Cost of living payments are available for households who are struggling with finances to claim – but there’s reasons that applications could be denied
It’s a sad reality that households up and down the country are struggling with the cost of living.
Prices are going up across the board and people are finding it harder and harder to pay for basic things.
The Government has recognised this by drawing up a special pot of funding to help local authorities support residents who are most in need.
READ MORE: £200 cost of living payments arriving in March even if you don’t claim benefits
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The Household Support Fund (HSF) is funded by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) and allocations of HSF funding has been delivered to councils across the country.
In turn, local authorities have drawn up schemes to support households financially.
A popular initiative has seen councils make available cost of living payments.
These are generally one-off payments issued to households who are worst off.
There is usually a certain eligibility criteria that households must meet in order to receive these payments.
For example, applicants must be a permanent resident in the area and experiencing financial hardship.
One of the local authorities in the West Midlands offering cost of living payments is Birmingham City Council.
The city council’s cost of living payments – known as hardship grants – are worth £200.
Applications for hardship grants currently remain open until March 31.
However while there may be many households genuinely in need of help, the local authority has warned others about making illegitimate claims.
Applicants have been warned they could be committing fraud if they provide false evidence on applications and the police could get involved. This falls under the Fraud Act 2006.
Birmingham City Council warned: “We have a zero-tolerance approach to fraud and financial irregularity.
“We will report all suspicions of fraud relating to this scheme to West Midlands Police.”
The council has warned the following reasons applicants could be denied payments:
- falsely declaring your circumstances
- providing a false statement
- providing false evidence in support of an application
Explaining what the cost of living payments are, a spokesperson for the council said: “Households facing financial hardship can apply for grants through the Hardship Grant Community Fund.
“These grants are given out by us, with help from the Birmingham Voluntary Service Council (BVSC) and local partner organisations.
“Hardship payments are intended to help households with everyday household essentials such as energy and food, with grant payments of up to £200 per household.”