Household Support Fund

The Department of Work and Pensions has allocated approximately £3.9 million to support low-income and vulnerable households.  

Subject to formal approval, the details of the scheme are outlined below.

Households with children aged 0 to 19-years-old and in receipt of benefit-related free school meals

To qualify for a grant, you must live in a household with children who are under 19-years-old and attend a school within Hillingdon on a full time basis, and you must be in receipt of at least 1 of the following benefits:    

• income support 
• income-based jobseeker's allowance 
• income-related employment and support allowance 
• support under Part VI of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999
• the guaranteed element of pension credit 
• child tax credit (providing you are not also entitled to working tax credit and your annual gross income is no more than £16,190)
• working tax credit run-on (paid for 4 weeks after you stop qualifying for working tax credit)  
• universal credit - your household income must be less than £7,400 a year after tax and not including any benefits you receive.

If you have any children who fall under the following groups, you will need to make an online application for support during the school holiday period:

• children under 5-years-old not attending school 
• children who are registered with Hillingdon as home educated 
• children registered with Hillingdon SEN attending an independent special educational needs school 
• children attending a 6th form or college in year 12 or year 13.

Food - supporting children attending Hillingdon schools

Subject to eligibility, you will receive a total of £180 per child from April 2025 to March 2026.  

This will be split into the following separate payments:  

• 1st payment £30 (paid week beginning 7 April 2025) -   Easter break 
• 2nd payment £15 (paid week beginning 26 May 2025) - May half term  
• 3rd payment £40 (paid week beginning 21 July 2025) - Summer break 
• 4th payment £35 (paid week beginning 11 August 2025) - Summer break 
• 5th payment £15 (paid week beginning 27 October 2025) - October half term 
• 6th payment £30 (paid week beginning 22 December 2025) - Christmas break 
• 7th payment £15 (paid week beginning 16 February 2026) - February half term 2026.

Important:  

• If your child receives benefit-related free school meals and you have not received a meal voucher, you must contact your child's school to check your eligibility - they will then notify Hillingdon Council.      
• The deadline for applications for the Easter break is Wednesday 30 April - applications received after this date will not be eligible for the Easter payment but may be eligible for future payments.  
• Notifications from schools must be received at least 2 weeks before the start of the school holiday period - we are unable to make payments retrospectively. 

Pensioners' support

If you are no longer entitled to receive the Winter Fuel Allowance, were born before 23 September 1959 and are financially struggling, please make an application for utility support.

Exceptional support  

If you need additional assistance, due to exceptional hardship, you may be eligible for help.

Grant criteria

Applications for pensioners and exceptional support will be assessed using the following criteria.  

• you are experiencing financial hardship
• you are not financially able to replace essential appliances
• you live within the borough of Hillingdon.

Please note: 

• You may only make an application if you have not received support from the household support fund in the past 12 months.  
• Applications will only be accepted from residents living within the borough of Hillingdon. 
• We will not accept multiple applications to the fund - making repeat applications will only cause delays in getting support to others in need.  
• Applications will receive the grant award using a voucher system. There are no cash awards available.  
• If you live with a spouse or partner, you must make a joint application for your household, even if your spouse/partner is not applying. Your eligibility will depend on your joint income and savings.  
• All applications relating to exceptional support require proof of household income, which must include:
  • 2 most recent payslips/proof of earnings or benefits statements, last 2 months bank account statements, savings statements and investments statements
  • an income and expenditure form for the household.
• We may also request further information relating to your income and expenditure during the application assessment.  
• Pensioners must not be eligible for the Winter Fuel Allowance to receive utility support.
• All applications for pensioners support must include a utility bill dated within the last 2 months in addition to the above.
• Where the necessary supporting evidence is not included, applications will be rejected.  

Important: You will not be eligible for assistance if:  

• you have more than £500 in money, savings, or investments  
• you do not live within the borough of Hillingdon.

Applications will open soon.

Fraud  

You may face prosecution if you have manipulated or falsified your position in order to obtain this payment.

If you are found to have made a fraudulent claim, you may be asked to pay the money back.    

Please note: We will be contacting residents to check that the information they have provided is correct.   

Reviewing the scheme 

We will keep the scheme under review and may make changes to the scheme, as is required, to ensure the needs of Hillingdon residents continue to be met. 

For information on additional support that may be available, visit the government's website.