Thousands to get one off £500 cost of living support this summer - how to claim

The Household Support Fund scheme is running until September 2024

Cost of living support worth up to £500 will be paid to households over the summer.

The help comes from the Government's Households Support Fund Scheme which gives local councils funding to provide cost of living support to people living in their area. Each authority decides what help it will be offering in its area so it can be a postcode lottery on what you can get.

Ribble Valley Borough Council has decided to provide struggling households with food vouchers. Single adult households can claim a food voucher worth up to £200, households with two or more adults can claim vouchers worth £300, and households with children can get £500.

Applications for the scheme opened last month and Ribble Valley Council will continue to run the scheme whilst funds last. This means it's running on a first come first serve basis, so to get support you will need to make an application sooner rather than later. You can only make one application per household and if you received Household Support Fund help last year - from April 2023 to March 2024 - then you will not be eligible for this round of help. You can make an application for the support online through the Council's website here

If you are not a resident of Ribble Valley, then you will not be able to claim this help however your local council will be offering its own help through the Household Support fund. Local authorities have shared what support they are giving between April and September 2024 when the scheme will end. To find out what this is you should go to your local council's website. Usually, they will have a separate cost of living tab which details the help on offer.