Access support with energy bills and food with the help of funding from the Household Support Fund, which is provided by the Department for Work and Pensions.
Plymouth City Council has received £4.5 million to use over the coming year to support residents affected by the cost of living crisis.
Energy, food and other support for households in need
Citizens Advice Plymouth will be supporting households in need who meet the eligibility criteria and are experiencing financial difficulty.
You can get help with:
- Food: eligible clients can apply for £180 in supermarket vouchers for either Asda, Morrisons, Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Aldi or Iceland
- Fuel: eligible clients can apply for £147 in top up voucher codes for pre-payment meters, or a £150 credit voucher for credit accounts (where bills are paid monthly or quarterly) or smart meters
- White goods: eligible clients can apply for an essential appliance, including delivery, installation, and old appliance removal where applicable
- Household Furniture: eligible clients can apply for an essential household item or furniture. This will include delivery but many items will require self-assembly. Vouchers for clothes may also be provided
Eligibility
Households can only apply for this fund if they did not access support in the previous rounds of the Household Support Fund anytime between 1 August 2022 and 9 July 2023.
Only one application can be made per household. The fund is only for residents living in Plymouth. Any applications received that do not meet this initial criteria will be rejected.
To apply, households must also fall into one of the eligible categories:
- households with at least one child under 18 who resides in the property on a permanent basis
- households where someone has a disability or a long term health condition
- households where someone has reached pension age
- Households with a single occupant receiving help with housing costs
This fund is not suitable for emergency support as applications will take time to process.
Households who meet the eligibility criteria will be asked to provide evidence and identification. If this is not provided then the application will not be processed.
How to apply
The Household Support fund is now currently closed due to the volume of applications received in July 2023.
Citizens Advice Plymouth will start processing applications in the coming weeks and aims to contact applicants within 4 to 6 weeks.
If you have applied, you do not need to do anything else at this point. You will hear from Citizens Advice Plymouth via email or phone to request eligibility evidence and proof of identity. Please do not call for an update on your application.
If at any stage your application is found to have not met the criteria, it will be rejected. If evidence or proof of identity is not provided either at all or within a timely manner without good reason, it will also result in your application being rejected.
Updates about the next round of funding will be added to this page.
Food Support
Families with children that are eligible for Free School Meals will receive food vouchers during the school holidays.
Vouchers are provided at a value of £13p per child, per week. These will be distributed during the summer holiday, May and October half-terms, Christmas holiday and February 2024 half-term.
Check if you’re eligible for free school meals.
There are also a number of community larders and foodbanks across the city, which you can find on the Food Access Map run by Plymouth Food Aid Network
Emergency food or energy vouchers
Plymouth Foodbank can help with food or top-up energy vouchers in an emergency but you need to be referred. Find out how to get help from Plymouth Foodbank.
If you are hungry or cold and need access to hot food, the Plymouth Soup Run provides nutritious food at a variety of locations, 365 days of the year. Find out more on the Plymouth Soup Run website.
Support for unpaid carers of family or friends
If you provide unpaid care for a family member or friend, find support by registering with the Improving Lives Plymouth Caring for Carers service.
Email: caringforcarers@improvinglivesplymouth.org.uk or call 01752 201890.
More cost of living support
To see all the support available, visit our cost of living pages.