Household Support Fund
The Household Support Fund provides emergency funding to help residents meet the cost of food, fuel and other essentials.
The payments do not need to be paid back.
Hackney’s Household Support Fund programme is funded by the UK Government and runs from 1st April 2025 until 31st March 2026.
Who the Household Support Fund is for
Under this scheme, children who are eligible for free school meals in Hackney state-funded primary and secondary schools should receive a food voucher during the school holidays. If you do not receive this voucher or have any queries, please contact the school.
To qualify for consideration in the Household Support Fund you must be resident in Hackney.
The payments issued are not loans and will not need to be paid back.
If you live outside of Hackney, you should apply to the local authority where you live. See below for links to neighbouring boroughs’ schemes.
How to access the Household Support Fund
The majority of eligible residents do not need to apply. If you are known to council services, your usual team will contact you.
For school holiday vouchers, your child’s school will contact you instead.
If you haven’t been contacted but need support
There is some help available to residents on an application basis.
Support is not guaranteed and depends on the level of demand and the level of funding available at the time of application. All support is discretionary., This means we treat each case on its own merits.
Those with no recourse to public funds are not eligible for this funding. Having no recourse to public funds means you’re not able to claim most benefits, tax credits or housing assistance that are paid by the state.
We treat anyone who applies and is deemed eligible equally and fairly within the constraints of the budget.
To be considered for this discretionary support, apply to the Hackney Here to Help service. To find out more, visit Get help through Hackney Here to Help.
There are lots of organisations offering support with the cost of living in Hackney. For more details, visit Help with the rising cost of living.
You may also find more help on GOV.UK – cost of living support.