Financial support, advice and guidance

Applications have now closed.

The Household Support Fund (HSF) is to help North Lincolnshire residents who are most in need. It is aimed at households who are struggling to buy food.

To be eligible:

•  You must be a resident living in North Lincolnshire.
•  You must have no other way of paying for the items you need help with.

The fund is now open for applications and will close once all the allocated funds have been distributed. To apply use the form below.

For people needing help with food for themselves or their children, grants will be awarded in local supermarket vouchers.

Decisions about grants will be made by Citizens Advice North Lincolnshire, who will need to telephone you to check your identity and do a brief assessment. In some cases this may include a home visit.

If you are struggling to pay your Council Tax you may be entitled to Council Tax Support. To apply, please visit the Council Tax Support Scheme webpage.

All personal data collected for the purpose of administering the Council’s Household Support Fund will be handled in accordance with the General Data Protection Regulations / Data Protection Act 2018. Your personal data will only be shared with other organisations where we are allowed or required to do so. Please see our Data Protection and Privacy webpage for further information. Before you click submit you are declaring that the information you have given on this form is correct and complete, that you have checked the information and you understand that providing information that is incorrect or incomplete may result in action against you.

A full scale move to Universal Credit has begun with Tax Credit claimants being contacted by letter notifying them of the migration.

Anyone who has received a migration letter are being urged to make their Universal Credit claim.

Further information to help understand Universal Credit is available on the GOV.UK website – Understanding Universal Credit as well as guidance on how to make a claim – Help to Claim.

If you’re on benefits or have a low income you may be eligible for:

• the Warm Home Discount Scheme
• energy-saving improvement schemes
• home energy support payments.

We know people are worried so the government is offering help for households. See what cost of living support you could be eligible for on the Government’s Cost of Living support page.

If you are struggling to pay your Council Tax, contact us as soon as possible;

• Help with council tax payments
• Council Tax Support
• Frequently asked questions and answers about unpaid Council Tax

Contact us if you want to apply for housing benefit, or need additional assistance with rent payments if your household is suffering from severe financial hardship:

• Apply for housing benefit
• Discretionary housing payment

Do you need help to upgrade the energy efficiency of your home? Help is available for families on low incomes. Visit the Housing standards, improvements, grants and loans page for more information and how to apply for a grant.

Our housing service is dedicated to improving the standard of accommodation in North Lincolnshire by making homes decent, safe and comfortable to live in. We can also offer advice and guidance if you are having problems paying your mortgage or are at risk of losing your home.

• Housing Service
• Homeless Services

We offer assistance to vulnerable homeowners to carry out essential repairs/improvements to their homes such as severe damp and mould, faulty electrics, structural collapse or issues around food safety.

In addition to the above assistance, limited help is available to vulnerable low income households who are without adequate heating (have some living areas that are not heated) or have an old inefficient boiler or require additional insulation measures (subject to survey and eligibility criteria).

Private rented tenants may qualify for limited funding towards heating and insulation measures only.

Further information and how to apply is available on the housing standards, improvements, grants and loans page.

If you currently have NO HEATING and NO HOT WATER please ring the contact centre on 01724 297000.

There are a number of independent organisations who can provide support, advice and guidance across a wide range of money matters including help with debt, paying bills and budgeting.

If you need help and advice about your money worries, or providing enough food for you and your children there are people who can help:

• Citizens Advice North Lincolnshire
• Trussell Trust
• Crosby Community Association
• Money Advice Service – Money Advice Service – online budget planner
• Step Change
• PayPlan

Turn 2 us

Turn2us is a national charity helping people through tough times. They partner with many charities to offer financial assistance mainly through grants. There is a very good grant search tool which anyone can use: you can search by different criteria such as geographic location, past occupation or health condition. You don’t always need to be in receipt of benefits to qualify.

Glasspool Charity

Essential Living Fund- open to anyone legally resident in UK.

We provide timely, small, one-off grants to individuals, couples and families for everyday items to help them cope when things get tough, equip them to manage better day-to-day and enable them to build a stronger future.

We invite applications from support agencies on behalf of the people they support, as we believe that by working with others we can provide greater support. Visit the Glasspool website for more details.

Family Fund

We are the UK’s largest grant-making charity for families raising a disabled or seriously ill child, on a low income.

Family Fund believes that families raising disabled or seriously ill children and young people should have the same choices, quality of life, opportunities and aspirations as wider families. We try to make this happen every day by:

• Giving grants to families on a low income for items they may not otherwise be able to afford. For example family breaks, digital equipment, white goods, clothing, bedding, furniture and play equipment.
• Offering services to help parents and carers to achieve the outcomes they want for their child and family. This includes where to go for support with money, benefits and budget planning, information on mental health and wellbeing. And practical workshops to help people get online and use digital tools.
• Providing ways for families to share their experiences, so they can influence lasting change on issues that matter to them.

Visit the Family Fund website for more details.

Entitledto

Our mission is to help everyone to access the benefits they’re entitled to. We want to make sure everyone who is entitled to benefits is empowered to claim them.

The UK’s benefits system is very complicated. And we know it can feel overwhelming for people using it for the first time or needing to understand the implications of a change of circumstances. So, our task is to simplify the system so people can quickly find out what financial support they may be entitled to. Visit the Entitledto website for further details.

If you need information about paying for adult social care, personal budgets, the financial assessment, benefits you may be entitled to, how to get independent financial advice and acting as a power of attorney, visit our Get help paying for care page.

There are several different schemes available to help parents and carers pay their childcare costs, depending on their individual family circumstances. The links provide more details on the schemes available:

• Help with childcare costs
• Childcare Choices

If you’re over 16 in need of support to improve your prospects of finding training opportunities, work, are currently unemployed or looking to progress your career there is help available:

• Local Jobs & Support
• North Lincolnshire Council jobs
• North Lincolnshire Adult Education and Community Learning
• Government ‘JobHelp’ website

Feeling low can make managing money tough and worrying about it can make you feel even worse. By dealing with your debt it will help you to feel less stressed and anxious and more in control.
There are organisations you can talk to in confidence if you feel your situation affecting your mental health:

• Samaritans
• NHS Talking Therapies
• MIND
• Community wellbeing hubs
• Young People’s Mental Health Support

There are a number of community places in North Lincolnshire where you can access food and/or clothes.

Foodbanks

Trussell Trust foodbanks – Scunthorpe Foodbank | Helping Local People in Crisis

• Connect Church, Scunthorpe
• St George’s Church, Crosby One
• Epworth Baptist Church,Epworth
• Barton Salvation Army (partner)
• Ashby Salvation Army (partner)

Visit a referral agency to pick up a voucher:-

• 0-19 Health & Wellbeing Service (Health Visitors) 0800 0199951
• Anvil House 0115 8504159
• Blue Door (Domestic Violence) 0800 1974787
• Carers Support Centre 01652 650585
• Citizens Advice Bureau 01724 878010
• Community Mental Health Services 01724 272628
• Crosby Community Association 01724 330022
• CrosbyONE Centre 01724 277757
• MIND 01724 279500
• ONGO Housing 01724 279900
• ONGO Communities 01724 844848
• The Forge Project 01724 276742
• Voluntary Action North Lincs 01724 845155
• We Are With You 01724 857633
• Westcliff Community Works 01724 298818

Vouchers can be exchanged for three days’ worth of food.

• Brigg Foodbank – enquiries must go through a trusted provider. Please see Brigg Foodbank facebook page for further details.
• Kirton in Lindsey Food Aid – Kirton in Lindsey has a Food Aid scheme (foodbank) for people living in the town which runs out of the Town Hall Kirton in Lindsey. Apply through the site or text 07396 738436.

Pantries

Pantries often have fresh food (fruit and vegetables) as well as frozen food.

• Crosby One – Crosby Fresh Food Project Pay £2 for a basket  Crosby One Centre | Scunthorpe | Facebook
• Crosby Collective at Oasis Hub Henderson Avenue –  Oasis Hub Henderson Avenue | Facebook
• Waste not, Want not at Ashby Community Centre – A Pick and Mix Community shop, 15 points for £5 -6pm Tuesdays. All profits go into the project. Waste not want not – Ashby | Scunthorpe | Facebook
• Kirton Community Shop – Community Shop runs from Kirton in Lindsey Town Hall, £6 for 16 items – Kirton in Lindsey Community Shop | Facebook

Community Fridges

Community Fridges are literally fridges set up in the local community to support residents to access refrigerated food.

• Crosby Community Association – The Crosby Community Association | Telephone – 01724 330022
• Isle of Axholme Foodshare – Community Pantry and fridge runs at Haxey Youth Hub Isle of Axholme Foodshare Project – Haxey & Owston Ferry Churches

Clothing Banks

Clothing banks are a newer feature in our communities. They can be found at:-

• Family Bank – Providing baby clothing and essentials, children’s clothing and uniforms to families in Scunthorpe. Family Bank | Scunthorpe | Facebook
• Community Clothing Bank – A wide range of children’s and adult’s clothes. Isle of Axholme Foodshare Project | Facebook

Grocery Aid

GroceryAid supports people who work or have worked in the grocery industry. This includes anyone who works for a supermarket, wholesaler, manufacturer, convenience store, independent grocer, petrol forecourt store or service provider to the grocery trade.

They offer grants to alleviate financial hardship and grants for white goods/household items. To be eligible they would need to have six months continuous current service or five years if previously worked in Grocery and they will need to also meet an income criteria. They also offer emotional support/counselling and benefits and financial advice.

Helpline 08088 021 122  Website: Groceryaid.org.uk