Eligible households can apply for support to buy food this winter.
Households in Nottingham can apply for £100 supermarket vouchers in December (Image: Getty)
Households in one part of the UK are being urged to apply for £100 vouchers to spend in supermarkets before Sunday to help with the cost of living. The vouchers are being issued as part of the Department for Work and Pensions’ (DWP) Household Support Fund to eligible households in Nottingham, and other local councils are giving out cost of living support in other parts of the UK too. The DWP scheme gives local councils across England a share of a funding pot worth £742 million and helps vulnerable homes pay for essential living costs over the winter months, including energy bills, food and other essentials. The funding is allocated from now until March 31, 2026, and local councils independently decide how to share the cash, so depending on where you live, there may be different criteria to qualify for the support.
In the East Midlands, Nottingham City Council has confirmed it will be providing £1 million of food supermarket vouchers to eligible residents for extra support over the winter months. Some of this funding has already been distributed from April this year, but the council is making another 10,000 £100 vouchers available for households to apply for in December.
Households can apply for the £100 supermarket vouchers between now and Sunday, December 7, 2025, and the council will confirm whether applications have been successful via email by Friday, December 12, 2025. Applications for the vouchers can be made via the council website and must be submitted by midnight on Sunday.
Households can apply even if they have already received a supermarket voucher this year, or are awaiting one from the November 2025 issue.
It may take up to January 31, 2026 for the vouchers to arrive and those who are unsuccessful will be able to apply again for both energy and supermarket vouchers from February 2, 2026 until midnight on February 8, 2026.
The council said: “Household Support Fund applications will re-open from 1st December to 7th December for residents to apply for an extra £100 in supermarket vouchers, even if you have already received a voucher from April 2025.
“We have improved how residents can apply for Supermarket and Energy vouchers which will enable more people to apply and have the opportunity to receive support vouchers. If you have difficulty in applying online, ask your family or friends to help first, or contact any of the community organisations who may be able to support and assist you.
“Vouchers are no longer awarded on a first come first served basis. All residents will receive an equal chance of receiving a voucher if they apply during the application period.
“Qualifying residents will be selected on a random basis after the closure of the application period. This process will apply to Supermarket vouchers. Residents will receive confirmation they have been successful or not via email by Friday 12th December.
“Residents are advised that due to the much higher volume of vouchers released recently and anticipated, the deadline for receiving vouchers from this December 2025 release is currently 31st January 2026.
“If you are successful, please do not contact the council to enquire about when you will receive your voucher until after 1st February 2026. Due to the huge volume of applications we are processing, we are unable to provide any update to residents.”
As Household Support Fund cash is distributed independently by local councils in England, it means that the cost of living support available will vary by location, with different vouchers or grants up for grabs up and down the country.
The payments may also be issued at different times depending on where you live, so it’s possible for some to receive the support in time for Christmas, while others may have a longer wait.
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) says there may also be differences in who the money is given to and if or how you need to apply for the support, as some local councils opt to share the money out through local charities and community groups, while some limit household applications to one per year.
For example, households in Staffordshire can get a one off £300 utility payment made direct to their utility provider via the scheme, while residents in Calderdale can get a maximum of two payments of £85, amounting to £170 worth of support in total.
North Yorkshire Council is issuing £190 cost of living payments to eligible households from October 8 to spend across nine different supermarkets, including Asda, Morrisons, Sainsbury’s, Tesco and M&S.
Doncaster Council is giving eligible households up to £300 towards food costs, while other households can qualify for a £100 payment to go towards energy bills, and residents in Manchester receiving Council Tax support and a disability benefit can get £130.
