Following previous allocations of HSF funding, a further grant has been made available for use in Derbyshire up to 30 September 2024.
The fund will be distributed in a variety of ways over the coming months.
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 considerations
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 vouchers for families with children, and care leavers
In June 2024, eligible households were sent a grocery voucher worth £38 per child or young person.
The one-off vouchers were sent to the parents and carers of children and young people who met the following criteria between 1 September 2023 and 10 May 2024:
- children who receive benefit related free school meals
- children in an early years setting (nurseries and pre-schools) who receive
- care leavers aged up to 21 years of age living independently
Vouchers were mostly sent by email, and a small number by text message.
If you haven't received your voucher and you think you're eligible, firstly please check your junk email folder.
If you still can’t see your voucher, your child’s school office may be able to help you quickly access your voucher code as all schools have all been sent copies for each of their eligible pupils.
If your child is in an early years setting or your school can’t help, please fill in our missing voucher reporting form. Please note it may take up to 2 weeks for us to respond due to the sheer number of enquiries we receive.
If you plan to approach your school for help, please don't fill in the form until after you’ve spoken to the school to prevent duplication of work as this increases our response times.
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 pensioners or unpaid carer households who are facing hardship.
You can find more information about support available locally on the cost of living.
The government has also got information about the help that is available to households and cost of living support.