Hardship Grant Community Fund Household Support Fund - Round 4 After receiving cabinet approval on 27th June 2023, the Household Support Fund Round 4 is available to ease the financial burdens faced by its vulnerable citizens living in Birmingham. The Household Support Fund, provided by the Government’s 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. These funds are not impacted by the recent issuing of a Section 114 notice by Birmingham City Council (BCC) more details about this can be found here Hardship Grant Community Fund Birmingham Voluntary Service Council’s (BVSC) Hardship Grant Community Fund (HGCF), part of BCC’s wider Household Support Fund (HSF) activity, will be running through until 31st March 2024. 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. Hardship Grant Community Fund: September update Please be aware that the scheme is currently closed to new applications whilst BVSC and our partners focus on contacting those households who have already made an enquiry prior to 29th September 2023. If you or someone in your household has already applied or submitted an enquiry prior to this date, please be patient as you will be contacted using the details provided on your initial enquiry form to complete the full application process. If you wish to discuss your existing application, please contact the organisation who supported you with your application in the first instance. Alternatively, our dedicated team can be contacted via [email protected]. We will begin accepting new enquiries to the scheme again in the next few weeks. More information will be made available on this webpage in the coming weeks. What additional support is available? In the meantime, you can find more information and resources on BCC's Cost of Living Support Page and on the Government’s Cost of Living Hub Who is eligible? You must be a Birmingham Resident You must be experiencing financial hardship, particularly with regards to covering costs linked to food and energy. Your household must not have received a £200 grant payment in the last 12 months* Please be aware that you may be expected to provide proof of address and proof of means-tested benefits (if you are in receipt of them) in the case that you are invited to apply. *Please be advised that each household is only eligible to receive one £200 grant payment in a 12 month period. e.g., If you received a £200 payment on 30th September 2022, you cannot re-apply until 1st October 2023. Any application received before your eligibility date will be rejected. Preventing fraud We must make sure that all applications are made legitimately. You may have committed an offence under the Fraud Act 2006 if you: • falsely declare your circumstances • provide a false statement • provide false evidence in support of your application We have a zero-tolerance approach to fraud and financial irregularity. Frequent internal audits within the application system actively monitor submitted applications for signs of fraud and details of any attempts to make fraudulent applications and/or fraudulently receive grant funding will be shared with West Midlands Police. Receiving a grant from this fund will not impact on any other benefits you may be receiving or may be entitled to. This grant is free at the point of access, under no circumstances should a household be required to pay a fee to apply for a grant from the Hardship Grant Community Fund. Grant payments are made directly into a bank account in the applicant’s name. If you do not currently have a bank account, please click the link below for details on how to open a Basic Bank Account. Opening a basic bank account How can I make contact with BVSC? If you would like to leave us a Comment, Suggestion, or make a Complaint, please click the link below. Compliments, Comments and Complaints