The Household Support Fund is a government scheme to help ease the financial pressure from the rising cost of living.
Since Monday 12 December, when the fund opened, residents with low incomes can apply for a small grant from this fund.
The funding is limited, so we only accept applications from people who have not previously received a grant from the Household Support Fund.
The funding will close when all the monies have been allocated.
Who can apply?
We accept applications from, or on behalf of, people who are in financial difficulties. The person receiving the funds must:
- Be over the age of 16.
- Live in the Tandridge district.
- Be in financial difficulty and struggling to meet the cost of essential items like food, fuel or energy bills for themselves or their dependents. You will need to submit evidence online such as bank statements and arrears letters.
- Not have already received a grant from the Household Support Fund.
How do I apply?
Please complete this application form.
If you don’t have access to the internet, please call 01883 722000 during our office hours.
When will the fund close?
The fund will close as soon as the value of the funding pot has been reached.
How much will I receive?
If your application is succesful, households with:
- Single households will receive £100.
- Multiple residents in the same household will receive £300.
How will payments be made?
We will notify you once a decision has been made on your application. Payments will be by BACS transfer to your nominated bank account by the end of March 2023.
What information will need to be submitted?
To assess applications, we need details about the applicant, members of their household and the reasons why an application is being made.
You will need to provide your:
- Contact details.
- Date of birth.
- National Insurance number.
- Bank details, including sort code and account number.
To support your application, you will need to upload your last three months of bank statements from October to December 2022.
You may also want to upload the following:
- Income, savings and benefit information if it cannot be seen on the bank statements.
- Other information to allow us to make an informed decision, for example, arrears letters, energy bills.
If you are calling us to apply for a grant, we will discuss how you provide your supporting evidence.
What is the assessment process?
We will try to support as many residents as we can with the limited funds available. We aim to provide support to those who need our help the most. This includes:
- Residents with dependent children.
- Residents with disability or health problems.
- Households with at least one person who is receiving their state pension.
- Lone parents.
- Those who are, or are at risk of becoming, homeless including those living in temporary accommodation.
- Survivors of domestic abuse.
- Those leaving care or hospital.
- Those facing an emergency crisis such as, a recent fire or flood.
Once we receive an application and supporting evidence it will be assessed based on the information provided and a decision made.
Reviewing the decision
There is no right of appeal against a decision not to make an award, or about the amount of an award. If you are not happy with the outcome, you can ask us to review your application within five days of our decision, by e-mailing customerservices@tandridge.gov.uk.
Requests for a review should be made in writing and must state the reasons why you do not agree with the decision and why you are asking for a review. The review will be conducted by a senior officer who was not involved in the original decision.
You will be notified of the outcome of the review within 14 days of your request.
How are we communicating this to residents?
Since November 2022, we have used a range of channels, such as:
- Articles in monthly news and events e-newsletters, issued to all our subscribers and posted on social media.
- Printed articles in December 2022 and February 2023 local magazines such as CR3, CR6, RH8, RH9, TN16 which is delivered to households in the district.
- Social media campaign including into 30+ Facebook groups.
- All local media informed.
- Advising community partners.
- Message on our call waiting system.
Background
In October 2021, the Government announced funding to financially support vulnerable households over the winter months. It is known as the Household Support Grant.
We have been allocated over £170,000 to provide support to households who would struggle to buy food or pay essential utility bills, or meet other essential living costs this winter, due to the rising cost of living.
The Tandridge Household Support Scheme Local Eligibility Framework has been developed to help us administer the scheme, which will:
- Use discretion to identify and support those most in need.
- Use the funds to meet immediate needs and help those who are struggling to afford food, energy or water bills and other essential household expenditure.
- In exceptional cases of genuine emergency, we will support housing costs where existing housing support schemes do not meet this exceptional need.
- Work with local services, community groups and other partners to identify and support households within the scope of this scheme.
We have lots more information about other support available.