The Household Support Fund will run until the end of March 2026, after the government-funded cost-of-living scheme was extended in the Spring Budget1. The fund is distributed by local councils, which receive pots of cash to provide help and support for people living in their area1.
Because each council decides how it will spend its funding, the support available varies by location1. Over the past few years, support has ranged from free cash payments to supermarket and energy vouchers, and funding has also been used for food banks, heating hubs and other local organisations1. Many councils and charities also run warm spaces schemes, offering free heated community venues where people can spend time, have a hot drink or access other support over the winter1.
The fund sits alongside other support for households facing energy costs. Crisis funds and hardship grants for energy covers the wider landscape of emergency help, while home energy grants and schemes in the UK sets out the full range of schemes. For households in England, help for low-income households explains the main routes to support, and help for low-income households in Northern Ireland covers the equivalent position there. Households with specific medical or care needs may also fall within the scope of support for vulnerable and medically dependent households.
The fund is one of several schemes that households may be able to access. Attendance Allowance, a non-means-tested benefit for people over state pension age who need help with day-to-day personal care or supervision, pays a lower rate of £73.90 a week or a higher rate of £110.40 a week1. Pension credit, a means-tested benefit for people who have reached state pension age and are on a low income, tops up weekly income to £227.10 for a single person or £346.60 for a couple through guarantee credit, with savings credit worth up to £17.30 extra a week for single people or £19.36 for couples1. The Warm Home Discount gives eligible households £150 off their electricity bill between October and March each year1. Cold Weather Payments are £25 for spells of very cold weather between November and March, paid when the average temperature in an area is recorded as, or forecast to be, zero degrees or below for seven consecutive days1. In Scotland, a single payment called the winter heating payment may be available instead, worth £59.75 and paid from December 20251.
The Winter Fuel Payment is worth £200 per household, or £300 if someone is aged 80 or over, and is paid to all pensioners, though it is taken back through the tax system where income is £35,000 or more1. Income for this purpose includes state and private pensions, earnings, savings interest and dividends1. Pensions minister Torsten Bell has said the government intends to keep the £35,000 limit at its current level for now, in line with other frozen tax thresholds1. Analysis from consultants LCP suggests around half a million pensioners are expected to lose the payment over the next four years, and LCP highlighted that a pensioner with an annual income of £33,600 will receive the payment this year, while a typical 4.7% increase in the state pension under the triple lock combined with an estimated 4% rise in their private pension would push their total income to around £35,027 next year, just over the cut-off1.
"The scheme, which was extended in the Spring Budget earlier this year, is running until the end of March 2026."
Why it matters for households
The fund is a cash route to help with energy costs that does not depend on the Winter Fuel Payment or on the £35,000 income cap that governs it1. Because councils set their own rules, two households in similar circumstances in different areas may receive different support, and the type of help on offer, whether a cash payment, an energy voucher or access to a warm space, is decided locally rather than nationally1. For a household trying to keep its energy costs down, the fund is one of several parallel schemes, and eligibility for one does not necessarily follow from eligibility for another1. The grants and energy independence guide sets out how these schemes fit together, and the grants and schemes hub and homes and audiences hub collect the related material. The interaction between grant funding and measures such as ECO4 is covered in can ECO4 measures be funded with other government grants?.
What happens next
The fund runs until the end of March 20261. No further extension beyond that date has been reported1.