On Wednesday 6 March 2024, the UK Government announced that the Household Support Fund would be extended for a further six months from 1 April.
The fourth round of the Household Support Fund has now closed.
However, the UK Government is providing Lincolnshire with a further £5.5m for a fifth round of the programme, which will run until 30 September 2024.
As with earlier rounds of the Household Support Fund, Lincolnshire County Council is working with district councils to decide how this additional funding is most effectively targeted to the Lincolnshire residents most in need, in line with government guidance.
Further grants will not be provided until the arrangements are agreed, and applications are not being accepted at this time. Further details will be published once available.
We appreciate that not all households will be eligible for support via this grant programme. However, the government have a number of arrangements in place, and this is just one.
Residents facing financial difficulties can also visit the government’s Cost of Living Hub and Help for Households.
In addition, there is a Holiday Food and Activity programme for children eligible for benefits-related free school meals.
If you are finding it difficult to manage, please remember Citizens Advice offer free, confidential and impartial advice to everyone to find a way forward whatever problem you may face. So please call their national advice line 0800 144 8848.
A range of support can also be found via Connect to Support Lincolnshire.
Privacy information
District councils
District councils use personal data already held about households in receipt of housing benefit only, to determine eligibility.
For application-based processes, details about why and how personal data is used, are provided to householders at the time of application, as appropriate.
Lincolnshire County Council (LCC)
For the Early Years element of the funding and associated entitlements, information is provided to LCC via parents’ declarations, for the purpose of checking eligibility. For free school meal eligible (FSM) children, LCC have used information from parental FSM applications.
LCC uses information already held about care leavers, to determine eligibility.
Information is processed by LCC in order to perform tasks carried out in the public interest and in the exercise of official authority. We use the minimum amount of personal data required to meet HSF objectives.
We are required to retain your information for as long as is necessary, after which it will be securely destroyed. Retention schedules are in place that set out in detail how long information will be held for.
You have several rights in relation to the information that the council holds about you. For more information about how LCC handle personal data, your rights, when they might apply and how to make a request to exercise them, please see our customer privacy notice.