Latest round of Household Support Fund now open for applications

SCOTTISH households in need are set to benefit from from a £41 million UK government fund.

The latest round of the Household Support Fund opens today (Saturday) with a total pot of £421 million spread across the UK, £41 million of which is available in Scotland.

£421 million will be available for local authorities to help households with energy bills, food costs and household essentials.

The cash aims to help most in need with food and energy costs this winter through the Household Support Fund.

A change in the rules governing how local authorities spend the cash means that it is no longer ringfenced to ensure certain groups of people received large portions of the funding. Councils are now free to spend the money as they see most appropriate for their local communities

This latest round of funding – first announced earlier this year – runs until March 31, 2023, and brings the value of the Household Support Fund to £1.263 billion so far. The devolved administrations have also been allocated a total of £238 million to their budgets in parallel, meaning the total value of this household support to date stands at £1.5 billion.

Victoria Prentis, Minister of State at the Department for Work and Pensions, said: “The Household Support Fund has been an important Government support scheme for many of those in need over the past year, and I’m very pleased that our decision to extend it means it will continue to help people with the costs of essentials – including food and energy – this winter.

“Millions of low-income families will have also received at least £1200 from the Government to help with the cost of living, and our Energy Price Guarantee is helping households across the country heat their homes as the nights get longer.”

To access the latest round of funding people should contact their local authority and ask what help is available in their area through the Household Support Fund