Household support fund

The household support fund (HSF) offers help to Derbyshire residents facing financial hardship by providing grants and other financial support. The fund is provided to us by the Department of Work and Pensions.

Following previous allocations of HSF funding, a further grant has been made available for use in Derbyshire up to 31 March 2024.

The fund will be distributed in a variety of ways over the coming months.

Household support fund grants

We are using part of the Household Support Grant funding to increase the scope of the Derbyshire Discretionary Fund so we can help more residents.

Households facing financial hardship can apply directly to the Derbyshire Discretionary Fund for help towards their food, and energy costs.

Households can access up to 3 awards in a 12-month period.

Payments are £64 per household plus an extra £20 will be provided for each partner or spouse, and each dependent child aged under 19.

How to apply

Residents can apply to receive support from the Derbyshire Discretionary Fund by phone, tel: 01629 533399.

When an application is made, we will take some personal information during the call and then an assessor will phone back to discuss the application in more detail.

The assessor will need to know:

• how a person or family is in crisis and what will happen if help is not quickly made available 
• what money and savings might be available or have been applied for

Other things to bear in mind

We can only make an award to someone who is over 16, and who lives in Derbyshire.

We can only make an award to those who can demonstrate how and why they are facing financial hardship. 

We have a limited amount of money and all applications will be assessed on the basis of need, urgency and risk.

We'll seek to share information with applicants about other forms of help and support that are available, which could improve their situation further.

We will also be working with children's service professionals and partners to identify and support vulnerable families with household support fund grants directly.

Other support from the household support fund

Grocery and cost of living vouchers

In the coming months further support will be available including: 

• 2 grocery vouchers before March 2024 for children who receive benefit related free school meals, children in an early years setting (nurseries and pre-schools) who receive free childcare for 2 year-olds or the early years pupil premium for 3 and 4-year-olds, and care leavers aged up to 21 years of age living independently
• a cost of living voucher for low income pensioners and adults receiving home care in early 2024

Further information about when these vouchers will be distributed will be published when it's available.

Local district and borough councils

District and borough councils have been allocated funds to help with council tax and rent arrears, homelessness and temporary housing where other existing schemes do not apply or are not available. 

Please contact your local district or borough council about any support available.

Other support available

Funds have also been awarded to local voluntary sector organisations who will work in the community to identify and provide grants to hard-to-reach or isolated pensioner or unpaid carer households who are facing hardship.

You can find more information about support available locally on the cost of living. The government website has also got information about the help that is available to households and cost of living support.