About the fund
The UK Government provides funding through the Household Support Fund to help support Merton residents during the cost of living crisis.
There have been four Household Support Funding schemes. Each scheme has had an objective to support all low-income households with additional focus on specific target groups to ensure the widest range of help has been available to residents at different times.
Household Support Fund scheme 5
To support residents from 1 April 2024 to 30 September 2024.
The Government recently announced funding for a fifth scheme. We plan to publish full details of the scheme by mid-May 2024. Please check back later or sign up to Merton's e-newsletter for updates.
In the meantime, see our Cost of Living page for information and support.
Household Support Fund scheme 4
1 April 2023 to 31st March 2024
Funds received = £2,372,215
Focus of the fund – none identified by the Government. Targeted to low income households and those presenting as in need.
How the fund was distributed
- £5440 - support for 32 residents who did not receive the earlier support from the Household Support Fund or the Government Cost of living fund (because they only receive Housing Benefit and no other benefit or tax credit). Each household received £170 each paid by Post Office Payout vouchers. Eligible residents did not need to apply for this payment.
- £48,603.20 - provide fuel vouchers to those in fuel hardship. This was delivered in Partnership with Thinking Works.
- £56,000 support for care leavers, foster carers and special guardians. Paid directly to bank accounts. . Eligible residents did not need to apply for this payment.
- £97,010.58 - support for 66 households to prevent homelessness. Residents were able to apply for this support and eligibility was decided using the Discretionary Housing Support Fund scheme. This was made available after the DWP Discretionary Housing Payment funding had been exhausted
- £168,150.85 - to provide for application based referrals from residents for help with financial hardship. This was delivered in partnership with Wimbledon Guild.
- £519,360 - support for 8656 residents of pension age in receipt of Council Tax Support on 30th September 2023. Each household received £60 each paid by Post Office Payout vouchers. Eligible residents did not need to apply for this payment.
- £1,406,165.48 - 7282 vouchers issued to families in receipt of free school meals towards the cost of food during school holidays. This has been paid by vouchers directly to eligible families.
Statistics
| Household composition | a) Households with Children | b) Households with Pension age | c) Households with disabled person | d) Other households | c) Total (a+b+c+d) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spend | £1,708,124 | £ 179,694 | £80,229 | £332,683 | £2,300,730 | |
| Number of households supported | 10,520 | 2,742 | 618 | 3,500 | 17,380 |
| Value of awards by category | a) Food (excluding Free School Meals support) | b) FSM during holidays | c) Energy and Water | d) Essentials linked to Energy and Water | e) Wider Essentials | f) Housing Costs | g) admin costs | h) Total (a+b+c+d+e+f+g) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spend (£s) | £328,373 | £1,406,165 | £313,525 | £143,719 | £11,937 | £97,011 | £72,485 | £2,373,215 |
| Number of support items | 4,839 | 7,282 | 5,147 | 308 | 102 | 66 | 0 | 17,744 |