The council has been again been successful in obtaining £7.1m of funding to support vulnerable households in Nottingham until 31st March 2024 through the new Household Support Fund 4 from the UK Government via the Department for Work and Pensions.
Free School Meal vouchers have already been distributed to eligible families from this fund for Easter and will also be planned for all other school holidays until 31st March 2024.
Support for households will be arranged in two periods to balance the available funding across the full year as follows:
- Funding Period 1 – 26th June 2023 to 31st October 2023
- Funding Period 2 – 1st November 2023 to 31st March 2024.
Residents will be able to apply or may automatically received funding or support in each of the two funding periods, subject to availability.
The Household Support Fund 4 will be used to provide support to vulnerable residents in the following ways:
- Free School Meal Vouchers
- Supermarket Vouchers
- Energy Vouchers
- Food Bank Support
- Social Eating Projects Support
- Care Leaver Support
- Asylum / Refugee Support
- Mobile Food Supermarket Support
Further information on the support that is available to help with the cost of living can be found on the UK government Website Cost of Living Hub here: Cost of Living Hub
Free School Meals
Children who are entitled to Free School Meals will continue to receive support from the grant and get £15 Supermarket Voucher per week for April, May, October, Christmas and February holidays. Eligible families will also receive a one-off £50 supermarket voucher for the summer holiday period prior to the end of term in July 2023. This provides a total of £170 in support for over 18,000 eligible children.
These vouchers will continue to be provided to parents via their schools and but will be through a new supplier Sodexo. Instructions on how to redeem your vouchers can be found here:
You can check your eligibility for FSM and apply here.
Free School Meal – HSF Support in Nottingham City and Nottinghamshire County Areas
Through the HSF scheme the City and County Councils will be providing support to all eligible Free School Meals children.
Both the City and County Councils are operating different systems to provide this support and parents should check the respective websites for details, based on the location of your child’s school. Support is not determined by your home address, but where your child attends school.
If your child attends a school in Nottingham City, click here for further information.
If your child attends a school in Nottinghamshire County Council, click here for further information.
Energy and Supermarket Vouchers
From Monday 26th June vulnerable residents on a means tested benefit will be able to apply for up to 2 x £30 supermarket Vouchers and 2 x £49 energy Vouchers through one of the community based organisations listed below in Funding Period 1.
Further vouchers will be released for Funding Period 2 from 1st November 2023. With details to be published by 1st October 2023 on this website.
Digital Supermarket Vouchers will be provided through our new supplier Sodexo and residents are encouraged to provide an email to receive their vouchers when applying.
Information on how to redeem your Supermarket Vouchers
Energy Vouchers will continue to be provided through the PayPoint system and residents are also encouraged to provide either an email or mobile phone number when applying to receive their vouchers digitally.
Energy Support – New Applications Open 26th June 2023
If you have not previously applied through one of the community organisations for energy support vouchers since 1st October 2022, from 26th June 2023 you can contact the relevant community organisations to apply for 2 x £49 Paypoint Vouchers as part of Funding Period 1.
Further vouchers will be released for Funding Period 2 from 1st November 2023.
Energy Support – Previous Applications
Residents who have previously applied for and received Energy Vouchers using a mobile phone or email since October 2022 will automatically be issued with a £49 Energy Voucher in Funding Period 1 and another voucher in Funding Period 2.
If you applied for energy vouchers as part of HSF2 between April 2022 and September 2022 please apply for vouchers as a new applicant.
If you have previously applied and received for postal vouchers we will contact you by post with instructions on how to receive your Energy Vouchers. Ideally we would encourage residents to sign up for an email address and provide this to enable vouchers to be issued without delay.
Further vouchers will be released for Funding Period 2 from 1st November 2023.
Other forms of support will continue to be available, please see www.asklion.co.uk for more helpful information and organisations providing assistance.
The advice agencies and community organisations to contact are listed below. Each of these organisations will be able to provide you with general advice, support and assistance and apply for either Energy or Supermarket Vouchers on your behalf.
Your information and application will be submitted to Nottingham City Council for the purposes of administering support, advice and vouchers as part of the Household Support Fund schemes.
These organisations experience high levels of demand, but if you contact them via their contact details below, they will get back to you to arrange an appointment with you:
If you are a Pensioner, please contact Age UK Notts
If you are a Metropolitan Thames Valley Housing resident, please contact their Customer Services team
If you have a disability you can also contact Disability Support Nottingham.
If you are none of the above, please contact any of the six Advice Nottingham agencies listed below.
All partners are focused on getting the vouchers to those Nottingham residents who are in financial crisis and need support the most. Each agency issuing vouchers will use their standard eligibility assessments. People who are eligible will be those in receipt of recognised means tested benefits, or some other identifier of low income, such as:
- Universal credit
- Income-based jobseekers allowance
- Income-related employment and support allowance
- Income support
- Working tax credit
- Child tax credit
- Pension credit
If you receive an energy voucher, instructions to redeem it will be included with your voucher.
If you receive a supermarket voucher, the instructions to redeem it will appear here.
Is any other support available?
A comprehensive directory of information on help and support available in Nottingham is available here www.asklion.co.uk/money
Advice agencies and community organisations to contact for support:
If you are a pensioner, please contact Age UK Notts by completing the following form:
https://forms.office.com/r/10YVn5nhCL
Alternatively you can contact Age UK on 0115 6976314.
If you are a Metropolitan Thames Valley Housing resident, please contact:
Customers Services
Email contactus@mtvh.co.uk
Or call 0203 353 3535
Disability Support Nottingham
Email: info@ddnottingham.com
Or call 01159785095
Advice Nottingham
If you are none of the above, please contact one of the following local advice agencies where your eligibility for energy vouchers can be assessed by contacting one of the organisations below. If you are eligible for support your application will then be forwarded to Nottingham City Council for issuing vouchers.
|
Advice Agency |
Opening times |
|---|---|
|
Nottingham Law Centre, 119 Radford Road, Hyson Green, NG7 5DU Tel 0115 978 7813
|
By telephone and drop in Wednesday 9.30am – 5pm
|
|
St Ann’s Advice Centre The Chase Neighbourhood Centre, Robin Hood Chase, St Ann’s NG3 4EZ Tel |
Downstairs in the Chase Centre Tuesday and Thursday 1pm – 4pm
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|
Meadows Advice Group Queens Walk Community Centre, Queens Walk, The Meadows, NG2 2DF Tel 0115 986 0197 |
By telephone Wednesday 1pm and 4pm |
Free and confidential advice can also be obtained from the following organisations who will complete a full assessment with you and provide individual advice which may include support of energy vouchers. Please contact these organisations if you require advice for your own individual circumstances.
|
Advice Agency |
Opening times |
|---|---|
|
Bestwood Advice Centre 21 Gainsford Crescent, Bestwood Estate, NG5 5FH. Tel 0115 962 6519 |
Telephone Monday-Thursday 9.30-3.30pm
|
|
Clifton Advice Centre Clifton Cornerstone, Southchurch Drive, Clifton, NG11 8EW Tel 0115 940 5551
|
Monday-Wednesday and Friday 10-1pm by telephone or drop-in for assisted information or to book an appointment
|
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Nottingham Law Centre, 119 Radford Road, Hyson Green, NG7 5DU Tel 0115 978 7813
|
Telephone Monday-Friday 9.30-4.30pm Drop in Monday-Friday 9.30-5pm
|
|
St Ann’s Advice Centre The Chase Neighbourhood Centre, Robin Hood Chase, St Ann’s NG3 4EZ Tel 0115 950 6867
|
Monday, Tuesday and Thursday 9am – 12.20pm and 1.20pm – 3.30 pm Wednesday and Fridays 9am – 12.20pm
|
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Citizens Advice Nottingham & District 16-18 Maid Marian Way, Nottingham, NG1 6HS Tel 0808 278 7974
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Telephone Monday-Friday 9-5pm Drop-in Thursday 10-2pm for vulnerable clients that are unable to access our service by phone or digitally. |
|
Meadows Advice Group Queens Walk Community Centre, Queens Walk, The Meadows, NG2 2DF Tel 0115 986 0197
|
Monday-Friday 10-1pm
|
You can still get financial support and advice on asklion.co.uk
Advice agencies and community organisations are ideally placed to provide financial advice that can help you to get a whole range of financial support. This includes applying for benefits, tax credits, reducing debt, managing household bills and much more.
If you, or someone you know, needs financial support, your first step should be to contact one of the advice agencies or community organisations listed below.
By contacting these agencies, you will be able to talk to an impartial and confidential Adviser about the whole range of financial support and solutions available to you over the longer term.
A directory of information on help and support available in Nottingham is available here www.asklion.co.uk/money
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