Thousands of households to get cost of living vouchers worth up to £500 – see if you are eligible

THOUSANDS of low income households can get up to £500 in free cash to help with essential bills.

Support payments in Kensington and Chelsea can range between £20 a week for Free School Meals to £500 for low-income residents.

You're eligible for a £100 payment provided you live in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea and claim benefits.

These include either the Housing Benefit, Council Tax Reduction or Universal Credit Housing Allowance.

You can only claim one payment per household.

If you're the tenant or property owner and receive either Housing Benefit or Council Tax Reduction, you don't need to apply.

This is because you will automatically receive the payment as you're deemed eligible.

Residents are advised to look out for a council letter in the post if they don't have your bank details.

Once you've got a hold of the form, fill it out and send it back as soon as you can.

Bear in mind that you will need to send in supporting evidence of your bank details with a statement dated within the last 6 months.

If you're a tenant or property owner receiving Universal Credit Housing Allowance in this borough, you will need to apply for the Low Income Support Payment.

Payments are currently being processed and will be made as soon as possible to your bank. 

The support is available under the government's Household Support Fund.

The scheme works by handing councils up and down the country a slice of funding available to dish out to Brits in need.

Each local authority gets a different proportion of funding depending on the size of the catchment area, population, and number of vulnerable households.

The voucher or grant amounts vary by location, so you must check to see what you can get and how your council will pay you.

The national scheme was renewed for the fifth time in April 2024, and more and more councils are beginning to share their local scheme's criteria.

The largest single award of £500 can be claimed by the Tenancy Support Fund - head to their website to see if you're eligible.

It's thought that up to 6,000 residents could be positively impacted by council support.

The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea recently saw an auto-enrolment pilot for free school meals, providing support for 168 more pupils.

The pilot was introduced as many parents were unaware of the programme and not applying even when eligible.

Families can opt out if they wish to but only four chose to do.

The children are now set to receive meals not just in school time, but also vouchers for the upcoming summer holidays.

The trial took place in January 2024 as the Kensington and Chelsea Council wanted cost-of-living support to reach those most in need.

Before the pilot, free school meals were an opt-in scheme, where parents needed to apply for the support.

In autumn 2023, around 4410 children in the borough were receiving free school meals, but this rose to 4,578 after the pilot.

Free school meals can save a family around £570 per year for each child.

Support continues during the school holidays, with supermarket vouchers and guaranteed access to Holiday Activity and Food Programme places throughout the summer holidays.

Once a child is eligible for free school meals, the support
continues for at least the duration of their phase of education.

Schools also benefit as they receive additional government funding, known as the pupil premium, to address attainment gaps due to disadvantage.

With the success of the pilot, the
Council is making this an annual exercise to be carried out each summer.
Cllr Catherine Faulks, lead member for children’s services at Kensington and Chelsea Council said: "Children learn well when they are well-fed and comfortable.

"But not all parents know they are eligible for the support or are confident to come forward.

"The auto-enrolment pilot removes these barriers so we can give
families an extra bit of support with the cost of living and hopefully lead to better learning outcomes for children."

What are other councils offering?

Residents in Blackpool can receive up to £300 in support from the Household Support Fund.

Those living in Bracknell Forest could be eligible for a £315 cash grant.

Low-income households in Cambridgeshire can apply for a financial award of £110 per household.

Those living in Falkirk in receipt of a council tax reduction, housing benefit, Universal Credit, income support, jobseekers allowance or pension credit can apply for up to £470 in cash support.