Household Support Fund

Financial help for vulnerable residents in Wirral

The Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) has awarded Wirral Council money to help local people. A total £5,374,380m has been provided by the DWP Household Support Fund for 12 months from April 2025 to March 2026. 

The £5,374,380m awarded must be fully used by 31 March 2026.

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Below is a breakdown of how Wirral Council spend the Household Support Fund. 

Emergency Support Fund (£200,000)

This funding will allow the council to enhance its existing Emergency Financial Support Scheme to help more people in crisis situations.

Small Grants Programme (£800,000)

Grants of up to £20,000 will enable community-based food and welfare support groups to provide food and essential items, support and skills to those most in need in their local communities. The application process will be through Wirral CVS. 

Small Grants Programme criteria

Successful applications must meet the following criteria:

  • this funding is to be used to help those who are struggling to afford food, energy, and water bills. It can also be used to support households who are struggling to afford other wider essentials and offer skills in community kitchens to promote wellbeing and involvement. This is subject to further criteria and definitions listed below.
  • applicants must be a constituted organisation, community interest company or charity.
  • applications must be submitted by the individual who will have overall responsibility and oversight of management of any funds awarded. Applications submitted by a third party or “on behalf of” will not be considered.
  • awards will only be directed into the constituted organisation, community interest company or charity’s own bank account.
  • applicants who currently provide welfare support as part of their core offer and can evidence a proven delivery record will be prioritised during the assessment process.
  • applications for the provision of Energy Vouchers or Food Vouchers (including supermarket vouchers) will not be considered. (Although groups may wish to sign post to other organisations.
  • due to funding criteria stipulated by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) Applicants will need to provide a clear indication of the percentage of funding aimed at supporting households with children, households with pensioners, households with a disabled person and other households. We appreciate that these percentage splits are somewhat indicative at this stage.
  • successful applicants will be required to provide final figures on spend no later than 12 noon Monday 16 March 2026. The return of this data forms part of the DWP directive. Any delay in providing this information by the due date may negatively impact on any future grant applications.
  • all applications must be submitted via the online form. Handwritten forms will not be accepted.
  • applications requesting over £20,000 will not be considered.

Applications will be assessed against the following criteria:

  • value for money
  • deliverability
  • reach
  • impact
  • evidence of proven previous successful delivery

Unlike previous years there will only be one funding round to cover Summer and Winter, please apply now:

Apply for Small Grants Programme funding 

Groups and organisations will have until March 2026 to spend this funding. Successful groups and organisations will be required to complete management information returns in accordance with the Department for Work and Pensions terms and conditions for accepting the funding. See GOV.UK.

Food provision, hampers and pantries (£1,000,000)

Local charity Neo Community has been awarded the role of managing and coordinating the £1 million food allocation to ensure targeted support reaches those who need it most. This includes:

  • Targeted Early Years Support: Working with the Council and Children’s Centres to ensure families eligible for 2-Year Funding/Early Years Pupil Premium as well as other local families with children under five identified as needing help , are signposted to their nearest Children’s Centre for access to food and essentials support
  • School and Education Setting Support: Providing participating primary, secondary, special schools, leaving care provisions, and sixth form colleges with supplies of ambient food items. These settings manage and distribute the food directly to pupils and families in ways that best meet their communities’ needs
  • Building on Previous Success: This project continues the successful partnership approach between Wirral Council and Neo Community, ensuring large-scale food provision is managed effectively, fairly, and in a way that maximises local impact through trusted community settings

Financial support with Utility Debt for example fuel and water (£650,000)

This scheme will allow vulnerable residents who are unable to pay for the fuel they need to heat and power their homes, or are struggling to deal with fuel and water debt, to apply for help in several ways:

People in crisis situations who are unable to repair or replace broken or obsolete heating and do not qualify for help under other programmes can apply from Energy Projects Plus under their Crisis Support With Heating scheme.

Support for Older People (£100,000)

Older people in Wirral can be supported by Age UK in a number of ways such as nutrition, independence at home, practical and financial support for carers and vulnerable older people with essential items and bills. For more information contact Age UK Wirral.

Crisis support with white goods (£150,000)

People in need can apply for white goods, including washing machines, cookers and fridges, and other essential household items from North Birkenhead Development Trust (project is not restricted to Birkenhead) and St Vincent de Paul Society, Wirral. Applications should be submitted via local referral agencies such as Citizens Advice Wirral and Involve Northwest.

Housing Support costs (£100,000)

Help with Housing costs is available where existing housing support schemes, for example Discretionary Housing Payments cannot help. 

Prevention Support (£1,300,000)

We have made an allocation of funding to Housing, Homeless and Children services to support various work programmes. 

Financial Support to low-income households (£600,000)

We have made an allocation of funding to provide targeted support to low-income households.

Heating and plumbing appliance repair and replacement (£40,000)

Residents on a low income who are in urgent need of repairs or a replacements to their heating or plumbing systems or appliances can apply for help from Energy Projects Plus.

Advice Services Citizens Advice Wirral (£100,000)

To help Wirral residents tackle a wide range of issues, such as debt, benefits, employment and housing. Advice and support to help residents ensure that they are accessing all benefit incomes and support available.

What other support is available?

The council continue to help people who are most vulnerable to increases in the cost of living. This work is done with local agencies, groups and organisations.

The financial support available includes: 

Find help with the cost of living

To see other support that may be available to you, please visit the Government's Cost of Living Hub.

Information about food and other support available to residents is also posted on the Wirral Infobank website.

More information about help available is available at wirral.gov.uk/costofliving or by calling 0151 606 2005 if you are unable to go online.