0808 278 7974

 

Telephone

Monday-Friday 9-5pm

Drop-in

Thursday 10-2pm for vulnerable clients that are unable to access our service by phone or digitally. 

Meadows Advice Group

Queens Walk Community Centre, Queens Walk, The Meadows, NG2 2DF Tel 0115 986 0197

Monday-Friday 10-1pm

 

Foodprint

Foodprint is a social supermarket where anyone who is struggling with the cost of living can purchase food at a greatly discounted price when compared to mainstream supermarkets. We have no referral system, and we are open to all. Anybody can access our service by turning up to either of our stores in Sneinton and Radford, details of which are below:

  • Foodprint Sneinton | 101 Sneinton Road, NG2 4QL | 0115 959 8842 | Open: Tuesday and Thursday 10am – 5pm and Saturday 9.30am - 5pm
  • Foodprint Radford | Unit 2 Forest Court, Gamble Street, NG7 4EX | 0115 837 6116 | Open: Monday to Thursday 10am - 4pm

 

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

| Ask Lion - Nottingham City Directory

You can still get financial support and advice on ASKLiON

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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