Food vouchers and housing costs – Hampshire

Support with food and housing costs

Food vouchers via local district and borough councils

Funding is being made available to local district and borough councils to distribute food vouchers, as follows:

  • Households in receipt of council tax support – a one-off £50 food voucher will be made available
  • Households in receipt of housing benefit only – a one-off £80 food voucher will be made available

Those who are eligible for a voucher will be contacted directly by their local council.

Support for housing costs

District and borough councils will be supporting vulnerable households with exceptional housing costs, where existing housing support schemes do not meet need and for cases of genuine emergency.

What is on offer?

A provision for support of housing costs, in exceptional cases of genuine emergency where existing housing support schemes do not meet the need, and in cases of genuine emergency. District and borough councils will determine funding based on individual needs. 

Who is eligible?

Vulnerable households struggling with housing costs. The grant can be used, exceptionally and in genuine emergency, to provide support for historic rent arrears built up prior to an existing benefit claim for households already in receipt of Universal Credit and Housing Benefit.

The fund cannot be used for ongoing support for rent or mortgage payments. Eligibility for Discretional Housing Payments (DHPs) must be considered first and consideration given to whether there is a statutory risk of homelessness and therefore a duty of support is owed through the Homelessness Prevention Grant (HPG).

The grant cannot be used to provide mortgage support.

Homeowners and other individuals in receipt of some other form of housing support could still qualify for the other elements of the Household Support Fund (such as food, energy, water, essentials linked to energy and water and wider essentials).

To apply for exceptional housing costs, or for more information, contact your local borough, district or city council.

Find your local council

Other targeted support

The connect4communities programme will provide targeted support via food vouchers to several different cohorts.

  • Four £50 food vouchers will be supplied for 678 care leavers and 103 post-16 young people in supported lodgings
  • Two £100 food vouchers will be issued to families open to our disabled children’s teams
  • A £500 food voucher will be sent to Hampshire foster carers to contribute to the increase in cost of living
  • £500 worth of food vouchers will be awarded to 946 eligible Special Guardianship Order or connected carers currently receiving financial support
  • Support for looked after children placed at home will be provided in the form of one £500 voucher per household
  • Two £100 food vouchers to 43 families open to children’s social care teams whose children are educated other than at school, to contribute to cost of living pressures
  • A £100 food voucher to support 215 unaccompanied asylum-seeking children aged 16-18 and the resettlement of families in Hampshire

Supermarket vouchers are also available for unpaid carers facing financial cost of living pressures. To find out more, please contact any of the local organisations below who will explain in more detail what help can be offered: