Households can get a £110 payment made directly into their bank accounts between now and April.
Households can get £110 cash payments this month (Image: Getty)
Households in one area of the UK can get a £110 cash paid directly into their bank accounts this December or any time between now and April 2026.
The Household Support Fund is a DWP scheme which hands money to local councils across England and Wales for them to distribute to people battling the cost of living crisis.
Each council is free to decide how to hand out the money and who is eligible for the payments, although you don’t normally need to be on benefits to be eligible.
Cambridgeshire Council is currently giving out £110 for households identified as on a low income. It can either be paid directly into bank accounts in the form of a bank transfer, or be turned into an energy bill credit, Post Office credit or supermarket voucher.
The council’s Household Support Fund page says: “A financial award, totalling £110 (per household). This award can be paid in one lump sum to you or, split into your choice of different vouchers as follows:
- Paypoint Cashout Voucher – a code sent to your mobile number and redeemable at any PayPoint site.
- We can now offer a Post Office cashout voucher as an alternative to Paypoint. This can be sent to your mobile number or e-mail address. If you choose a cashout voucher then one of the team will contact you to ask if you would like Paypoint or Post Office. If they are unable to contact you then a Paypoint voucher will be issued by default.
- Supermarket Voucher – sent by email to be redeemed at any of the following supermarkets: Asda, Morrisons, Sainsbury’s, Tesco. Please note only Asda vouchers can be used online.
- Paypoint Energy Voucher – sent to your mobile number and redeemable at any PayPoint site. This voucher can only be used if you have a pre-payment meter that requires them to top up via key/fob in store and their provider is NOT British Gas.
- BACS Transfer – amount sent directly to your bank account. Payment can take up to three working days to show in your account. We will require your bank account name, account number and sort code for processing.
To qualify, you must live in Cambridgeshire, have £16,000 or less in money, savings and investments combined and have income levels below £24,876 with no children, rising to below £48,735 if you have three children.
If you don’t live in Cambridgeshire, there is help available in other areas.
Doncaster Council offers up to £300 of cost of living payments for households with children.
Surrey County Council is offering up to £300 supermarket vouchers in its Everyday Essentials E-voucher scheme funded by the HSF, while Nottingham City Council makes £100 of vouchers available at the start of each month.
Some councils do not publish what amount of funding they give out individually, but will be able to tell you what you could qualify for if you contact them directly. Others simply use the money to fund free school meals or food bank groups.
The UK government’s website says: “Funding is aimed at anyone who’s vulnerable or cannot pay for essentials. You do not have to be getting benefits to get help from your local council.
“If you get benefits, they will not be affected if you get a payment from a Household Support Fund scheme.
“Councils decide how to run their schemes. There may be differences in eligibility criteria, if or how you need to apply [and] who money is given to.
“For example, some councils share out money through local charities and community groups and some limit household applications to one per year.”
Check here to see if you can apply.
