A grants scheme to support households with basic living costs has now reopened, with applicants able to come forward
The payments have been made available with the reopening of a council grant scheme(Image: Getty Images/iStockphoto)
Households have been urged to come forward for new cost of living payments.
A grants scheme run by Birmingham council has officially reopened for the summer period.
The city council has made available £200 payments, known as hardship grants, to help families and households struggling with everyday living costs.
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Birmingham council says the grant payments are intended to help pay for things such as food, water and energy.
The scheme has been funded by the UK government’s Household Support Fund (HSF), which is delivered by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP).
The HSF allocates a slice of funding to local authorities across the country to support residents who are financially struggling.
The HSF is run in a series of rounds of funding, with round seven opening on April 1 of this year.
As a result, Birmingham council has reopened its grants scheme which also run during the winter period and closed in March.
The grants scheme will run throughout 2025 and into March 2026, in line with the period of round seven of HSF funding.
That means households in the city can now come forward and make applications for the hardship grants.
The local authority has three pieces of eligibility criteria that applicants must meet to be able to get the funds.
These are that applicants are a Birmingham resident, be able to demonstrate they’re experiencing financial hardship, and households must not have received a £200 grant payment in the past 12 months.
To apply for the funding, click here.
A spokesperson for the scheme said: “The scheme is expected to support eligible households with grant award payments through to the end of March 2026.”