Get help within your community

Many of our residents who need help will get this from family and friends, neighbours and the many local organisations who are working hard to support their communities.

If you want to find out more about the community help available in your area go to the Wirral Infobank website.

Get help if you need advice about debt or changes to your income

Coronavirus has affected the financial situation of many of our residents.

The Ask Us Wirral service run by Citizens Advice Wirral can help if you need specialist benefits, debt or housing advice. Call 0300 33 00 111 and if the line is busy, leave a message for the team to get back to you.

Find out about sick pay and your rights if you are off sick, self-isolating or home working

You can also get advice if you have become unemployed, or are self-employed and this has resulted in changes to your income. Call the Citizens Advice Wirral Help to Claim team on 0800 144 8444.

Get help if you can pay for your food shopping but need some assistance

You can ask for help if you can pay for your food shopping, but are vulnerable or self-isolating because of coronavirus and unable to shop. We may be able to refer you to a shopping service run by one of our local charities or help you get a priority supermarket delivery slot. You can ask for this help by completing an emergency support request form.

If you can afford to pay for your food shopping and want to shop online but don't have the means, please call Wirral Coronavirus Helpline on 0151 666 5050 who may be able to refer you to a local charity to provide help with equipment and support to get online.

Apply for emergency support

Wirral Foodbank works with local agencies to help people who are struggling to put food on the table. If you need an emergency food parcel, a local agency may be able to provide you with an emergency foodbank voucher for the Wirral Foodbank. Visit Wirral Foodbank for details of agencies who can assist or call the Wirral Coronavirus Helpline on 0151 666 5050 who can also assess you for help for Wirral Foodbank whilst the council's One Stop Shops remain closed due to coronavirus.

Emergency financial support may be available from Wirral Council for individuals and families who cannot pay for food and who are in urgent need. If you cannot pay for food we may be able to provide yo with financial assistance to feed yourself and your household for a week. We will ask you about your circumstances and your financial situation so that we can help you. You can ask for this help by completing an emergency support request form.

If you have previously registered with the government as a clinically extremely vulnerable person (that is, you were 'shielding') you will be asked to provide your NHS reference number when you apply for support. The data will be used to support the implementation of future shielding if required.

If you are having problems topping up your gas and electricity as a result of financial hardship during the coronavirus situation, you should contact your energy supplier. We can only help with your gas and electricity if your need is extremely urgent. If this is the case, let us know in the emergency request form below.

If you are applying at the weekend, and cannot wait until Monday, please call 0151 666 5050 to speak to our out of hours service. The out of hours service is only for people facing crisis at the weekend.

Apply for emergency support

If you need financial assistance with anything other than food and fuel, you can apply for help from the Council’s Local Welfare Assistance scheme. 

Apply for Local Welfare Assistance

What you can expect

If you request support, your application will be assessed within two working days and you can expect to hear from us within three working days. Please do not apply again while you are waiting to hear from us. This may affect the time it takes to process your request. We are working hard to get residents the help they need as quickly as possible.

Get help to complete the forms

If you need help completing the forms, you can call the Wirral Coronavirus Helpline on 0151 666 5050, Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm.

Support workers or other agencies can make applications on behalf of someone else. Friends and family can also help someone with an application.

Get help if English is not your first language

Wirral Change - supports residents who may have barriers to accessing the food hub service via the Helpline or online form if their first language is not English or if they have other needs.

For advice and guidance from Wirral Change: