Household Support

Stuart Anderson said: "I understand that many people remain concerned about the cost of living. I will always do all that I can to ensure that the most vulnerable in Shropshire and beyond get the support they need. Below, you will find more details about the schemes that can help with the cost of living. As always, I am here to help if you ever require any personal assistance."

You may get calls, emails or messages that are pretending to be from a government service or an energy bill support scheme. If you get a message asking for your personal details (for example, bank details or passwords) this could be a scam. Do not give out private information (such as bank details or passwords), reply to text messages, download attachments, or click on any links in emails if you’re not sure they’re genuine. Forward suspicious emails to [email protected]. The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) will investigate it. Forward suspicious text messages to 7726 - it’s free. This will report the message to your mobile phone provider. Contact Action Fraud if you think you’ve lost money or been hacked because of an online scam or fraud and you’re in England or Wales. You canreport online (either sign up for an account or continue as a ‘guest’) or call 0300 123 2040. The CMA has issued a set of tips for people finding traders via a recommendation site. These are some top tips on what to consider when using trader recommendation sites, including information consumers should look for and advice on consumer rights.

Work and Pensions

Household Support Fund

Since October 2021, the Government has provided £2.5 billion ring-fenced funding to Local Authorities (LAs) in England via the Household Support Fund (HSF). This is to directly provide discretionary support for those most in need with the cost of daily essentials such as food, clothing, and utilities like energy and water bills. At the Spring Budget, an extra £500 million was announced to enable a six-month extension. 10 million awards were made between October 2022 to March 2023. LAs have the ties and local knowledge to best determine how this support should be provided to their local communities, and they have the discretion to design their own local schemes and manage their funds to best meet local need, within the parameters of the grant determination and guidance for the fund. LAs are expected to support households in the most need, and in particular those who may not be eligible for the other support Government recently made available but are nevertheless in need. 

National Minimum and Living Wage

The National Living Wage (NLW) was introduced in April 2016. In 2019, the last government set a target for it to reach two-thirds of median earnings by 2024 for workers aged 21 and over. At the 2024 Autumn Budget, it was announced that the new government will accept the recommendations of the Low Pay Commission in full, meaning the NLW will increase from £11.44 to £12.21 an hour for employees aged 21 and over from 1 April 2025. For 18 to 20 year olds, it will increase by £1.40 an hour, to £10.00 an hour as the first step towards removing discriminatory age bands. Remuneration over and above this rate is a contractual matter between the employer and the employee. You can use this calculator to check if you’re getting the minimum wage.

National Insurance

The Personal Allowance (PA) has increased by over 40 per cent in real terms since 2010, ensuring some of the lowest earners do not pay income tax. Thanks to the PA, in 2021-22 around 30% of earners didn’t pay tax. We have also delivered a double tax cut to National Insurance for 29 million people. Our tax cuts put £900 back in the pockets of the average worker on £35,400 a year and £650 back in the pockets of a self-employed person on £28,000 a year. This came into effect from 6 April. Eventually, we want to abolish the double tax on work completely. This will create a simpler and fairer tax system which rewards hard work.

Triple Lock

I am committed to ensuring that older people can live with the dignity and respect they deserve. Introduced in 2011, the Triple Lock was introduced by the last governemnt to increase the new and basic State Pensions annually in line with the highest of the increase in prices, the growth in average earnings, or 2.5%. The Autumn 2024 Budget confirmed that it will be maintained for the duration of this Parliament, meaning a 4.1% increase to the basic and new State Pension - as well as the standard minimum guarantee for Pension Credit, from April 2025.

Pensions

HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) is urging tens of thousands of people to check if they are eligible to boost their State Pension. Some parents who claimed Child benefit before 2000 are missing out on State Pension payments they are entitled to because of gaps in their National Insurance records. Please visit here.

The State Pension is the foundation of financial support for today’s older people and for retirement saving by younger people. Thanks to the last government, the full yearly amount of a basic State Pension is now £3,700 higher, in cash terms, than in 2010. At the 2024 Autumn Budget, it was announced that the full new State Pension will rise from £221.20 to £230.25 a week, providing an additional £470 a year, while the full basic State Pension will increase from £169.50 to £176.45 per week, worth an extra £360 annually.

The Personal Allowance – the amount of income that each individual may receive before paying income tax – is currently set at a level high enough (£12,570) to ensure that those pensioners whose sole income is the basic or new State Pension, and who have not deferred or receive protected payments, do not pay any income tax. The Government has nearly doubled the PA since 2010. In 2024-25, it will be over 20% higher in real terms. 

To reduce the risk of poverty for future pensioners, automatic enrolment into workplace pensions has transformed pension participation for millions of workers. Over 10.8 million people have been automatically enrolled into a workplace pension - with over 2.1 million employers complying with their duties.

Pension Credit

Pension Credit gives you extra money to help with your living costs if you’re over State Pension age and on a low income.  The average Pension Credit award is worth over £3,900 per year and it opens doors to other support, including the Winter Fuel Payment, help with housing costs, council tax and heating bills.  There are up to an estimated 880,000 households across the UK eligible for Pension Credit who are yet to claim. Please check whether you or your loved ones are eligible for this support.  

Pension Credit can top up a pensioner’s income to a minimum of £201.05 a week for single pensioners and £306.85 for couples, even if they have savings or own their home. The average award is now worth over £3,900 per year and can open the door to a range of other support, including help with housing costs, council tax, heating bills, a free TV licence for those 75 or over and help with NHS dental treatment, glasses and transport costs for hospital appointments. There are currently around 1.4 million pensioners claiming some £5 billion of Pension Credit, which tops up their retirement income. If you’re in residential care or sheltered accommodation or registered blind you can apply for a discount on your TV licence.

The Pension Credit Standard Minimum Guarantee will increase by 4.1% from April 2025, meaning an annual increase of £465 in 2025-26 in the single pensioner guarantee and £710 in the couple guarantee. The administration of Pension Credit and Housing Benefit will be brought together for new claimants from 2026. This is two years earlier than previously planned, and will support more people to receive the benefits that they are entitled to.

Claims for Pension Credit can be made online at: www.gov.uk/pensioncredit/how-to-claim. The service is available to use 24/7, and provides those who may struggle to make their claim alone, the flexibility to have a friend or family to support them when making their claim, at a time that is most convenient to them. Pension Credit claims can also be made through the Freephone telephone number 0800 99 1234, and there is an option to complete a paper application form.

The Government has launched a new end to end service which enables individuals to better understand their State Pension entitlement, making it easier to plan for retirement. Individuals can assess whether they would like to make additional payments into their State Pension before the extended deadline (5 April 2025) for those affected by new State Pension transitional arrangements. You can pay securely through the service at the same time, and your NI record will be updated. For those unable to use the service fully or people who would prefer not to go online, the existing alternative routes are available via the DWP and HMRC helplines. These can be accessed by ringing: 0800 731 0175. The new Check your State Pension forecast service is available on GOV.UK at https://www.gov.uk/check-state-pension, via a link through a Personal Tax Account, or the HMRC app.

Energy Costs

The Government's ‘Help to Heat’ schemes ensure homes will be warmer and cheaper to heat. They will deliver upgrades to over half a million homes through the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund (SHDF)*, Home Upgrade Grant (HUG) scheme*, and Energy Company Obligation (ECO). We are investing £6.6 billion this Parliament and, at the Autumn Statement in 2022, a further £6.05 billion was announced for making buildings cleaner and warmer in addition to £5 billion through the ECO and the Great British Insulation Scheme (GBIS) up to March 2026. The Government's website helps users get tailored recommendations for their home that could make their property cheaper to heat and keep warm. Consumers can also call the home retrofit phoneline service on 0800 098 7950 (Mon-Fri 8am to 6pm, except public holidays) and Saturdays (9am to 12pm). *In these schemes, grants are allocated to local authorities rather than individual households.

Marches Energy Association (MEA) manage Shropshire Council’s free and impartial energy advice service, Keep Shropshire Warm, to offer free and impartial advice and support on a wide range of energy issues - including supporting residents to apply for financial support and energy efficiency grants. If you are struggling to pay your energy bills or are worried about rising bills the team can help, get in touch with the team by calling their helpline 0800 112 3743 or email [email protected] for free and impartial advice. MEA have also put together a detailed guide on how you can stay warm and well this winter, the leaflet includes lots of energy saving tips and support with bills and suppliers. https://mea.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/KSW-Winter-worries-and-wisdom-leaflet.pdf

Ofgem

Ofgem recently announced new customer service standards to support those who may be struggling with their bills, including requirements on suppliers to contact customers if they miss payments, offer support such as affordable payment plans if they are struggling, prioritise vulnerable customers, and offer free contact methods for people struggling to pay their bills. 

Energy Price Cap

The Government is committed to ensuring fair energy prices for consumers. In order to protect customers, it introduced the energy price cap in 2019, which saves 15 million households on default tariffs up to £100 a year on average. The cap limits the amount energy suppliers can charge for each unit of gas and electricity, as well as the maximum standing charge consumers pay for access to the grid. The energy price cap, set by Ofgem, ensures that all suppliers charge fair prices on households’ energy tariffs, and any profits they make are subject to Corporation Tax. The law requires Ofgem to ensure the cap level reflects the underlying efficient costs of supplying energy. It sets out that Ofgem must review the level of the cap at least once every six months to ensure that the cap appropriately reflects the underlying costs of energy, and the need to ensure that energy suppliers who operate efficiently are able to finance their activities. It is Ofgem’s role, as the independent regulator, to set a fair level for the price cap. Energy prices have fallen significantly with the price cap more than halving since January 2023 when the price cap peaked at £4,279. On 23 February, Ofgem confirmed the price cap is to be £1,690 for the second quarter of this year, which is a reduction of 12% on the previous quarter and the lowest level for two years.

Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund (SHDF)

The Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund (SHDF) is a £3.8 billion scheme over a ten-year period to 2030. It will upgrade a significant amount of the social housing stock currently below Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) band C in England up to that standard. Wave 1 and 2.1 aim to install energy efficiency measures in up to 20,000 and 90,000 homes respectively. The SHDF Wave 2.2 ‘top up’ competition will allocate up to £80 million of additional grant funding from April 2024. The Wave 2.2 competition funding aims to upgrade around 9,500 additional homes. Over £1 billion has already been allocated to social housing landlords.

Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme

The Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme provides grants for public sector bodies including local authorities, schools and hospitals to fund heat decarbonisation and energy efficiency measures,  with a minimum of 30% going to schools and colleges. It supports the aim of reducing emissions from public sector buildings by 75% by 2037, compared to a 2017 baseline, as set out in the 2021 Net Zero and Heat and Buildings strategies. The Scheme is making available £2.5 billion over the financial years 2020/21 to 2024/25 to support public sector organisations. As of August 2023, the Scheme has awarded 977 grants worth over £2 billion.

Home Upgrade Grant

The Home Upgrade Grant (HUG) delivers energy efficiency upgrades to low-income households living in the least energy efficient homes off the gas grid. To date, £1.1 billion has been allcated and is being delivered from 2022 to March 2025. Shropshire Council’s Affordable Warmth and Energy Efficiency Team are set to support over 350 vulnerable and at-risk residents to improve insulation and install more efficient heating systems - with investments set to total over £6 million. The scheme is currently closed for new applications. However, residents can express their interest and register for updates about future schemes coming in 2025 at www.shropshire.gov.uk/awee.

Energy Company Obligation

The Energy Company Obligation (ECO) scheme has installed 3.8 million measures in 2.5 million homes since it was launched in 2013. We estimate around 450,000 will be supported via the Scheme from April 2022 to March 2026. ECO4 is the latest iteration of the scheme. It runs from 2022-2026 at a value of £4 billion. ECO does not provide direct financial support. Households must be on relevant means-tested benefits or identified by their local authority or energy supplier as vulnerable. Homes must also be in specified energy efficiency bands. ECO4 includes flexible eligibility (ECO Flex), which allows households to be referred even if they do not meet the eligible benefits criteria. Over the 12 months to the end of June 2023, there were around 143,500 ECO4 measures installed.

Great British Insulation Scheme (GBIS)

The Government launched the Great British Insulation Scheme (GBIS) in 2023 to support the delivery of the most cost-effective insulation to a wider pool of households. It is expected to help some 300,000 of the country’s least energy efficient homes by March 2026, requiring little or no contribution. Households could save £300-£400 each year as part of a £1 billion energy efficiency programme by March 2026. As of March 2024, there have already been over 120,000 referrals.

Energy Saving Materials

At Spring Statement 2022, it was announced that the installation of qualifying energy saving materials (such as insulation, solar panels and heat pumps) in residential accommodation in Great Britain would benefit from a temporary VAT zero rate until 31 March 2027, after which they will revert to the reduced rate of VAT at five per cent. This support is worth around £915 million over the next four years and should be a practical lever for encouraging installation of qualifying materials - making it cheaper for people to invest in their properties and reduce their energy usage. Homeowners cannot buy or install the materials themselves.

Warm Home Discount

The Warm Home Discount scheme obligates participating energy suppliers to provide low-income and vulnerable households across Great Britain with a £150 rebate off their winter energy bill. From 2022, the Government extended the Discount to support more households who have low incomes and live in homes that are costly to heat. An estimated £550 million has been spent this winter as part of the Warm Home Discount to support three million households, around a million more households compared with the previous scheme.

Cold Weather Payments

Cold Weather Payments (CWP) are available to help vulnerable people in receipt of certain income-related benefits in England and Wales to meet additional heating costs during periods of unseasonably cold weather between 1 November and 31 March. It is targeted at those in receipt of eligible benefits with a pension element or disability component, or where there is a child under five in the household. Those eligible will automatically receive £25 when the average temperature recorded at the weather station linked to their postcode has been recorded as, or is forecast to be, 0° C or below over seven consecutive days. Over 1.1 million £25 Cold Weather Payments have been made to households in England and Wales.

Boiler Upgrade Scheme (BUS)

The Government has set an ambition of 600,000 heat pump installations per year by 2028. The Boiler Upgrade Scheme (BUS) provides upfront grants to property owners in England and Wales to replace existing fossil fuel heating with a low carbon heating system such as air source heat pumps, ground source heat pumps, and biomass boilers in domestic and small non-domestic buildings. In October 2023, the Government increased the Boiler Upgrade Scheme grant for heat pumps to £7,500. There were 2,380 applications for heat pump grants in April 2024 - up 93% on the same month last year. As of May 2024, there have been more than 40,000 applications in total, with the scheme having paid out over 25,000 grants, with more than £148 million issued. VAT has been eliminated on heat pump installations until 2027 as an ESM.

Warm Homes: Local Grant

The government has announced a new Warm Homes: Local Grant to help low-income homeowners and private tenants with energy performance upgrades and cleaner heating, and confirmed the continuation of the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme, as well as the Warm Homes: Social Housing Fund, which replaces the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund, to support social housing providers and tenants. It kickstarts delivery of the government’s Warm Homes Plan, which will transform homes across the country by making them cleaner and cheaper to run, from installing new insulation to rolling out solar and heat pumps, The expression of interest window for local authorities wishing to participate will open in October this year. Low-income, private tenants will be eligible for support, with the agreement of their landlord. Private tenants are also eligible for support under the Energy Company Obligation. Further details of the Warm Homes Plan will be set out through the Spending Review. 

Community Energy Fund

The new Community Energy Fund for England will local communities across England access grant funding in order to develop local renewable energy projects for investment. It will also act as a catalyst for attracting private investment to scale up projects further down the line, supporting high-quality jobs and growth in local areas. The Fund will be delivered through the five Local Net Zero Hubs in each region of England, which is itself funded by the Government to support local authorities to develop net zero projects and attract commercial investment. This helps them to address barriers to clean growth activity and equips areas to drive private sector investment into clean growth across a pipeline of local projects. As of January 2023, the Local Net Zero Hubs were working on a pipeline of projects with a projected total capital value of over £4 billion. Ofgem also supports community energy projects and welcomes applications from the sector (including community interest groups, co-operative societies, and community benefit societies) to the Industry Voluntary Redress Scheme which allows groups to apply for funds to deliver energy-related projects that support energy consumers in vulnerable situations, decarbonisation, and that benefit people across the UK.

Utility Costs

Council Tax Support

Council tax contains both a property and a personal element. A full bill assumes that there are at least two adults living in a dwelling. Where there is only one liable adult resident in a property, the bill is reduced by 25% through the single persons council tax discount. This is effectively a 50% reduction in the personal element of the bill. The council tax system contains a further range of discounts and exemptions in place to support households with their council tax bills. The Government has published a Plain English Guide to Council Tax setting out the support available in the system. Furthermore, every council is required to provide a Local Council Tax Support (LCTS) scheme. LCTS schemes provide a council tax reduction for low income households. Households may wish to contact their council directly to ask whether they are eligible for support with their council tax bill.

Social Tariffs

Social tariffs are available in 99% of the UK from over 25 different providers (including BT, Sky, Virgin Media, and Vodafone) and start from £10 per month. This is to support those on Universal Credit and other means tested benefits to stay connected. Ofcom’s latest Affordability Report shows awareness of social tariffs amongst eligible groups has increased from 16% in February 2022, to 47% in April 2023.  Ofcom’s April 2023 Affordability Report noted 85% of consumers are able to switch to a social tariff with their existing provider. The Government works with operators, charities, and consumer groups to raise awareness of these. Ofcom has published a full list of social tariffs and the locations they are available on their website.

WaterSure

All water companies offer reduced bills for eligible customers via WaterSure (which assists over 220,000 households) and social tariffs, as well as other support measures such as payment holidays, bill matching, benefit entitlement checks, and advice on debt management and water efficiency. WaterSure helps customers on low incomes with unavoidably high water usage who may otherwise struggle to pay their water bill. Customers must be in receipt of means tested benefits, which provides an appropriate measure for assessing income, and have either three or more children under 19 or a medical condition requiring the extra use of water. The Consumer Council for Water’s Advice Hub, which has information and useful tools to help customers reduce their bills or access financial support.

Gigabit Broadband Voucher Scheme

The Government is providing up to £210 million through the Gigabit Broadband Voucher Scheme, which provides a subsidy of up to £4,500 for residents and businesses towards the cost of installing gigabit-capable broadband through local community broadband projects. Over 108,00 vouchers have been used to connect rural homes and businesses with fast, reliable broadband. It is led by broadband suppliers, who are encouraged to communicate directly with communities to increase local awareness of the voucher scheme and develop potential projects. Suppliers are then responsible for communicating with beneficiaries as any project progresses. For very hard to reach premises, in April 2023, the Government announced a capital grants scheme to provide up to 35,000 premises with help to access Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite equipment to improve their connectivity. This will be open to premises identified as being unlikely to benefit from an improved fixed line, or fixed wireless access connection.

Energy Bills:

Should you face difficulties with energy bills, contact your energy supplier for a range of support options including independent advice referrals. The British Gas Energy Trust, funded solely by British Gas, continues its crucial work through three main programmes:

• Debt Relief Grants: Up to £2,000 per household to assist with fuel debts.
• Small Grants Programme: Provides emergency energy vouchers and payments.
• Advice Projects: Over 40 projects offering financial and energy consumption guidance across Britain.

Transport Costs

Fuel Duty

Transport is a major cost for individuals and families. In Shropshire, over two thirds of residents rely on a car or van to get to work. Average weekly household expenditure on transport costs in rural areas is £94, compared with £70 in urban areas. Under the last government, a decade-long freeze on fuel duty saved drivers an average of £1,900. In August 2024, I launched my campaign for the freeze on fuel duty to be kept. At the 2024 Autumn Budget, the Chancellor announced that the government will be freezing fuel duty for one year and extending the temporary 5p cut to 22 March 2026 – a tax cut worth £3 billion. This will save the average car driver £59, vans £126 and Heavy Goods Vehicles £1,079 next year. Vehicle Excise Duty (VED) First Year Rates (FYRs) are changing from 2025-26. Rates for zero emission cars will be frozen at £10 until 2029-30 while rates for hybrid and petrol/diesel cars will rise from 1 April 2025.

Rural Fuel Duty Relief

The Rural Fuel Duty Relief scheme administered by HMRC provides support for rural motorists by compensating fuel retailers in specific rural areas with high road fuel prices. These areas were chosen because, before the scheme was introduced, pump prices in those areas were significantly higher than the UK average.

£2 Bus Fare Cap

Local bus journeys remain central to transport choices, accounting for around half of all public transport journeys. To help people with cost of living pressures and save on everyday travel costs, the Government is extending the £2 bus fare cap on most routes in England outside London until the end of December 2024. The Government is investing nearly £600 million to deliver the scheme. There are currently over 140 bus operators and more than 5,000 routes in the scheme.

The English National Concessionary Travel Scheme (ENCTS)

The English National Concessionary Travel Scheme (ENCTS) provides free off-peak bus travel to those with eligible disabilities and those of state pension age to ensure no older or disabled person in England need be prevented from bus travel by cost alone. Government supports council spending of £1 billion a year. The provision of a free bus pass aims to provide these groups with greater freedom and independence in accessing a range of basic necessities. Under the terms of The English National Concessionary Travel Scheme a holder of a concessionary bus pass is able to travel between 09.30am and 11.00pm on weekdays and all day at weekends and on Bank Holidays. The primary aim is to ensure that no eligible disabled or older person in England is prevented from bus travel by cost alone.

Railcards

There are several national rail concessions in the form of railcards for disabled passengers (Disabled Person’s Railcard), and those over 60 (Senior Railcard). In 2019, we introduced the 16-17 Saver Railcard - extending the 50 per cent discount available to children for rail travel to their entire period of compulsory education and training. For students aged 18 and above, the 16-25 Railcard offers a third off most rail travel. We have also introduced the 26-30 Railcard, extending the 34 per cent discount to more young adults. In addition, the Veterans’ Railcard will benefit approximately 830,000 HM Armed Forces Veterans who are not eligible for existing railcards. The Family and Friends Railcard provides up to 1/3 off rail fares to those travelling with children aged 5-15.

Jobcentre Plus Travel Discount Card

Since 2011, the Jobcentre Plus Travel Discount Card, a discretionary travel discount scheme, has entitled card holders to a 50% discount on selected rail tickets. They are provided to those unemployed claiming Jobseekers Allowance or Universal Credit for 3-9 months (18-24 year olds) or 3-12 months (over 25s). Other benefit recipients may receive a card from 3 months of their claim. Certain bus operators accept the card for discounts and Transport for London accept it when attached to an Oyster Card. Work Coaches issue a fact sheet and application form to all claimants who wish to apply for scheme and meet the eligibility criteria.

Home to School Transport

The Government's school transport policy aims to ensure that no child is unable to access education because of a lack of transport. At a minimum, this covers pupils travelling more than 2 miles (for those under 8 years of age), pupils travelling more than 3 miles (for those aged 8 or over), and those unable to walk to school due to their Special Educational Needs. There is an additional entitlement to free travel for children from low income families (that is, those entitled to free school meals or whose parents receive the maximum working tax credit). The Government provides grant funding to Local Authorities as a contribution towards the cost of extended rights transport, which was just under £45.8 million in the 2023/24 financial year. Local Authorities have a discretionary power to provide free or subsidised home to school transport for other children.

DVLA Digital Service

DVLA has announced a new service update that allows motorists to tax their vehicle even if they have lost their V5C (log book) and their vehicle tax reminder letter (V11). Previously, customers who had lost these documents would have had to wait up to 5 days for a replacement V5C to arrive, or phone DVLA’s Contact Centre totax their vehicle. This latest update will allow customers to apply online for a new V5C and tax their vehicle at the same time. This is the first time that DVLA has linked their online registration service with their online licensing service, allowing the customer to self-serve through the 2 digital channels in one seamless customer journey. The updated online service is available at www.gov.uk/vehicle-log-book.

Housing Support

Local Housing Allowance

From April 2024, the UK Government will be investing £1.2 billion increasing LHA rates to cover the lower 30% of local rents. This will mean 1.6 million private renters in receipt of Housing Benefit or Universal Credit (UC) will gain on average around £800 a year in additional help towards their rental costs in 2024-25.

Discretionary Housing Payments

Discretionary Housing Payments (DHPs) can be paid to those entitled to Housing Benefit or the housing element of Universal Credit who face a shortfall in meeting their housing costs. Local authorities may offer deposit guarantee or bond schemes to people on low incomes or at risk of homelessness. The Government is providing £300 million for DHPs between 2022-25. In addition to the central government contribution, English and Welsh local authorities can top up DHP funding up to a maximum of two and a half times this figure using their own funds. Since 2011, the Government has provided nearly £1.7 billion to local authorities for households who need additional support with their housing costs.

Flexible Fund

As of 31 January, victims of domestic abuse who do not have the financial means to leave their abusers have been able to apply for a one-off payment of up to £500 via one of over 470 support services, for essential items such as groceries, nappies, or support with new accommodation to help them and their children flee to safety. Victims can also apply for a further one-off payment of up to £2,500 to help secure a sustainable independent future, such as putting down a deposit for rental accommodation. This will help them move forward with their lives and prevent homelessness or pressure to return to abusers because of financial strain. The £2 million Flexible Fund will be delivered via referrals from a network of local frontline services in England and Wales including organisations, helplines, and caseworkers who have a specialist understanding of domestic abuse. The Fund, which will initially last until March 2025, builds on a successful pilot funded by the Home Office and delivered with Women’s Aid in 2023, which helped over 600 victims to safety.

Families and Children

Child Benefit

Child Benefit is crucial to help parents pay for the costs associated with having children, helping them to balance work with looking after their children. It is worth up to £1,331 a year for the first or only child, and up to £881 a year for every additional child. Child Benefit can continue to be paid for children who are studying full time in non-advanced education. The threshold to start paying back Child Benefit increased from £50,000 to £60,000 – a 20% increase which will take 170,000 families out of paying the charge this year – while Child Benefit will no longer need to be repaid in full until earnings exceed £80,000. This represents a £1,260 boost on average for around half a million working families. The Government is moving to a system based on household rather than individual incomes by April 2026. This will put an end to the current unfairness where two parents earning £49,000 a year receive the full Child Benefit while a household with a single earner on over £50,000 does not. The OBR says the immediate changes to the HICBC will lead to an increase in hours worked equivalent to around 10,000 more people entering the workforce on a full-time basis. 

Childcare

From Monday 2nd September, hundreds of thousands of eligible working parents of children from 9-months-old will begin to access 15 hours of government-funded early education per week. For parents of primary school aged children, new “wraparound” childcare places will be available before and after school, sounding the starting gun on long-term reform to deliver an early education and childcare system from the end of parental leave to the end of primary school, boosting parents’ work choices and children’s life chances.

This Government is making the largest investment in childcare in England’s history, doubling the amount we expect to spend over the next few years from around £4 billion to around £8 billion each year by 2027/28 on free hours and early education. Hundreds of thousands of children aged 3 and 4 are already registered for a 30-hour place, while eligible working parents of 2-year-olds in England, or those receiving some other forms of government support, can receive 15 hours childcare a week.  The Government is expanding childcare entitlements across the country, which will save parents up to £6,500 per year per child. This will help even more working parents with the cost of childcare and make a real difference to the lives of those families. From April 2024, 15 free hours childcare will be available for working parents of two-year-olds (195,355 two-year-olds are confirmed to have places, including 733 locally). From September 2024, 15 free hours of childcare will be available for working parents of nine months to the start of school. Applications will open on 12 May.

Parents with a preferred provider are urged to speak to them directly about a place for September. Any who are struggling to find a place should contact their local authority, who will be able to help them find a provider in their area. The application system requires parents to reconfirm their eligibility every 3 months, so parents new to the system, who apply before 1 June, will need to reconfirm their code prior to the offer starting in September. Eligible parents with an existing Tax-Free Childcare account registered on the application system will be able to apply for a code at their next reconfirmation window. To make sure every parent eligible for the September rollout can access the scheme, parents who had to reconfirm their eligibility before 12 May, and whose next application window opens on 9 June or later, will receive a letter from HMRC containing a code by 24 May.

From September 2025, 30 free hours of childcare will be available for working parents from the end of maternity leave to the start of school. Parents taking up the full 30 hours will save an average of £6,900 per year on childcare costs. By 2027/28, the Office for Budget Responsibility expects around 60,000 parents to enter employment, in addition to 1.5 million mothers of young children already in work who will increase their working hours. The Government has created a new website for people to find out about working in early education and childcare and the qualifications available.

Tax-Free Childcare

Tax-Free Childcare (TFC) provides financial support for working parents with their childcare costs. It is available for working parents of children aged 0-11, or up to 17 for eligible disabled children. For every £8 parents pay into their childcare account, the Government adds £2 up to a maximum of £2,000 in top up per year for each child up to age 11 and up to £4,000 per disabled child until they are 17. Parents can receive up to £500 (or £1,000 if their child is disabled) every 3 months. It takes just 20 minutes to apply online for an account and can be used to help pay for a child’s nursery, childminder, breakfast or after school club, or holiday activity club. It can also be used alongside the 15 or 30 hours free childcare offer and to help pay for any specialist equipment needed for a disabled child when they are attending childcare.  

Universal Credit Childcare

The last government took action to support parents on Universal Credit with childcare costs upfront when they need it, rather than in arrears. As of Monday 8 April 2024, parents on Universal Credit with one child under 17 have been able to claim up to £1,015 a month, with parents of two children or more eligible for up to £1,739 to help pay for childcare costs - up from £950 and £1,630 respectively. Up to 85% of childcare costs of parents on Universal Credit are covered thanks to support from the Government, which has increased since last summer by £368 for parents of one child, and £631 for parents with two or more.

Childcare Grant (CCG)

The Government offers a specific Childcare Grant (CCG) to support students with the costs of childcare whilst they are in study, which totals around £202 million per year. The CCG offers parents support of up to 85% of their childcare costs up to a maximum of £183.75 a week for one child and £315.03 for two children. CCG support is provided to individuals where both parents are students, the student is a lone parent, or the student parent’s partner is on a low income.

Parents' Learning Allowance (PLA)

The Parents’ Learning Allowance (PLA) is for full-time undergraduate students with one or more dependent children. For the 2023/24 academic year, students could receive up to £1,915 a year depending on household income. Students whose household incomes are £39,796 or less qualify for the full Childcare Grant and Parents Learning Allowance applied for.

Care to Learn (C2L)

The Care to Learn (C2L) scheme is available to help young parents, defined as those aged under 20, to continue in education after the birth of a child. It provides funding towards childcare whilst they are engaged in a study programme and is not able to provide care for their child. C2L can also help with travel costs involved in taking the child to the childcare provider. During the 2020/2021 academic year, payments totalling over £5 million were made through the scheme.

Student Finance

Undergraduate students starting or continuing their courses in the 2025 to 2026 academic year will qualify for a 3.1% increase to maximum loans for living costs. All students will qualify for an uplift in support for the 2025 to 2026 academic year with the most support being paid to students on household incomes of £25,000 or less. This extra funding will complement the help that universities are providing through their own bursary, scholarship, and hardship support schemes. 

The Government works with the Office for Students to ensure universities support students in hardship using both hardship funds and drawing on the student premium. There are also a number of educational trusts and charities, with specific eligibility criteria, that may be prepared to assist. Information can be found in the Educational Grants Directory, published by the Directory of Social Change; the Charities Digest, published by Macmillan Press; or the Directory of Grant Making Trusts, published by the Directory of Social Change. Most of these publications can be found in public reference libraries. Students from England can use their online account to get their questions answered without needing to pick up the phone. Find out how students can check their payments or track the progress of their application and estimated review date here.

Marriage Allowance

Marriage Allowance saves couples money by allowing the lower or non-earner to reduce the amount of tax their partner pays by transferring up to £1,260 of their Personal Allowance to their husband, wife or civil partner. It was introduced in April 2015 to recognise the importance of marriage and civil partnerships in the tax system and support those on low incomes by helping them keep more of the money they earn. To benefit from the tax relief, one partner must have income less than the Personal Allowance of £12,570, and the higher earning partner’s income must be between £12,571 and £50,270. HMRC estimated around 4.2 million married couples/civil partnerships are eligible to receive the MA. The MA was estimated to cost £600 million in 2022-2023.

Free School Meals

The Government spends over £1 billion each year on free school meals (FSMs) and has extended eligibility to more groups of children than any other government over the past half a century, most notably through the introduction of universal infant free school meals (UIFSM) in 2014. More than 2 million pupils (over a third of pupils) in England now receive FSM, compared with one in six in 2010. This includes two million pupils who are eligible for benefits-related FSM, making up 23.8% of all pupils. In addition, almost 1.3 million more infants enjoy a free and nutritious meal at lunchtime following the introduction of UIFSM. A further 90,000 disadvantaged pupils in further education receive a free meal at lunch time. In 2023/24, the FSM factor of the National Funding Formula designates £480 per pupil. This is increasing to £490 in 2024/25. Schools are allocated un-ringfenced funding through their core budgets to provide FSM for disadvantaged pupils. This recognises that schools are best placed to make decisions about how they use their funding and gives them considerable freedom in how they best deliver FSM.

Holidays Activities and Food Programme (HAF)

The HAF programme provides heathy meals, enriching activities and free childcare places to children from low-income families, benefiting their health, wellbeing and learning. The programme is targeted primarily towards children who receive benefits-related free school meals (FSM). This can include children from families where parents are working on low incomes and are in receipt of Universal Credit. The HAF programme was rolled out nationally in England to all areas in 2021 and reached over 685,000 children and young people in summer 2022, including over 475,000 children eligible for free school meals. The programme runs through the Easter, Summer and Christmas school holidays this year. While the Government asks local authorities to focus the majority of the funding on FSM children, they also have flexibility to use up to 15% of their funding to support other children and families that align with the local authorities’ own priorities. Over 680,000 children and young people attended the programme in the 2023 summer holidays. Over 560,000 were funded directly by the HAF programme and over 460,000 were receiving benefits-related FSM. Over 10,000 clubs, events or organised activities operated across the country over the summer.

National Breakfast Clubs

​​​The Government is investing up to £30 million in its National School Breakfast Programme (NSBP) until the end of the Summer term in 2024. This funding will support up to 2,700 schools in disadvantaged areas, supporting approximately 350,000 children a day from low-income families with free nutritious breakfasts to better support their attainment, wellbeing, and readiness to learn. ​Year 2 children in breakfast club schools make the equivalent of two months’ additional progress. Schools receive a 75% government subsidy, with 25% from other funding streams. Schools are eligible to take part if they have 40% or more pupils from disadvantaged households, as measured by the income deprivation affecting children index. Alongside the Government's national programme, there are a number of organisations such as FareShare, Magic Breakfast, Kellogg’s and Greggs providing valuable support to schools with a breakfast provision. In September 2024, the new Chancellor announced that up to 750 schools with primary aged pupils will be invited to take part in a £7 million breakfast club pilot. The funding will allow these schools to run free breakfast clubs for their pupils in the summer term (April-July 2025). The Department for Education will work with the schools selected as part of the pilot to understand how breakfast clubs can be delivered to meet the needs of schools, parents and pupils when the programme is rolled out nationally. This will help reduce the number of students at schools with primary aged pupils starting the school day hungry and ensure children come to school ready to learn. It will also support the government’s aim to tackle child poverty by addressing rising food insecurity among children.

Healthy Start

The Healthy Start scheme helps to encourage a healthy diet for pregnant women, babies, and young children under four from low-income households who are in receipt of qualifying benefits. Women more than 10 weeks pregnant or have children aged under four years old and over one years old receive £4.25 every week. Women with children under one years old receive £8.50 every week. It can be used to buy, or be put towards the cost of, fresh, frozen, or tinned fruits and vegetables, fresh, dried and tinned pulses, milk and infant formula. In December 2023, uptake was 73%, supporting around 367,000 beneficiaries.

Together with the Nursery Milk and School Fruit and Vegetable Schemes, the programme helps more than three million children. The School Fruit and Vegetable Scheme provides approximately 2.2 million children in Key Stage 1 with a portion of fresh fruit or vegetables each day at school. Around 419 million pieces of fruit and vegetables were distributed to children in 2022/2023. In addition, the Nursery Milk Scheme allows early years childcare settings such as childminders, nurseries and some schools, to reclaim the cost of providing one-third of a pint of milk to children under five who attend their childcare setting for at least two hours per day. It is not compulsory for childcare settings who are eligible to join the Scheme, but all are welcome to do so. The Nursery Milk Scheme is currently run by the NHS Business Services Authority under a direction given by the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care. Over £200 million is devoted to the Healthy Food Schemes each year to reflect this commitment.

Sure Start Maternity Grant

Sure Start Maternity Grant (SSMG) is payment of £500 to provide help with the costs of a new baby (or babies in the event of a multiple birth)  expected, born, adopted, or the subject of a parental or residence order or other similar arrangements if there are no other children under the age of 16 in the claimant’s family in most cases. Claimants must be in receipt of an income related benefit such as Universal Credit. A Grant is usually only paid for the first child.

Child Maintenance Service

Parental Leave and Pay

The UK has a generous system of parental leave and pay entitlements which includes:

The UK’s Maternity Leave entitlement is one of the most generous in the world, with employed women entitled to 52 weeks of maternity leave, of which 39 are paid. Maternity Allowance (MA) provides an element of earnings replacement for pregnant women and new mothers not eligible for Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP) to help them stop working in the later stages of pregnancy, and in the months after childbirth, in the interests of her own and her baby's health and wellbeing.

Shared Parental Leave (ShPL) and Pay was introduced in December 2014 for the parents of children who were due or place for adoption from 5 April 2015. It enables eligible working parents to share up to 50 weeks of leave and up to 37 weeks of pay in the first year, where the mother does not intend to use her full maternity entitlements.

Changes to Paternity Leave and Pay introduced in April 2024 introduce greater flexibility in how and when the leave can be taken.  It can now be taken at any time in the first year of the child’s life and it no longer needs to be taken in a single block of one or two weeks. Eligible employed fathers also have other entitlements to balance work with childcare, including paid annual leave, unpaid parental leave, and the right to request flexible working.

In April 2024, the Government introduced a new entitlement to a week of leave for unpaid carers who are caring for a dependant with a long-term care need. For the first time, employees, who are also carers, will be able to take up to five days unpaid leave to better balance work with caring responsibilities, within any 12-month period. Employees can take time off in full or half days, or in a whole block of five. This will enable millions of carers to better balance caring and work responsibilities, supporting them to remain in employment. 

The standard rate of SMP and PP is reviewed annually. From April 2024, it will increase by 6.7% from £172.48 to £184.03. Statutory Adoption Pay (SAP) and Leave (SAL) is available to eligible employees who are adopting a child to enable them to take time off work to settle the child into their new home. The Special Guardian’s Allowance may be awarded to a kinship carer to support the long term placement for children. 

The Government also recognises that the death of a child is particularly tragic, and introduced Parental Bereavement Leave (PBL) and Pay in April 2020. SML, SAL, and PBL are day 1 rights which means an employee will qualify for these entitlements even if they have recently changed jobs. In order to qualify for SPL and ShPL, an employee must have been continuously employed by their current employer for 26 weeks.

Health Costs

Prescriptions

Our extensive arrangements to help people afford NHS prescription charges, means that almost 89% of prescription items in England are already provided free of charge. People on a low income who do not qualify for an exemption from prescription charges can seek help under the NHS Low Income Scheme, which provides help with health costs on an income-related basis. For those who do not qualify for an exemption, prescription prepayment certificates (PPCs) allow people to obtain as many prescriptions as they need for a set cost. A three-monthly PPC or an annual PPC will save people money if they need four or more items in three months or 12 or more items in 12 months. The cost of a 12-month PPC remains at £111.60 which can be paid in instalments, to allow people receive their required medicines for just over £2 a week. The Healthcare Travel Costs Scheme (HTCS) provides financial assistance to eligible patients, namely those in receipt of a qualifying benefit or through the NHS Low Income Scheme, who require assistance with travel costs incurred in travelling to receive certain NHS services. 

Statutory Sick Pay (SSP)

Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) is both administered and paid entirely by employers at a rate of £109.40 per week. It provides a measure of earnings replacement to eligible employees who are sick and incapable of work, and is payable from the fourth qualifying day of sickness absence. Employers are required to pay it at the legal minimum rate for up to 28 weeks where an employee meets the qualifying conditions. Many employers decide to pay more, and for longer, through Occupational Sick Pay. SSP is just one part of wider Government offer to support people in times of need. Where an individual’s income is reduced, and they have a health condition or disability which restricts the amount of work they can do, or prevents them from working altogether and they require further financial support, they may be able to claim Universal Credit or new style Employment and Support Allowance, where they meet the entitlement criteria.

Personal Independence Payment (PIP)

Personal Independence Payment (PIP) is intended to act as a contribution towards the extra costs that arise from needs related to a long-term health condition or disability, regardless of their employment status. It is designed to help working aged people with the extra costs associated with their disability. Entitlement is assessed on the basis of the needs arising from the health condition or disability, rather than the health condition or disability itself. It is not means-tested, is tax-free, paid in addition to any other benefits or support received, and can be worth up to £8,983 a year. If a child or young person has extra-costs arising from their disability, they may qualify for disability benefits such as Disability Living Allowance (DLA) for children. Attendance Allowance is available for people over State Pension age who need help with personal care or supervision because of an illness or disability. 1.4 million people are receiving Attendance Allowance, worth £6 billion a year. It is available for people who become disabled after state pension age to help them with the extra costs of disability and to maintain their independence. Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit (IIDB) provides non-contributory, “no-fault” benefit for disablement because of an accident at work or one of over 70 ‘prescribed’ diseases known to be a risk from certain jobs. The department is advised by the Industrial Injuries Advisory Council (IIAC), an independent scientific body, on changes to the list of occupational diseases for which IIDB can be paid. This year (2024/25) spending on the main disability benefits – Personal Independence Payment, Disability Living Allowance and Attendance Allowance is forecast to be £16.4 billion higher in real terms than it was in 2010. There are around 415,000 pensioners who are entitled to Disability Living Allowance, 516,000 pensioners entitled to Personal Independence Payment, and 1.5 million people entitled to Attendance Allowance.

Carer's Allowance

Carer’s Allowance (CA) aims to provide a measure of financial support and recognition for people who are not able to work full time in order to provide regular and substantial care for a severely disabled person. The main qualifying condition is that the carer is providing at least 35 hours of care to somebody in receipt of a qualifying disability benefit, and that no-one else is providing such care to that person. They do not have to be related to, or live with, the person they care for. At the 2024 Autumn Budget, it was announced that the weekly earnings limit will be raised from £151 to the equivalent of 16 hours per week at the National Living Wage (£196), from 7 April 2025. It will then increase in line with future National Living Wage increases. Worth an additional £45 a week from April next year, it will make over 60,000 carers eligible for support.

Under the Care Act 2014, local authorities in England are required to undertake a Carer’s Assessment for any unpaid carers who appears to have a need for support and to meet their eligible needs on request from the carer. In 2023/24, £327 million has been earmarked in the Better Care Fund to provide short breaks and respite services for carers, as well as additional advice and support. Universal Credit, Pension Credit, and other means-tested benefits can be paid to carers at a higher rate than to those without caring responsibilities. The Universal Credit carer element is currently £185.86 per monthly assessment period, rising to £198.31 in April 2024. It is payable in addition to the standard allowance and was being paid to around 560,000 carers as of May 2023. The additional amount for carers in Pension Credit is currently £42.75 a week, rising to £45.60 from April 2024. It is paid as an additional amount in the Guarantee Credit and was being paid to around 100,000 carers as of May 2023. If you’re of State Pension age and have a physical or mental health condition, you can check if you’re eligible for Attendance Allowance.

Family Fund

In 2023/24, the Government is investing £27.3 million to support over 60,000 families low-income families raising seriously ill or children with disabilities in England, by providing small grants to purchase equipment, goods, and activities which would otherwise be inaccessible. This can include white goods, resources for learning and play, technology, or family breaks. This funding is administered by delivery partner, the Family Fund Trust, and helps families manage their child’s care and support needs, whilst helping the family manage better financially.

Motability

The Motability scheme enables disabled people, their families and carers to lease a car, powered wheelchair, or scooter using their disability benefit. A Motability lease provides a ‘worry-free package’ including servicing, repairs, breakdown assistance and comprehensive insurance. It is is open to anyone who qualifies for the higher-rate mobility component for Disability Living Allowance (DLA), the enhanced rate of the mobility component for Personal Independence Payment (PIP), the Armed Forces Independence Payment, or the War Pensioners Mobility Supplement. Motability Foundation is an independent charitable organisation that is wholly responsible for the terms and the administration of the scheme. Over 640,000 people use the scheme.

Blue Badge Scheme

The Blue Badge scheme is a national scheme, recognised throughout the UK, providing concessions to on-street parking. It is primarily about helping those with permanent mobility issues access the goods and services they need to use. Applications are based on the need to park closer to their destination rather than on the condition itself. People need to apply for a badge to the local authority in which they reside. The legislation allows for badges to be issued with a three-year validity period, giving local authorities the opportunity to reassess badge-holders to ensure that they continue to meet the eligibility criteria and will still benefit from a badge. Each individual local authority is responsible for the administration of the Blue Badge scheme in their area and choosing an assessment approach that best supports their Blue Badge decision making process. Local authority administrators already have the discretion to add a ‘not for reassessment’ marker to individual Blue Badge records, including for applicants with permanent disabilities, which can help to streamline the reapplication process in those cases.

Disabled Facilities Grant

The Government is committed to helping older and disabled people live independently and safely. The Disabled Facilities Grant (DFG) is part of the Better Care Fund (BCF). It helps around 50,000 older and disabled people in England each year to adapt their homes to make them safe and suitable for their needs. Funding has more than doubled in recent years, rising from £220 million in 2015-16 to £623 million for 2023-24. Since 2010, the Government has invested £5.4 billion billion into the DFG, delivering an estimated 550,000 home adaptations in England. In People at the Heart of Care, we announced that £573 million would be available in each year from 2022/23 to 2024/25. Adaptations can include widening doors, installing ramps or grab rails, improving access around the home, as well as stairlifts and level-access showers. These can reduce emergency admissions to hospital, speed up a return home following a hospital stay and delay, or even prevent, the need for costly residential care in future. Local areas have discretion in how they manage the grant, for example, they can increase the cap on a case-by-case basis or in line with a locally published housing assistance policy. 

Personal Finances

The 2024 Autumn Budget announced that working-age benefits and the Additional State Pension will rise by 1.7% in April 2025, in line with inflation. This increase will see around 5.7 million families on Universal Credit gain an average of £150 annually.

Universal Credit

Universal Credit provides regular payments to help with living costs if someone is on a low income, out of work, or cannot work. It is replacing the following benefits and tax credits:

• Child Tax Credit
• Housing Benefit
• Income Support
• income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA) - If you need help when looking for work.
• Income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) - If you have a disability or health condition that affects how much you can work or if you need support to get back into work.
• Working Tax Credit

Anyone who requires support to make a new claim to Universal Credit - whether they are claiming benefits for the first time, have had a change of circumstance on legacy benefits which has initiated a move to Universal Credit, or have chosen voluntarily to move to Universal Credit - will be able to access the Help to Claim support, funded by DWP and provided by Citizens Advice, which has supported over one million people making a claim to Universal Credit since the programme launched in 2019. The advisers offer guidance on how Universal Credit works, how much you will get, collecting relevant evidence, and helping people complete the application. 'Universal Credit and you' gives an introduction to Universal Credit for people who are claiming it. The Universal Credit helpline is 0800 328 5644 and calls are free from landlines and mobiles.

At the 2024 Autumn Budget, the government announced a new 'Fair Repayment Rate', which caps deductions made through Universal Credit at 15% of the Standard Allowance. Before this, it was 25%. Approximately 1.2 million households will keep more of their Universal Credit payment each month, with households expected to be better off by an average of over £420 a year.   

Citizens Advice

Citizens Advice can help people to access relevant debt, benefits and housing support. In very complicated cases, it can refer a person to a money advice specialist. The Government is investing £38 million via Citizens Advice to deliver a ‘Help to Claim’ service to support vulnerable claimants through the process of making a claim to Universal Credit. This means that free confidential and impartial support will continue to be available to help people make a new Universal Credit claim, including those invited to move from legacy benefits to Universal Credit, and manage their claim, up to receiving their first correct payment. Since April 2019, ‘Help to Claim’ has supported nearly 900,000 people. The support will continue to be provided through telephony and digital channels. For those individuals who are unable to access support via these channels, they will be able to go to their local jobcentre, where jobcentre staff will identify the right support to meet their needs. This support is already in place and available to those who choose to seek advice from the DWP directly in making a Universal Credit claim.

Legal Aid Learning

The Legal Aid Learning website has been updated with an improved design and functionality. You will notice a new look and feel of the site from Go Live which will happen on Monday 7 October 2024. Whilst most existing content will migrate over; we are also taking the opportunity to remove any guides which are no longer up to date / relevant. These changes have been made due to substantial user feedback to help better the functionality of the site, greatly improving user experience.

Other changes include:

• A Live Webchat function via the website.
• Video content will be available and be hosted via YouTube.
• An improved search function has been created to help locate content easier, and quicker.

Immigration Advice

The Office of the Immigration Services Commissioner relaunched its Adviser Finder and Register. The Adviser Finder is a user-friendly way for people seeking immigration advice to find registered advisers in their area, and the Register exists to ensure the public can check whether an organisation or individual is registered with the OISC. Advisers provide advice and services on a range of immigration issues. Adviser Finder allows users to search for an adviser based on location. Advisers are a part of organisations, and these organisations are listed in the order of distance from the user, with those who are nearest coming first. Information provided includes the organisation’s authorisation level, website and contact details (please note, search results returned will only include organisations who have opted in to be included in this search function). The OISC Register serves as a tool to protect those seeking immigration advice from potential exploitation by unregistered individuals. On the OISC website, users can now search for a registered individual or organisation by inputting specific information (organisation or individual name or registration number). If the information searched matches an entry on the Register, this will be confirmed with a display of specific information (organisation or individual name, OISC reference number, level of authorisation, and website).

Money and Pensions Service (MaPS)

The Government established the Money and Pensions Service (MaPS) to provide people with comprehensive, consistent, guidance for each stage of their financial lives, from how to spot a financial scam through to how to budget for having a new baby through to the options someone might have for their pension pot when retiring. MaPS is the single largest funder of debt advice in England, offering resources to support consumers with a range of issues, including everyday money, benefits, financial difficulty, pensions and retirement, savings, and work. It is sponsored by the Department for Work and Pensions and, in 2021, launched the MoneyHelper service, a consumer-facing service which provides free, confidential, and impartial help tailored to individual needs - including a helpline on 0800 138 7777.  This includes budget planning and bill prioritiser tools, practical tips for engaging with creditors and a Debt Advice Locator Tool, which helps people find free, high-quality debt advice in their local area or via the telephone and online. MaPS expects to serve over 500,000 clients with debt advice this year. The Government continues to maintain record levels of funding to provide debt advice in England, bringing MaPS debt advice budget to £92.7 million in 2023/24. 

Formal debt solutions are legal processes which help people make a fresh start free of debt, such as Bankruptcy, Debt Relief Orders (DROs) and Individual Voluntary Arrangements (IVAs). The Fovernment announced changes to DROs in the Spring Budget in March 2024, to make sure that those who most need support can access help. Chancellor Jeremy Hunt announced that the £90 fee for DROs would be abolished from 6 April 2024.

Breathing Space

The Government launched the Breathing Space scheme in May 2021. The aim is to encourage earlier access to debt advice and enable people in problem debt to get their finances back on track. As of December 2022, over 200,000 people in problem debt have benefited from Breathing Space protections. It offers people in problem debt the right a period of legal protection from most enforcement action, interest, fees and charges for a period of up to 60 days to enable them to receive debt advice and enter into an appropriate debt solution. As of May 2023 over 130,000 people have accessed these vital protections. A standard breathing space is available for anyone with problem debt, administered by debt advice providers and local authorities who provide debt advice to residents.

Budgeting Loans

Budgeting Loans, available through DWP’s Social Fund, are interest-free loans repayable from benefit awards and designed to help with intermittent expenses that are considered difficult to budget. This can be used for household items, rent in advance and travelling costs. Budgeting Advances have replaced Budgeting Loans for those in receipt of Universal Credit (UC) helping to provide additional assistance for emergency household costs, such as replacing a broken cooker, getting a job or staying in work or funeral costs. Those in receipt of UC can access new claim advances at the beginning of their claim should they have upfront costs. There are also budgeting or change of circumstances advances, available throughout a UC claim, should someone encounter unexpected one-off expenses.

HMRC Support

HMRC is committed to helping all taxpayers pay their taxes and urges anyone having difficulty to make contact as soon as possible, to discuss the payment options that are available. HMRC can agree an affordable and sustainable instalment plan for taxpayers who cannot afford to make full payment of their tax when it is due. These Time to Pay arrangements are flexible, based on taxpayers’ specific circumstances, have no maximum length and can be amended if the taxpayer’s circumstances change. HMRC also provides a Budget Payment Plan service, through which self-assessment taxpayers can make advance payments to pay off a forthcoming tax payment, such as a payment on account. Self-Assessment taxpayers (including the self-employed) can make a claim to reduce or cancel their payments on account if they think they are excessive, or no longer due. HMRC also has a well-established Extra Support Service accessible by all taxpayers.

Help to Save

Help to Save supports individuals to kickstart a regular, long-term savings habit and build a rainy-day savings fund by providing a generous government bonus on savings. The last government launched the scheme in September 2018 to directly encourage those on lower incomes to save. This encourages saving for those on Working Tax Credit or receiving Universal Credit. At the 2024 Autumn Budget, it was announced that the scheme is being extended by two years until April 2027. Eligibility for the scheme will widen from April 2025. It will be open to all working Universal Credit claimants earning at least £1 a month.   

Announced by the last governement, the new UK ISA and British Savings Bonds provide opportunities to save whilst supporting investment in the UK. The UK ISA will support savers and open up UK retail investment opportunities for individuals. The UK ISA will be a £5,000 allowance in addition to the existing ISA allowance and will be a new tax-free product for people to invest in UK- focused assets. The British Savings Bonds is delivered through National Savings and Investments (NS&I). This product will offer a guaranteed interest rate, fixed for three years, increasing the savings opportunities available to consumers.

Child Trust Fund

More than 670,000 18-22 year olds yet to claim their Child Trust Fund are reminded to cash in their stash as HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) reveals the average savings pot is worth £2,212. Child Trust Funds are long term, tax-free savings accounts which were set up, with the government depositing £250, for every child born between 1 September 2002 and 2 January 2011. Young people can take control of their Child Trust Fund at 16 and withdraw funds when they turn 18 and the account matures. The savings are not held by government but are held in banks, building societies or other saving providers. The money stays in the account until it’s withdrawn or re-invested. If teenagers or their parents and guardians already know who their Child Trust Fund provider is, they can contact them directly. If they do not know where their account is, they can use the online tool on GOV.UK to find out their Child Trust Fund provider. Young people will need their National Insurance number – which can be found easily using the HMRC app -  and their date of birth to access the information. In the last year more than 450,000 customers, with just their National Insurance number and date of birth, used the free GOV.UK tool to locate their Child Trust Fund. The Child Trust Fund scheme closed in January 2011 and was replaced with Junior Individual Savings Accounts (ISA).

Home Ownership

We have helped over 876,000 households to purchase a home through these home ownership schemes since 2010, and first-time buyer numbers have been steadily improving over the last decade – with 2021 seeing the highest number for 20 years.

Affordable Homes Programme

Our £11.5 billion Affordable Homes Programme (2021-26) is the largest single funding commitment to affordable housing in a decade and will deliver thousands of affordable homes for both rent and to buy across the country. It funds traditional social housing, through social rent and affordable rent, alongside affordable home ownership options, like Shared Ownership - a part rent, part buy scheme to buy a share of between 10-75% of a new build home and then pay rent on the rest. Affordable Rent was introduced in 2011 to make it possible to deliver a larger number of affordable homes for a given amount of public investment. Since 2010, we have delivered over 659,500 new affordable homes, including over 458,700 affordable homes for rent, of which over 166,300 homes for social rent.

First Homes

Our First Homes policy brings homes for sale at a discount or at least 30% to full market values, making both deposits and mortgage requirements, prioritised for local people and key workers. It is delivered via the planning system through section 106 planning obligations. The discount will be passed on to all future purchasers in perpetuity, so these homes will keep helping first-time buyers onto the property ladder for generations to come. Beyond the national criteria, local authorities will be able to set local connection and/or key worker criteria for First Homes in their area, based on the needs of their local community.

Forces Help to Buy (FHTB)

The Forces Help to Buy (FHTB) scheme was set up in 2014 to provide Service personnel with the opportunity to purchase a property for immediate occupation, creating a stable environment regardless of assignment and reducing the challenge presented by an inherently mobile career. The Ministry of Defence recognises that FHTB continues to be a popular scheme, helping more than 27,500 Service personnel to buy or extend a home.

Help to Buy: ISA

The Help to Buy: ISA (launched in 2015) allows prospective first-time buyers to obtain a government bonus of up to £3,000 towards their first home. This scheme closed to new accounts on 30 November 2019, but existing Help to Buy: ISA holders can continue saving into their account until 30 November 2029 and can claim the government bonus until November 2030.

Lifetime ISA

Since April 2017, adults under 40 have been able to open a Lifetime ISA (LISA), a long-term savings product to encourage younger people to save for their first home or for later life. The Government provides a 25% bonus on savings of up to £4,000 each year, provided the savings are kept for the long-term. Savings invested in a LISA can be withdrawn from the age of 60 but funds can be withdrawn at an earlier stage if used as a deposit for the account holder’s first home on a property worth up to £450,000. Help to Buy: ISA account holders will be able to transfer their funds to a LISA within the LISA’s £4,000 annual limit.

Help to Build: Equity Loan

The Help to Build scheme provides access to low deposit mortgages and improves affordability of home ownership for people who want to build their own homes. Modelled, in part, on the original Help to Buy scheme, customers can borrow an equity loan of between 5% and 20% (up to 40% in London) of the estimated costs to buy the land (if needed) and build their home. Currently there are no plans to alter the percentage of equity loan available in the scheme.

Stamp Duty

In 2022, the Government cut Stamp Duty Land Tax, doubling the threshold at which it becomes due from £125,000 to £250,000 and expanding First-Time Buyers Relief (FTBR) by raising the threshold at which it becomes payable from £300,000 to £425,000. The maximum property value on which FTBR can be claimed has also been lifted from £500,000 to £625,000. These changes will remain in place until 31 March 2025 to support boost mobility and the property market.

Mortgage Guarantee Scheme

The Mortgage Guarantee Scheme launched in April 2021 and is open until the end of June 2025. It supports homebuyers and movers with deposits as small as 5%, with lenders offering 95% mortgages under the guarantee. This will increase enable more households to access mortgages without the need for prohibitively large deposits. As of June 2023, the scheme has directly helped over 39,000 households to buy their homes, 86% of which have been first-time buyers.

Mortgage Charter

On Friday 23 June 2023, the Chancellor met with the UK’s largest mortgage lenders, UK Finance, and the Financial Conduct Authority to discuss how lenders will provide support for those who encounter problems keeping up with their mortgage payments. At this meeting, lenders agreed to a new Mortgage Charter to support borrowers struggling with their mortgage payments that was published on 26 June. The Charter sets out the standards signatory lenders – who represent over 90% of the UK mortgage market – will adopt when helping their customers, including new flexibilities to help customers manage their mortgage payments over a short period. The Government has also taken a number of measures aimed at helping people to avoid repossession, including protection in the courts through the Pre-Action Protocol, the Housing Loss Prevention Advice Service (HLPAS), and Support for Mortgage Interest (SMI) loans.

Support for Mortgage Interest

Support for Mortgage Interest (SMI) provides reasonable support by making a contribution towards mortgage interest to protect claimants against the threat of repossession. The rate of SMI is based on the average mortgage rate published by the Bank of England and increased from 2.09% to 2.65% in May 2023. Any further changes will occur when the average mortgage rate differs by 0.5 percentage points or more from the rate in payment. From April 2023, we extended the support SMI provides by allowing those on Universal Credit to apply for a loan after three months, instead of nine. We also abolished the rule which prevented Universal Credit claimants from receiving support if they were in work. The amount of SMI payments made in financial year 2022/23 is £22 million.

Bereavement Support

Bereavement Support Payment (BSP) helps working age people with short-term financial support through the difficult period following bereavement when their spouse, civil partner (or cohabiting partner if there are children) dies.

The Funeral Expenses Payments scheme contributes towards the cost of a funeral arranged by someone in receipt of income-related benefits. The scheme pays necessary burial and cremation costs in full, as defined by legislation, plus up to £1,000 for other expenses such as the cost of a coffin, church and funeral director fees.

The Government is committed to ensuring that all families who lose a child are given the support they need. The Children’s Funeral Fund for England ensures that no bereaved family will have to pay for the essential costs of burying or cremating their child. It can help to pay for some of the costs of a funeral for a child under 18 or a baby stillborn after the 24th week of pregnancy.