Thousands of households in the UK have just days left to apply for a free £200. The Household Support Fund was set up by the government for local authorities to distribute cash to struggling households amid a Cost of Living crisis which has left Brits cash-strapped.
Applications for the summer payment close on September 30 so you don’t have long to apply. The first set of payments have been made through summer, and any application that has been made before 30 September will be registered to automatically receive the Winter Support Payment without needing to reapply.
Any application made after 30 September will only be eligible for the winter payment and will not be backdated for the summer payment. One local council, Nottinghamshire, has issued a seven-day warning to households ahead of the application date approaching and closing.
“We will be accepting applications for the Summer Support Payment until 30 September. Any application made before 30 September will be added to a list to receive an automatic Winter Support Payment (in line with the table below), when it is due, you will not need to apply again. Any application made after 30 September 2023 will only be eligible for the Winter Support Payment and this will not be backdated,” it warned.
The fund will run until 31 March 2024. During that time, councils will be issuing eligible residents with a Summer and then a Winter Support Payment. Payments will be automatically provided. And if you’ve applied but heard nothing back, the council says: “Please allow up to ten working days for the team to get back to you, as this is the standard time to investigate and provide an outcome.
“If ten working days have already passed then we can look into this further for you, however we will require all your details to do so, including your email address, home address and phone number.”
