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HUNDREDS of households are being urged to look out for letters landing on doormats this week worth £200.

The help comes via the £421million Household Support Fund which has been spread across councils in England.

Hands holding a fan of twenty-pound British banknotes.
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The Household Support Fund could help you cover the costs of everyday livingCredit: Getty

Each local authority has been given a unique share of the fund and can decide how it wants to use it to help residents in need.

Adur and Worthing borough councils, in Sussex, are posting letters to 200 households letting them know they're eligible for supermarket vouchers worth £200 this week.

The actual vouchers will then be sent via email within 14 days of the letters being posted.

They are being issued to households where someone falls outside the eligibility criteria for Pension Credit and therefore won't qualify for the Winter Fuel Payment.

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The Winter Fuel Payment is worth up to £300 and paid to those on low incomes to cover the cost of fuel over the colder months.

Adur and Worthing councils said the vouchers can be used in supermarkets to buy groceries or households.

We have asked what supermarkets they can be spent at and how residents can redeem them and we'll update this story when we have heard back.

Help if you live outside Adur and Worthing

You might be eligible for help through the Household Support Fund, even if you live outside of Adur and Worthing.

However, each local authority in England has been given a unique share of the £421million fund, so that means what you're eligible for depends on where you live.

Some councils are distributing vouchers that can be used to cover energy bills or food while others are paying money directly into bank accounts.

How to cut energy costs and get help with FOUR key household bills

Whether you are eligible for help depends on where you live, although in most cases if you are on benefits, a low income or vulnerable, you should qualify for help.

In the latest Household Support Fund round, lots of local councils are handing out help to pensioners who have missed out on the Winter Fuel Payment because they don't qualify for Pension Credit.

Bear in mind, councils have been distributing help via the Household Support Fund since last October and have until the end of March to allocate their share.

That means some councils may have already depleted their funds and you're too late.

Check with your local council if you're eligible for any help. You can find your local council via www.gov.uk/find-local-council.

OTHER HELP THIS WINTER

Households will still be feeling the pinch post-Christmas, but there is lots of help at hand beyond the Household Support Fund.

If you're struggling to cover the cost of food and are on benefits, you might be able to get help via the Healthy Start scheme.

Those eligible get a card which gets topped up with free cash that can be spent on food and other essentials at certain UK shops.

You can get the card topped up by as much as £442 a year, depending on your circumstances.

Find out more via www.healthystart.nhs.uk.

You could get a grant from your energy firm if you've fallen behind on your bills too.

British Gas and Octopus Energy both have schemes that offer to pay you non-repayable grants.

Other energy companies are handing out freebies like electric blankets and air fryers too, including Octopus Energy and EDF.

It's worth checking if you can get your council tax bill reduced or even wiped completely if you're on a low income or benefits too.

For example, single person households can get a 25% discount while pensioners on the Guarantee Credit part of Pension Credit can get up to 100% off.

Check if you qualify for benefits - billions of pounds' worth is going unclaimed, according to Policy in Practice.

READ MORE SUN STORIES

There are three major free calculators you can use to see what you might be entitled to:

Are you missing out on benefits?

YOU can use a benefits calculator to help check that you are not missing out on money you are entitled to

Charity  works out what you could get.

Entitledto's  determines whether you qualify for various benefits, tax credit and Universal Credit.

MoneySavingExpert.com and charity StepChange both have benefits tools powered by Entitledto's data.

You can use  to determine which benefits you could receive and how much cash you'll have left over each month after paying for housing costs.

Your exact entitlement will only be clear when you make a claim, but calculators can indicate what you might be eligible for.

Do you have a money problem that needs sorting? Get in touch by emailing [email protected].

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