HOUSEHOLDS who are claiming Universal Credit can get free cash worth up to £1,000 to help pay their bills.
The support ranges from council tax discounts to supermarket food vouchers, and every little helps especially at this time of year.
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Christmas is a wonderful time of year for families to get together but it can also bring financial woes for many.
The rising cost of living along with the extra Christmas spending can leave some household budgets stretched more than usual.
However, if you are claiming Universal Credit there is extra help out there, and what’s even better is you won’t have to pay it back.
We have rounded up all of the help that you could be eligible for this Christmas.
Read more on Money
Extra benefits and support
If you are claiming Universal Credit you could be eligible for other help too, so it’s worth checking.
Millions of Brits are missing out on cash they are entitled to purely because they don’t know what they qualify for.
For instance, you might be eligible for some extra support if you are caring for someone.
You could also be entitled to help with housing costs, and checking what you might be able to get couldn’t be simpler.
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There are many benefit checkers you can use to help you work out what you might be able to claim in addition to Universal Credit.
Before using the tools, you will need to have key financial information to hand.
This includes things such as bank and savings statements, and information on pensions and existing benefits.
If you have a partner or live with other family members you should also have their information to hand too, as this could affect your claim.
We have put together a guide to the different benefits checkers you can use to make sure that you are not missing out.
Get a council tax discount
Council tax is one of the biggest household bills and the most important – if you fall behind you could be asked to pay the entire yearly upfront.
If you don’t pay your council tax it could result in bailiffs visiting your home, court action, or even imprisonment.
Paying this bill is important, so if you are struggling you should seek help straight away, and not bury your head in the sand.
A good place to start is Citizens Advice as they will be able to advise you of your options.
It is also sometimes possible to get council tax debt written off using a little-known rule.
Many people don’t know that they could qualify for a discount on their council tax and some could even be exempt from paying it at all.
Reductions are available for those on low incomes, people claiming certain benefits, those caring for others as well as other circumstances.
Reductions can vary and can be anything from 25% off to 100% which would mean you would not need to pay anything towards this bill.
You can check out when you might get a council tax discount in our guide or contact your local council to check what support you can claim and apply.
Grant schemes
Some low-income families may be eligible for charitable grants to cover the cost of housing.
Grants are different from loans as most do not need to be paid back.
Turn2Us has a tool that can help you check out grants available near you on its website.
You’ll need to enter some personal information like your postcode, your gender, and your age.
Household Support Fund
The Household Support Fund (HSF) is a fund totalling £500million that has been handed out by the government to local councils.
It is designed to help struggling households with rising living costs and it is up to each council as to how they dish out the cash.
Some local councils give out supermarket vouchers, while others award cash payments of up to £200.
What help you get depends on where you live and what has been agreed for your area.
You can find your local council using the GOV.UK tool and searching for your postcode to see what help is available near you.
It’s worth checking sooner rather than later as there are deadlines for applying and some are coming up soon.
£150 off your energy bill
If you are on certain benefits you can get £150 off your energy bill through the Warm House Discount.
It is available to households on the lowest incomes to help with rising costs.
Households in England and Wales don’t need to apply, they will automatically qualify if they receive certain benefits.
Households in Scotland will have to follow the rules set out in the legacy scheme.
This means some homes in Scotland will receive an automatic payment but other households will need to apply.
The support does not come in the form of a cash payment, it will be applied as a discount directly by your energy supplier.
Cash for paying rent
The Discretionary Housing Payment is a pot of money handed out by councils to those struggling to keep a roof over their heads.
Anyone getting benefits for housing in England and Wales can apply for financial support through the scheme.
The exact amount you get depends on where you live though, and is dished out on a case-by-case basis.
The cost of your housing, the size of your family and if you’ve fallen behind on rent are among the circumstances that will be taken into account to work out the help you’ll get.
Last year, the Sun found that the average Discretionary Housing Payment (DHP) was £965, based on freedom of information requests sent to 30 of the biggest councils.
The difference in the maximum amount given out ranged from £32,000 in Brent to £145 in Wakefield, based on the 17 councils that responded.
Here’s everything you need to know about who can get the cash and how to claim it.
Welfare assistance scheme
Local welfare assistance is provided by local authorities to help people on low incomes.
Schemes vary depending on your location and you can usually only apply if you are receiving certain benefits such as:
- Employment and Support Allowance (Income-related)
- Jobseeker’s Allowance (Income-based)
- Universal Credit
- Pension Credit
- Income Support
The amount you get is entirely discretionary, and you cannot claim cash.
You could be offered vouchers for food, clothing or even furniture.
Read more on The Sun
Not every council in England runs this scheme but The Children’s Society and the Child Poverty Action Group have a free tool you can use to find out those who do.
Meanwhile, we explain how you could get free cash worth £6,522 on Universal Credit.
