Cost of living cash worth up to £300 can be claimed by households this month
Households can get a free cash payment of £300 to help with the cost of living this month.
Shropshire Council is issuing the money as part of its Household Support Fund. This government-funded scheme gives local councils pots of cash, which they can then spend on helping residents who are behind on bills or on low incomes. Each council offers different support, and often, it ranges from cash payments to discounts on bills and energy or supermarket vouchers.
Shropshire Council was given £ 2.1 million from the government, and it will provide cost of living payments worth £300 to low-income pensioner households and £100 payments to care leavers. To be eligible for the support, pensioner households need to be in receipt of council tax support and/or Housing Benefit but not Pension Credit.
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All households who are eligible for the support have been sent a letter with details on how to apply. Eligible households can apply for the payment online through Shropshire Council's website, households applying will need to have their National Insurance number and their letter which has a unique identifier code. If you have not received a letter from Shropshire Council but believe you are eligible, then you should contact them directly.
Households will need to act fast if they want to access the support. The deadline to claim the £300 is January 26. After this date, applications for help will close for good. Introduced by the Tory government in October 2021, the scheme has been extended multiple times with the most recent one being from the current Labour government. The extension gave an extra £421million to councils.
You cannot apply for this scheme if you do not live in Shropshire. However, your local council will have its own Household Support Scheme you can access. You should keep an eye out for any updates on the schemes on your local authority's website.
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