The current round of the Household Support Fund started on the 1st of April, and is due to end on the 30th of September, or once funds are exhausted, whichever is sooner.

Through this scheme, Local Authorities are provided with funds from central government, and are able to deliver programmes of support for some residents. During Round 5 we have been delivering financial support for low-income, vulnerable residents in Halton, Sefton and Wirral.

We would like our referral partners to note that, due to high demand for the scheme, we can no longer accept referrals for financial support for non-prepay customers in either Halton or Sefton. Referrals for Wirral residents will continue until further notice.

We can still accept referrals for fuel debt, and help with heating, in all areas, but we will assess client eligibility for alternative sources of funding, as these aspects of Household Support Fund have also now been fully allocated, apart from Wirral, where applications for fuel debt reduction will continue until further notice.

We were pleased to read in the news this week that government intends to launch Round 6 of the Household Support Fund, to run from October through to March 2025. We will provide a further update in due course, to confirm whether this will lead to a relaunch of these aspect of our support vulnerable residents. In any event, there may be a gap between Round 5 closing and Round 6 launching, while our Local Authority partners agree details with government.