Up to £140 to help with cost of living
The Household Support Fund is open for applications to get residents money to help with the cost of:
- Food
- Energy
- Bills
- Other essentials
If you have a child who receives means-tested free school meals, you apply to First Days Children's Charity for Holiday Food Vouchers. This is £20 per week, per child, during the school holidays.
For anyone else, if you’ve previously been awarded a one-off grant (between October 2023 and March 2024) you can now apply again if you need help. You could be given for £70 or £140 depending on your situation.
You can apply to Citizens Advice Wokingham or Age UK Berkshire. Select the button below to start your application.
Session to help with your debts
The next debt support session at Norreys Church (RG40 1UU) in Wokingham will run on Friday 5 July, from 12 noon to 2.30pm.
Sessions are aimed specifically at helping residents who have debts owed to the council and there is information about organisations that can help in this area.
If you can’t make it this time, teams will be there on the first Friday of the month. Other future dates include:
- Friday 2 August
- Friday 6 September
- Friday 4 October
Reserve a spot online to speak with someone or just turn up on the day.
Sessions happen at the same time as SHARE Wokingham’s weekly food help offer in the same location, which runs from 12.30pm to 2.30pm.
Apply now – reduce your Council Tax
You can claim a Council Tax Reduction if you have a lower income and small or no savings.
We have new qualifying criteria for earnings for the new financial year (2024/25), full details in the table below. You could be entitled to a discount for the first time, or get a different amount.
You could save between 20 per cent and 78 per cent on your Council Tax (up to 100 per cent if you’re pension age). This means you could potentially have hundreds of extra pounds in your pocket.
There are eligibility criteria for reductions, but some income from certain benefits does not count towards claims. Full details are on our website.
How much you could save (working age)
Income amounts shown are monthly.
|
Discount
|
Qualifying characteristics
|
Single- person household
|
Couple
|
Family - one child
|
Family - more than one child
|
|
78%
|
In receipt of passported benefits
|
£590.31
|
£796.97
|
£914.97
|
£1,239.69
|
|
60%
|
N/A
|
£590.35 - £826.51
|
£796.985 - £1033.10
|
£914.98 - £1,151.18
|
£1,239.74 - £1,475.82
|
|
40%
|
N/A
|
£826.52 - £1,121.64
|
£1,033.11 - £1,328.23
|
£1,151.19 - £1,446.36
|
£1,475.832 - £1,830.03
|
|
20%
|
N/A
|
£1,121.65 - £1,475.82
|
£1,328.24 - £1,682.44
|
£1,446.37 - £1,800.48
|
£1,830.04 - £2,125.165
|
|
No discount
|
N/A
|
More than £1,475.83
|
More than £1,682.456
|
More than £1,800.49
|
More than £2,125.176
|
If you prefer to look at earnings weekly, you can check eligibility criteria by weekly earnings on our website.
Help if you have a disability
There is a wide range of disability-related financial support, including benefits, tax credits, payments, grants and concessions.
Some benefits you might get are:
- Universal Credit
- Personal Independence Payment (PIP) or Disability Living Allowance (DLA)
- Attendance Allowance
- New Style Employment and Support Allowance (ESA)
Depending on your circumstances, you might also be able to get:
Check support options if you have a disability.
Did you know? Save on bus fares
To help people with cost of living pressures and save on everyday travel costs, there is a £2 bus fare cap on most routes in England outside London until the end of December 2024.
Visit your local bus operator website for more information about the cap in your area. Further information on the cap and check if routes you use are include on GOV.UK.
Traveline.info can also be used to plan journeys and find more information on available routes.
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