The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has helped to fund special hardship grants which are being delivered to West Midlands households in needSpecial £200 payments could arrive in bank accounts this monthSpecial £200 payments could arrive in bank accounts this month(Image: iStockphoto)

Households in the West Midlands could be set for special handouts arriving this month.

Birmingham City Council is issuing cost of living payments worth £200 to residents.

The payments, known as ‘hardship grants’, are designed to support households with paying for basic necessities such as food, energy and water.

READ MORE: UK households set for £200 cost of living payments and when you’ll get paid

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Birmingham City Council’s hardship grants have been funded by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) via the DWP’s Household Support Fund (HSF).

The HSF is a special pot of funding set up to support households struggling with basic living costs.

The council has three sets of criteria that households must meet in order to successfully apply for the funds.

These are that:

  • Applicants are a permanent Birmingham resident.
  • They can demonstrate that they’re experiencing financial difficulty, particularly with covering food, energy and water
  • Households have not received a previous hardship grant in the past 12 months

The money is delivered via the council’s Hardship Grant Community Fund which is currently running until March.

It means households who have recently applied for the funding and have been successful could be paid in January.

The council has opened the scheme numerous times in recent years after receiving different rounds of funding from the HSF – you can apply here.

The current round of funding from the HSF, which was set-up in October 2021, is round seven.

However there’s been no current announcement on whether the HSF will be extended for round eight.

The council’s grant scheme is run in partnership with Birmingham Voluntary Service Council’s (BVSC), which said: “The Household Support Fund, provided by the Department for Work and Pensions, is a fixed amount of money available to the Local Authority to be used to support those households in most need, with essentials such as food, energy and essential goods and supplies, including water.

“Birmingham Voluntary Service Council’s Hardship Grant Community Fund, part of Birmingham City Council’s wider Household Support Fund (HSF) activity, will be running until 31st March 2026.

“BVSC will be distributing grants of up to £200 to Birmingham households, currently facing financial hardship, with the funds intended to help households with food costs and energy payments.”