Thousands of households will be getting a cost of living payment worth £100 at the end of this month.
The money will be paid to residents in Leeds by the council through its Household Support Fund scheme. The Household Support Fund is a Government initiative which provides each local council with a pot of cash which it can use to help those struggling with the cost of living.
Each council can decide how it spends its money and usually, the help comes in the forms of a cash payment, supermarket vouchers, or energy support. Leeds Council will be using its Household Support Fund cash to provide cash payments of £75 and £100.
The £100 payment will be given to households with pensioners or children who receive Council Tax support. The £75 payment will be given to working-age households without children. To be eligible to receive the money, the households must have been claiming the Council Tax support on the qualifying date which was Monday, October 23.
Leeds Council says those eligible do not need to make a claim, the Council will instead contact you if you are eligible for a payment. According to Leeds Council's website, the payments will be made by the end of November and the money will be given out through Post Office vouchers.
Leeds residents can then take their vouchers to the Post Office to be exchanged for cash. You can find out more about Leeds Household Support Fund on their website here.
Leeds Council says additional funding will be available to residents who need emergency support with the costs of food, energy or household items. This help is being made available through Leeds Council's Local Welfare Support Scheme - for this Leeds residents will need to make an application for the support.
What is the Household Support Fund scheme?
The Household Support Fund scheme was first introduced in 2021, and it has been extended multiple times due to the rising cost of living. The most recent extension gave councils an extra £842million to spend between March 2023 and March 2024.
Councils are not allowed to use this money for anything else and if they do not spend it they will need to give it back to the central Government. As we've mentioned before, each individual council decides how it can spend the money. This means each council will offer different support, and you can only claim help from your local authority.
To know what your local authority is offering you will need to go to their website. Councils often only have certain windows to apply for any help so you will need to keep an eye out on when these windows are. You can find out who your local council is by entering your postcode into the GOV.UK checker here.