Thousands of struggling households can claim free cost of living cash worth £250

16 December 2023 , 07:00

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Thousands of households can claim a cost of living payment worth £250 (Image: Getty Images)

Thousands of households in London can claim a free cash payment worth £250 to help with the cost of living.

The cash payments are being given through the Government Household Support Fund. This scheme has given each local council a pot to spend on cost of living support and how to money is spent is down to each council. Support usually ranges from cash payments to supermarket vouchers and council tax discounts.

Enfield Council was given £ 5.6million in funding and has decided to provide struggling households with cash payments of up to £250 - however in "exceptional circumstances" you could receive more. Applications for the money are now open and will remain open until March 2024 or when the funding has been spent.

According to Enfield Council's website, you can apply for the support if your annual household income is less than £40,000 and you have savings of less than £1,000. This does not include benefit payments such as Personal Independence Payments (PIP), Disability Living Allowance, Attendance Allowance, Carers Allowance, or Child Benefit.

In your application, you will need to detail the hardship you are experiencing and why you are not able to meet these expenses. You will also need to send proof of income for all household members, and a copy of your most recent bank statement and utility bill if you need help with energy or water bills. Enfield Council says it will automatically reject claims which do not have the required documents attached.

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You can download the application form from Enfield's Council's website here and you can email your application, alongside all supporting documents to [email protected]. Once you have made an application, the council says it will try and approve your case within 10 days.

You will then be sent a letter with a voucher code which can be redeemed at the Post Office. You will need ID to exchange the cash and ID can include a Freedom Pass, bank card, driving licence or passport.

If you are not a resident of Enfield you will not be able to claim this help however your local council will be offering its own support. To find out what this is you should go to your local council's website. Usually, they will have a separate cost of living tab which details the help on offer. You should be aware that 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.

Ruby Flanagan