Welcome to the BCP Household Support Fund webpage

The Household Support Fund (HSF) is provided by the Government. The Department for Work and Pensions has extended the Household Support Fund, which will be  administered by BCP Council through Citizens Advice BCP. The fund is designed to provide short-term financial support to vulnerable households struggling to afford household essentials. Citizens Advice BCP manage and allocate this fund on behalf of BCP Council.

BCP council also offers other options of support that can be found on their website: 

https://www.bcpcouncil.gov.uk/Communities/Cost-of-living-help/Cost-of-living-help.aspx

Grant vouchers are only issued to the named applicant, or the person nominated by them to receive vouchers on their behalf.

Criteria is based on need of support and eligibility. You will need to provide evidence of residency in the BCP council area and a form of ID such as a Drivers License or passport. Those deemed as having sufficient savings or income may not meet the criteria of ‘struggling to afford household essentials’. 

To be eligible:

  • You must live in the BCP Council area
  • You will be over the age of 16 and living independently of parents or carers
  • You are struggling to pay for essentials because you don’t have enough money to pay for them
  • You can provide the required proof of your identity, BCP Council residency and household financial information, including a summary for every person in your household not in full-time education. You may also be required to provide proof of income, such as a recent bank statement
  • You have not received 2 or more Household Support Fund grants since the 15th April 2023

The Household Support Fund will be delivered in quarterly cycles with application periods 

Please note – If your household received help from this fund in the last application round, we will not be able to grant your application during this round of quarterly applications.

Please be aware that demand for the HSF grant is high and it may take 8 weeks for your application to be processed. Please keep in mind that we cannot guarantee that you will receive the grant and your application may be rejected due to lack of funds.  While we try to support as many applicants as possible, the funds are limited compared to number of applications we receive. 

The Fund will also be open to applications on the following dates:

Monday 16th October until 5pm Friday 10th November 2023 (NOW CLOSED)

Monday 15th January until 5pm Friday 9th February 2024 (NOW CLOSED)

Details of how to contact an Adviser from Citizens Advice BCP can be found here: www.citizensadvicebcp.org.uk/get-advice/

Please check your junk mail if you do cannot find an email confirmation of your application being submitted.

About Citizens Advice

Citizens Advice provides free, confidential support and advice to help people find a way forward. We can help with advice on the following: benefits, debt, energy, housing, employment, food insecurity and other charitable help.

Citizens Advice BCP can be contacted by calling the Adviceline on 0808 278 7939 or visit your local office website: www.citizensadvicebcp.org.uk

Citizens Advice Bournemouth Christchurch and Poole is a member of the National Citizens Advice network and are Joint Data Controllers with National Citizens Advice for all the information that you provide, and which is held on our systems. Our Privacy Policy can be viewed here: Citizens Advice Privacy Policy

Details of how to contact an Adviser from Citizens Advice BCP can be found here: www.citizensadvicebcp.org.uk/get-advice/