The Household Support Fund (HSF) is a Central Government fund.
Next grants panel to be held w/c 20 November, please send applications for this date.
This funding, administered by Forum Central, is to be distributed to organisations who support Communities of Interest including cultural diversity, people with mental health (including Young People), learning disabilities, physical and sensory impairment and older people.
Funding will be distributed through grants of up to £1,000 and £5,000.
Forum Central is working with partners including Leeds Community Anchor Network and Leeds Food Aid Network to enable the Household Support Fund (HSF) to support vulnerable people to access to fuel and food.
Which individuals are eligible for support?
Government guidance states “The Fund should be used to support households in the most need; particularly those who may not be eligible for the other support”.
It is to be aimed at a wide range of low income households in need “including families with children of all ages, pensioners, unpaid carers, care leavers and disabled people”.
The guidance also states that this funding can be used to provide ‘a basic safety net to individuals regardless of their immigration status’, so those with no recourse to public funds are officially able to access funding.
The funds administered by Forum Central aims to provide much needed support to individuals through community groups.
Application process
Third sector organisations in Leeds can apply for funding. We encourage applications from smaller and grassroots organisations including faith organisations.
We are unable to provide funding directly to individuals.
The application form is linked to here: Household Support Fund Application Form (jotform, no log in required)
For us to award funding we must receive a completed application. We are aware of the need for this support to be distributed quickly so have kept the application process to a minimum.
The application form is online (link above), if you would rather complete a word document please email [email protected] and we can send you one via email or post.
If you require support to complete the form please contact [email protected] or call 0113 244 1697 and we will be happy to help.
The application process opens Monday 10 July. The panel will meet six times and run to February 2024. Schedule planned as follows:
- First panel met end of July 2023
- Second panel met on w/c 25 September
- Third panel meet w/c 23 October
- Forth panel meet w/c 20 November
- Fifth panel meet w/c 8 Jan
- Six panel meet w/c 12 Feb
All funding must be spent by 31 March 2024.
If you are awarded funding, we will send you a grant agreement form which must be signed and returned back to us in order for us to release funds. Funds cannot be paid into an individual’s bank account so must be the organisation’s account or an account of an organisation willing to act as guarantor.
All applicants will be informed of the outcome of their application. If you are not awarded funding at that panel, you will be contacted and are able to reapply at the subsequent panel.
Who else is delivering the fund in my area?
Organisations funded through the Leeds Food Aid Network and Leeds Community anchor network have also been provided funding through the Household Support Fund. To ensure the funding reaches those in need, we will work with other funders to avoid duplication and priority given to organisations who are not in receipt of HSF funding. If an organisation applies and is in receipt of HSF funding through another funder, we will ask you to clarify how your application is different to ensure we avoid double funding.
We will share a list of all successful organisations with Leeds City Council, the Local Care Partnerships team. We will consider delivery by ward or area order, though we are aware some organisations will cover more than one ward. There will undoubtedly be a crossover between communities of interest and communities of place but we aim to ensure that delivery on a local level will complement provision city-wide.
What can it be spent on?
The funding can be used to provide fuel costs, food or food vouchers.
Because additional funding has been allocated to the Food Aid Network and the Community Anchor Network, Forum Central will prioritise funding which supports people with issues of fuel poverty.
The grant can also be spent on other wider essentials and essential items including energy saving goods, housing costs and travel in exceptional circumstances.
How much can we claim for our overheads?
The official guidance states that ‘reasonable cost’ should be taken for overheads, Leeds City Council request that organisational overheads should not be over 15%.
What are the monitoring requirements?
You will be expected to return the monitoring when the funding is spent and by the latest 31 March 2024.
A monitoring template will be provided alongside the grant agreement form, which will include the following:
- Overall spend
- Categories of types of support
- (Food, fuel, wider essentials etc.)
- Household composition of beneficiaries
- (Household with children/with pensioners/ disable people/other)
This is trust-based funding, awarded on the basis you are best placed to meet the needs of the communities you work with. No further proof of spend will be requested, but you are expected to maintain a record as would be required via your own internal processes.
Along with this, please do get in touch with any updates if you are experiencing increased or unexpected demand, it would be good to understand these pressures and we can feed the info back into a city-wide picture.
