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Round 7 of the Household Support Fund is now open

Round 7 of the Household Support Fund is now available until 31 March 2026 unless all funding has been exhausted.

To apply for the fund, please visit

Benefits calculator

Before submitting an application for the Household Support Fund payment, you may be eligible for additional long-term support or benefits.

Complete the councils benefits calculator and income maximisation tool to find out your entitlement.

About the Household Support Fund

Preston City Council will administer the seventh round of funding for the Household Support Fund on behalf of the UK Government.

The grant is funded by the in accordance with the Funded by UK Government Branding Manual.

The objective of this round of funding is to provide crisis support to vulnerable households in most need with the cost of essentials.

The secondary objective is to provide preventative support to prevent vulnerable households from falling into or falling further into crisis.

Applicants must reside in the Preston area.

Only one application per household will be accepted during this round of funding unless additional funding becomes available.

If you have claimed the Household Support Fund in previous rounds a decision will be made on your eligibility.

Applications can be made online and require all evidence to be provided at the time of application otherwise the case will be declined.

Application Process

The Household Fund aims to provide a contribution of crisis support to vulnerable households in most need, with the cost of essentials.

It is intended to help residents who do not have enough resources to meet immediate short term needs and who require assistance with essential items over the coming months. 

It can help with:

• Energy and Water
• Food
• Essentials linked to energy, water and food
• Wider essentials.

Please note no awards will be made towards clothing or transport costs.

It is not intended for general financial hardship support which is not linked to energy, water, food, or essentials linked to these.

This fund is not intended for general financial hardship support that is unrelated to energy, water, food, or other essential needs connected to these areas.

The fund will only consider help with housing costs if all other sources of help have been sought, for example .

Payments will be made on a first come first served basis.

All applications will be processed strictly in order of date received and only if all requested supporting documentation is complete.

Eligibility

To be eligible for the scheme you must be:

• A resident of the Preston area - please visit 
• Experiencing financial hardship and not have enough resources to meet your immediate short-term needs.

Your application will be declined if you have received 6 or more previous awards from the Household Support Fund.

Emergency fuel voucher support

If someone in your household requires emergency fuel support, whilst you wait for your application to be processed please contact Citizens Advice on the following details:

• Contact number - 07985192280 -  you will need to leave a voicemail message which includes your name, contact number and type of energy support you require. 
• Contact email address - energysupport@prestoncitizensadvice.org.uk - send an email which includes your name, contact number and type of energy support you require. 

Citizens Advice will contact you directly, during office hours which are Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday 9.15am - 3.15pm. If your email or call arrives outside these times it will be dealt with on the next working day.

• Citizens Advice line Telephone Number - 0808 278 7883

Support available

The scheme can help with short term living costs such as food, gas electric, water and  household bills, (this is not an exhaustive list).

Please also visit  to find out what support is available to help with the cost of living. This includes income and disability benefits, bills and allowances, childcare, housing and travel.

The scheme will also sign post you to other sources of advice and support to ensure that you get all the assistance you may be entitled to including Welfare Benefits and Debt Advice to help address your long term needs, this is before any decisions are made.

Please note, white goods, furniture and flooring can be considered under this scheme, however further investigations may be required and the decision of the council will be final.

Only one item of white goods/furniture will be awarded per household for the duration of the scheme.

Restrictions

The scheme does not cover:

• Items that are not essential - this includes for example Tumble driers, TV's etc
• Items for fully furnishing a home
• Debts incurred by gambling or loans/credit cards, HP or overdrafts
• Applications from those with sufficient income, savings, capital and assets
• Requests for household items that are the responsibility of landlords
• Moving costs/rent arrears and/or deposits unless meeting an exceptional need
• One application per household -. Previous awards made from prior Household Support Schemes will be taken into consideration during this round.
• If supporting evidence is not provided at the time of application, then applications will be declined immediately

How to apply

Round 7 of the Household Support Fund will open on Tuesday 27 May 2025. 

Applications are to be made online using our online form.

The council aim to deal with applications within 20 working days from receipt of the application and supporting evidence (as detailed below).

Please provide all supporting evidence at the time of application, ensuring you fully complete the application form, giving as much detail as possible. 

Please do not contact the council or submit multiple applications as this will delay the progress of your application and we will be unable to acknowledge your further contact.

For any queries with your online application please call 01772 906777.

What information to include

• Complete the application form in full - do not leave any blank answers.
• Give as much information as possible detailing why you need assistance. Simply writing "increase in bills" will result in your application being declined.
• You will need to provide one-full months bank statements for all adults in the household for all accounts held. These must be dated within the last 2 months. These must show your personal details including name, address and account number and must be in date order. Screenshots will not be accepted unless they give the above information.

Please Note - Failure to provide the above at the time of application will result in your application being declined immediately. 

• If you pay your energy bills by direct debit or require help with any other household bills, we will require a copy of the front and back pages of the bill, showing your name, address, account number and the balance on the bill.
• If you pay for energy via a top up meter, please provide details of who your supplier is and what type of meter you have and how and where you can top up your meter.
• Evidence of any gambling on the bank statements provided will be investigated further as awards will not normally be made where there is any evidence of gambling.

Incomplete applications will result in your application being declined so please ensure that it is fully completed.

Can I appeal a decision if my application is unsuccessful?

As this is a discretionary scheme there is no right of appeal, however if you think we have overlooked important information then you can ask us to reconsider your application by emailing:

• household@preston.gov.uk 

Please ensure you detail the reasons why and include your name, address and case reference number.

As this is a discretionary scheme, there is no entitlement to it and decisions are based on your current circumstances. There is no right of appeal, however if you think we have overlooked important information then you can ask us to reconsider your application by emailing household@preston.gov.uk detailing the reasons why and including your name, address and case reference number.

The Council's decision is final

Any form of abusive messages are not acceptable and will not be tolerated by the Council.

Your privacy

The information that you provide will be processed in accordance with the (GDPR) and data protection law for the purpose of provision and management of the Household Support Fund. Your data maybe shared with  to assist with the purpose of your grant application and Preston City Council for the purposes of checking your eligibility for any further discounts or exemptions on your council tax.   

Your personal information, where provided, will be processed under Article 6,1 (e) of the GDPR - processing is necessary for the performance of a task carried out in the public interest or in the exercise of official authority vested in the controller.