Struggling households can get new £300 cost of living help after Winter Fuel Payment axe

The support comes from the government-funded Household Support Fund which gives local councils pots of cash, which they then use to provide cost-of-living support to people living in the area

Struggling households who are now missing out on this year's Winter Fuel Payment can instead claim cost of living help worth £300.

The support comes from the government-funded Household Support Fund. First introduced by the former Tory government in 2021, the scheme gives local councils pots of cash, which they then use to provide cost of living support to people living in the area. The help can range from supermarket and energy vouchers to cash payments.

Blackpool Council will be giving payments of up to £300 to households who are struggling to cover energy or water costs. The money will be paid directly to your supplier and will appear as a credit on your bill or prepay meter. According to the council's website, households of one or two people can get a £200 payment, while households of three or more are able to claim £300.

To apply for Blackpool Council's Household Support Fund, you will need to be from Blackpool, over the age of 16 and be responsible for the bills in your home. You will also need to be experiencing "financial hardship" and not have enough resources to "meet your immediate short-term needs".

Alongside this, you also can't have received a Household Support Fund payment in the last 12 months. This means if you were given help through the scheme in March this year, then you will not be able to apply for the help. Unlike other councils' Household Support Fund schemes, you do not need to claim Universal Credit or other DWP benefits to be eligible for help.

To get the support, you will need to provide Blackpool Council with your most recent full month's bank and savings account statements for all your accounts. This also includes other adults in the households. These statements must show all you transactions coming in and out of the accounts, and not just the balances.

You must also supply a copy of your electricity or gas bill with your name, address, supplier name, and account number. If you are on a prepay meter, Blackpool Council says you need to create an online account with your supplier to provide this information. If you have a landlord meter fitted and have no direct access account with an energy supplier, you will need to upload a letter from your landlord or letting agent confirming this. Blackpool Council warned that all applications which do not include evidence would be declined.

Once you submit your application, you will be given an application reference number, which you can use to get updates on your claim. Blackpool Council says it aims to assess applications "as quickly as possible," and it does so in the order they are received. Currently, applications are taking "several weeks" to be processed.

You cannot apply for this scheme if you do not live in Blackpool. However, your local council will have its own Household Support Scheme you can access. You should keep an eye out for any updates on the schemes on your local authority's website.