Household Support Fund

Thank you for visiting our Household Support Fund (HSF) page. 

The UK government recently announced an extension to the Household Support Fund to support struggling households with bills and essential costs from 1 April 2025 until 31 March 2026.

Additional support continues to also be available for those struggling with the costs of living.

Household food and energy bills support

Citizens Advice Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole (BCP) manages some of the Household Support Fund (HSF) on behalf of BCP Council. This includes issuing grants on behalf of the BCP Council to provide short-term financial support for low-income households struggling with food and energy.

Citizens Advice BCP will only accept grant applications from qualifying BCP households during the following quarterly application windows:

• 9 am on Monday 12th May 2025 to 4.30pm on Friday 4th July 2025
• 9am on Monday 21st July 2025 to 4.30pm on Friday 12th Sept 2025
• 9am on Monday 29th Sept 2025 to 4.30pm on Friday 21st Nov 2025
• 9am on Monday 8th Dec 2025 to 4.30pm on Friday 30th Jan 2026

Subject to available funds, qualifying households will receive a grant voucher with a maximum value of £150.

A maximum of two grants may be awarded to eligible households, on receipt of a second qualifying application, where a grant has not previously been awarded in the preceding application window.

To qualify for the Household Support Fund (HSF), you:

• must live in the BCP Council area
• over the age of 16 and living independently of parents or carers
• do not have the money to pay for essentials
• can provide the required proof of your identity, BCP Council residency and household financial information, including a summary for every person in your household not in full-time education. You may also be required to provide proof of income, such as a recent bank statement

Note:

Demand for HSF grants are high, and it may take 8 weeks for your application to be processed.

Receipt of a HSF grant is not guaranteed, and your application may be rejected due to a lack of available funds. We will make every effort to support as many eligible applications as possible, however funds are often limited compared to the volume of applications received.

Grant vouchers will only be issued to the named applicant, or the person nominated by them to receive vouchers on their behalf.

Citizens Advice BCP and BCP Council reserves the right to alter the periods during which applications can be made and eligibility criteria, subject to available HSF grant funds. All applicable changes will be notified on this page.