Help with cost of living
We understand that many residents are facing a cost of living crisis with rising bills, if you’re worried about affording payments, managing debt and looking after you and your family’s wellbeing – there is support available.
If you receive Universal Credit or other benefits, you could be eligible for a social
broadband tariff and save up to £144 a year on your broadband bills. Full details on eligibility and the deals available can be found on the Essex county council website.
Universal Credit is a payment to help with your living costs. It’s paid monthly. You may be able to get Universal Credit if you’re on a low income or need help with your
living costs. You could be working (including self-employed or part time) or be out of
work. To claim you must: You can use a benefits calculator to check what benefits you could get. For information on income-related benefits, contribution-based benefits, Universal Credit, tax credits, Council Tax Reduction and Carer’s Allowance use: You can also check with a local benefits adviser to find out what you could be entitled to. Anyone can apply for this funding. You will need to answer questions about your income,
earnings and savings. You also need to give proof of your financial situation. The Essential Living Fund can help pay for: The Essex Essential Living Fund has replaced Crisis Loans and Community Care Grants. You must live in Essex and apply through Southend Borough Council. For information about grants, funding and support to help with paying energy and utility
bills, please visit our Energy Efficient Homes
page. If you need extra financial help with your housing costs you can apply for a
Discretionary Housing Payment. You must be in receipt of either Housing Benefit or
Universal Credit that includes a housing element to apply. Find out more information
and apply for discretionary housing benefit. Most benefits can be paid early. This is known as a 'short term benefit advance'. You might be able to get your benefit paid early if: A small amount will be taken off future payments to pay it back - usually for 12 weeks.
You can’t get a benefit paid early for: To ask for an advance, contact the DWP office that's dealing with your benefit claim. You
can find their contact details on any letter or email you’ve had from them. You can apply for Council Tax support if you’re: How much Council Tax support you might get depends on: If you have savings and investments totalling more than £16,000 (apart from some
pensioners on Guarantee Pension Credit) you are not likely to get Council Tax support.
Find out more aboutCouncil Tax
Support. You could get extra money to help with your living costs if you’re over State Pension age
and on a low income, even if you have savings or own your own home. If you’re struggling to pay for food, you might be able to qualify for food vouchers. You’ll usually need a referral to access the food bank which can be obtained from
Citizen’s Advice or another organisation currently supporting you such as our Housing or
Benefits teams. You can also speak to our Customer Services department to request a food bank voucher The following food banks are located in the district: Offices are manned by volunteers and days/times may vary. Please call before you come so
that your journey is not wasted. Free school meals are available to pupils in England if parents get certain benefits. Check if your child
can get free school meals. The National School Breakfast Programme (NSBP) is funded by the Department for Education
and delivered by Family Action to support schools in England to provide children with a
healthy breakfast at the start of the school day. All participating schools will receive a 75% subsidy for breakfast club provision until the end of the current programme in July 2025. Meaning you pay just 25% of the cost of food and delivery. Find out more about the National School Breakfast Programme. The Department for Education’s programme runs during the Easter, Summer and Winter holidays, and is solely aimed at school-aged children who receive benefits based free school meals during term time, also known as the HAF programme. Limited spaces are available for children who’re from ‘low-income’ working families and you will need to book on directly with the club and self-certify. Essex County Councilquickly recognised a gap in the offer, for those who are on the cusp of being eligible for benefit based free school meals. The council decided to provide additional funding, extending the offer to ‘low-income’ working families and a small number of other eligible groups during smaller half terms. Due to smaller half terms only running for a week, clubs offer sessions for about 2-3 days on average, therefore spaces are limited and provided for those most in need. Community fridges take surplus food from supermarkets and businesses for people to take
for free – helping to reduce food waste and provide fresh food to people who need it.
You don’t need to qualify to use it, you can simply help yourself, leaving something you
don’t need yourself or a donation towards the running costs if you can. The following community fridges are available in the area; Pantries: If you're at least 10 weeks pregnant or have a child under 4 years old, you might be able
to get free vitamins and Healthy Start vouchers for milk, fruit and vegetables and
infant formula milk. To get the free vitamins and Healthy Start vouchers you must also be claiming either: If you get Child Tax Credit you can’t get the vitamins and vouchers if you also get
Working Tax Credit - unless you get the ‘run-on’ payment. Working Tax Credit run-on is
the payment you get for 4 weeks after you stop qualifying for Working Tax Credit. If you’re under 18 and pregnant, you can still get vitamins and food vouchers even if you
don’t get any of these benefits. Ask your midwife or health visitor for an application form. You can also call the Healthy
Start helpline on 0345 607 6823 and ask them to send you a form. Calls cost up to 9p a minute from landlines and up to 55p a minute from mobiles. It
should be free if you call from your mobile and have landline calls included in your
contract. Making a meal plan for the week can help you save money in the long run, only buying what
you need and helping you to stick to a list when going to the supermarket and reducing
return trips where you might buy more. Find advice on ways to lower your food bill at Money Saving Expert. The average family of four can save just over £60 per month by reducing their food waste.
For help and advice to eat better and waste less visit the Love Food Hate Waste website. You might be able to get what's called a 'budgeting loan' for essentials like clothing or
a washing machine if you claim certain benefits. You might be eligible if you get: The loan is interest-free, so you'll only have to pay back what you borrow. You'll
usually need to pay back the loan within 2 years. If you’re struggling to pay your essential living costs and can’t afford your repayments,
contact the DWP’s Debt Management contact centre. If you’re struggling to afford the cost of school uniform, your child’s school may be
able to help. Speak to them to see if they run any schemes such as a school uniform
exchange or provide grants towards uniform costs. Alternatively, you may find old uniforms in charity shops or via Pay it Forward Facebook
pages. You can get up to £500 every 3 months (up to £2,000 a year) for each of your children to
help with the cost of childcare. You may be able to claim back up to 85% of your childcare costs if you’re eligible for
Universal Credit, with up to £1,014.63 back each month for one child or £1,739.37 for 2 or more
children. Find out more about claiming back childcare costs. You could claim a one-off payment of £500 to help towards the costs of having a child.
Check if you're
eligible for the Sure Start Maternity Grant. Carousel Family Centre Braintree District usually hold a free school uniform event on in early August at Carousel Family Hub, Chapel Hill, Braintree, CM7 3QZ. No booking is required, you can just turn up on the day. They also take pre-orders for school uniform so you can turn up and collect your bag. Check their Facebook page for updates. For pre-orders please email: info@uniform@dnanetworks.org In the email, please provide your name, contact number and send a list of the required
items (including the size, colour, school specifics and gender preference). Please send
as a list and separate out each child's needs one at a time. Most uniform items are
measured as ages (i.e. 5-6 years 7-8yrs etc) although some secondary aged items will
require a Chest and Waist size in inches. Uniform provided by Essex Free School Uniform. Low cost clothing can be bought from: Or you may be able to find a local clothing exchange or swap in your local area, or why
not organise one among friends or neighbours? Sometimes clothes or children’s clothes are listed on local Pay it Forward Facebook pages
too. If you need new or replacement household items, there are a number of websites where
people list items for free they no longer need. If you have an item that needs repairing, why not take it to a repair café? A Repair Café
runs at Cornerstone Church in Black Notley. Find more about Cornerstone
Church. You can get up to a third off train fares with a railcard in Great Britain, saving up to
£142 a year on average. Save one
third on rail journeys with a railcard. You may be eligible for a Jobcentre Plus Travel Discount Card if you're on Universal
Credit. Find out more information on the National Rail website. In England you can get a bus pass for free travel when you reach the State Pension age.
Apply for
an older person's bus pass. If you’re disabled then you may be eligible for a disabled person’s pass if you live in
England.
Broadband savings
Universal Credit and other benefits
Essex Essential Living Fund
Help with energy bills
Discretionary Housing Payment (DHP)
Short term benefit advance
Council Tax Support
Food Banks
Essex ActivAte – Holiday Activity and Food
Community Fridges
Healthy Start Vouchers
Meal Planning and Food Budgeting
Love Food Hate Waste
Interest free loan for essentials
Help with child costs
Clothing
Household Items and other supplies
Transport costs