Households handed £200 cost of living payments from December | Personal Finance | Finance
Households in one part of the UK are being handed cost of living payments of up to £200 from December to help with rising energy and water bills.
The payments are being awarded to eligible low income households in Portsmouth in receipt of certain benefits as part of the Department for Work and Pensions’ (DWP) Household Support Fund, with other local councils giving out cost of living support in other parts of the UK too. The DWP scheme gives local councils across England a share of a funding pot worth £742 million to help vulnerable households struggling to afford essential living costs over the winter months, including energy bills, food and other essentials.
The funding is allocated from now until March 31, 2026, and local councils independently decide how to share the cash, so depending on where you live, there may be different criteria to qualify for the support.
In Hampshire, Portsmouth City Council has confirmed it will be issuing cost of living payments to eligible households from December. Single households who qualify will receive a £150 payment, while couples or families will get £200 payment.
The council said this payment scheme will go live in December and has advised households that think they qualify to leave their email to be notified when it opens.
Portsmouth City Council said: “This scheme to help low-income households with rising energy and water bills. If you’re eligible, you’ll get £150 for a single person household, £200 for a couple or family.
“The scheme will go live in December. If you think you’re eligible, leave your email to be notified when the scheme opens. You must meet one of the following criteria:
- pensioners receiving a disability benefit
- carers and caring households receiving either Carer’s Allowance or the Carers Element of Universal Credit
- care leavers and care experienced adults
- low-income working aged adults unable to work, specifically those with Limited Capacity for Work (LCW) who are not receiving Personal Independence Payment (PIP)
- single parents receiving Universal Credit, which includes both a child element and a housing costs element — including those living in temporary council accommodation where they pay their own utility bills
“Your household income must also be below:
- £935 for a single adult household
- £1,350 for a couple.”
As Household Support Fund cash is distributed independently by local councils in England, it means that the cost of living support available will vary by location, with different vouchers or grants up for grabs up and down the country.
The payments may also be issued at different times depending on where you live, so it’s possible for some to receive the support in time for Christmas, while others may have a longer wait.
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) says there may also be differences in who the money is given to and if or how you need to apply for the support, as some local councils opt to share the money out through local charities and community groups, while some limit household applications to one per year.
For example, households in Staffordshire can get a one off £300 utility payment made direct to their utility provider via the scheme, while residents in Calderdale can get a maximum of two payments of £85, amounting to £170 worth of support in total.
In the East Midlands, households in Nottingham can apply for £100 vouchers to spend in supermarkets, while in South Yorkshire, Doncaster Council is giving eligible households up to £300 towards food costs and other households can qualify for a £100 payment to go towards energy bills.
In the East of England, Cambridgeshire County Council is issuing £110 to eligible households in the form of direct payments or supermarket vouchers, while in North West England, Cheshire and West Chester Council is issuing £100 payments to low income pensioner households in December.
