Cost of living support
Household
Support Fund
LATEST UPDATE:ROUND 4
After receiving cabinet approval on 27th June 2023, the Household Support Fund Round 4 is being made available to ease the financial burdens faced by its vulnerable citizens living in Birmingham.
The Household Support Fund, provided by the Department for Work and Pensions, is a fixed amount of money available to the Local Authority to be used to support those households in most need, with essentials such as food, energy and essential goods and supplies including water.
About the fund
Birmingham Voluntary Service Council’s (BVSC) Hardship Grant Community Fund (HGCF), part of Birmingham City Council’s (BCC) wider Household Support Fund (HSF) activity, will be running until 31st March 2024.
BVSC will be distributing grants of up to £200 to Birmingham households, currently facing financial hardship, with the funds intended to help households with food costs and energy payments.
When does it start?
Applications will commence from Monday 31st July 2023, and we will continue to accept applications until 31st March 2024, or until all funding has been exhausted if sooner.
Who is eligible?
- You must be a Birmingham Resident
- You must be experiencing financial hardship, particularly with regards to covering costs linked to food and energy
- Your household must not have received a £200 grant payment in the last 12 months
*Please be aware that you may be expected to provide proof of address and proof of means-tested benefits (if you are in receipt of them) in the case that you are invited to apply.
How to Apply
Website
To apply, potential applicants will be required to complete the enquiry form, located on the website below, answering questions aimed at determining your suitability for a grant payment. All applicants will be contacted via email on the outcome of their enquiry and next steps.
Alternatively, please scan the QR code, with your mobile phone or tablet camera to open the link and then click on the Enquiry Form tab.
Telephone
If you are unable to access the website above, then please use the phone number provided below to progress your enquiry.
0121 634 7100
Please be aware that your enquiry will be processed quicker if you use the form, so we strongly encourage you to do so if you are able to.
Support from Gateway FS
In October 2021 the Government announced the Household Support Fund, a £500m fund for people in England who were likely to suffer food or fuel poverty over the winter.
In Birmingham, the City Council decided to distribute its share of the money directly to households in need. To do this, they chose ten voluntary sector organisations – one in each constituency – to administer the funds. In light of our existing role as Early Help and Neighbourhood Network Lead, Gateway Family Services was chosen to cover the Edgbaston constituency.
So, in the week after Christmas 2021, we put together the Household Support Fund Admin Team……..
