Thousands of households have just weeks left to apply for up to £300 in free cash – see the eligibility criteria

HOUSEHOLDS can claim up to £300 in cash to help pay for bills and food.

The helping hand comes from the Household Support Fund – but be quick, you only have until January 31.

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Councils across England are dipping into a £421million cash pot put towards helping struggling households.

Each area will decide what the cash is used for and who gets it.

That means eligibility is different for each area, but the money is normally given to households on low incomes to help pay for food, energy bills and other essential items.

A couple of areas, including Nottinghamshire and Harrow, have deadlines at the end of January, so you’ll need to be quick if you want to get involved.

Those living in Harrow, London, can apply for free cash worth up to £300.

Meanwhile, people in Nottinghamshire can get up to £180.

However, do note for each that how much you’ll get will depend on your circumstances.

Here’s who’s eligible for each and how to apply.

Harrow

Harrow Council is offering 750 households one-off cash payments worth £300 direct into their bank accounts.

To avoid missing out you should apply now – there’s only a limited amount of cash that can go out.

You’ll need to be the one to pay for energy in the property you live in and no one else in your household can have received help via the Household Support Fund before.

Plus, if you’ve already received the £650 cost of living payment or £150 disability cost of living payment you won’t be eligible.

And you have to meet a number of other criteria, including receiving certain benefits.

For the full details, you should check out Harrow Council’s website.

You can apply for the £300 payment on Harrow Council’s website – but bear in mind you’ll need to submit evidence proving your eligibility.

This will likely include a recent bank statement from at most three months ago – so have that handy in case.

Nottinghamshire

Households in Nottinghamshire can collect cash to go towards food and energy bills this month if they’re struggling.

They can get £90 for each child claiming free school meals – £30 towards food costs and £60 for covering energy costs.

If the household has more than one child eligible for free school meals, the household will receive an additional £30 per child towards their food costs.

For example, two eligible children can get £120 in support.

Three children could get £150, while households with four children could get £180 in support.

Eligible households can apply for the payment from now by completing an online form on the council’s website.

If anyone is unable to complete the form, they should contact the council’s customer service team.

It’s best to check in with Nottinghamshire County Council’s website to get more information about the scheme and to see if you are eligible.

Make sure you have information to hand about your financial situation, like any payslips or benefit payments you get.

What if I don’t live in Harrow or Nottinghamshire?

Your local council will likely have its own version of the scheme going and you should get in contact with them to find out more.

But be quick – while the deadline for councils to hand out the latest tranche of HSF cash support is March 31, 2023, it’s done on a first-come-first-serve basis.

Some examples include Wolverhampton Council, which has announced it’s offering residents up to £90.

You can either apply for money put towards food support or energy bills.

If you apply for money towards food bills, you could get £25 if you’re a single adult or £50 if you’re a couple, and then an extra £15 per child.

For energy bills, it’s £40 for a single adult, £60 for a couple and another £15 per child as well.

So if you’re a couple with two kids getting support for energy bills, that would amount to £90.

There’s also Guildford Borough Council, where you could grab up to £400 to help you out.

However, you have to live in the borough of Guildford, and secondly be over the age of 16.

You also have to prove you’re experiencing financial hardship.

You won’t be able to apply if you need help with your mortgage.

Plus, you can only submit one application per household, although but can submit an application on behalf of someone else.

This post first appeared on thesun.co.uk