Professional referral open for household support fund - fuel vouchers

As one element of support, we have set up a scheme for professionals to refer people into, and details of this are not to be shared wider. If you know of other organisations that would benefit from access to this scheme, please provide their details to householdsupportfund@kent.gov.uk.

The scheme is now live and available for applications to be made.

You can apply up until Friday 30 September 2022, or until the budget is spent.

If successful, support will be provided in the form of the following:

• £150 in energy vouchers for pre-paid gas and electricity meters and direct debit customers who are responsible for paying the energy costs in the household.  We are also able to consider providing vouchers to off-grid customers.

Vouchers will be sent by email or SMS text.  If the household have no access to the internet or email, the vouchers will be posted to their home address.

There is a limited amount of funding available for this scheme and funds will be distributed on a first come, first served basis, with only one award per household.

Eligibility criteria

There is an expectation for professionals to complete due diligence checks of applications to ensure that recipients of vouchers meet the eligibility criteria as set out below:

• are aged 16 or over
• are a Kent resident, permanently living within one of the 12 local authorities covered by Kent County Council (this excludes Medway, Bexley, or Bromley)
• are in receipt of means-tested benefits or household income is less than £16,200 per annum before tax
• haven’t previously accessed this round of Household Support funding.

Useful Information

When making an application professionals will need to be able to provide the following information to ensure that the application is processed.

• National Insurance number
• Energy providers name
• How the person pays for their energy (pre-payment meter, Direct Debit or if off grid and using oil)
• Benefits received.

This is separate to the Household Support Fund scheme where Kent residents were able to apply directly, which has since closed. If support is required as a result of the increase in cost of living, professionals can apply for the Household Support Fund for the eligible person.

Any additional enquiries can be directed to householdsupportfund@kent.gov.uk