Cost-of-living payments revealed for certain Nottinghamshire homes through Household Support Fund

It means thousands of households will get £100 payments to help with food, energy bills and other costs from the Household Support Fund, nationwide support distributed by the Government but administered by local councils.

Families with children eligible for or claiming free school meals will continue to receive support, alongside pensioners claiming pension credit, but now Nottinghamshire Council has revealed financial help will also be provided to people identified as ‘needing immediate support’ with the cost-of-living crisis.

This includes households not eligible for Government support packages including energy support schemes, cost-of-living payments, disability payments and one-off pensioner payments.

The scheme, originally launched during the coronavirus pandemic to help struggling families, has already handed out more than £11m across Nottinghamshire in two rounds of £5.6m, with the authority expecting the same amount in round three, this winter.

Families eligible or in receipt of free school meals will receive a share of £2m, with 20,000 households including 30,000 children identified as in need of support.

Some 15,500 homes with at least one person of pensionable age eligible for, or in receipt of, pension credit will also receive a £100 grant.

And a further 15,364 homes have been identified as needing ‘immediate support’ with the cost-of-living crisis.

The authority is also allocating £30,000 for each of the seven district and borough councils, including Mansfield, Ashfield, Broxtowe and Bassetlaw, to be spent supporting people at risk of becoming homeless.

Cash will be given to each council for discretionary housing payments targeted at residents at risk of losing their homes.

The remaining £350,000 will be spent on administration costs, taking the total support fund to £5.6m.

In a report, Derek Higton, county council service director for place and communities, said: “Discretionary housing payments are an extremely useful way partners can directly support households at risk of homelessness.

“Demand for such support has increased, but budgets of housing authorities have decreased.”

Coun John Cottee, portfolio holder for communities, was due to approve the fund allocation this week.

It will then be distributed to eligible households throughout the winter, with no dates for the fund’s distribution provided at this stage by the authority.