Household Support Fund

The Household Support Fund is funding provided by the UK government to enable the council to provide support with the Cost of Living. 

Main areas of financial support

The main ways the council provides support are as follows:

• The Oxfordshire Resident Support Scheme has been available since 1 June 2023. Residents experiencing severe financial hardship or who have suffered a crisis may be eligible for additional financial or practical help.
• Children and young people in early years settings, schools and colleges will continue to receive free school meal equivalent support ahead of school holiday periods. This discretionary scheme is currently funded at £15 per holiday week per eligible child or young person and typically takes the form of a supermarket voucher or a digital equivalent.
• The City and District councils receive funding to spend on priorities in their areas. Details of the support offered can be found on the cost-of-living pages on these councils’ websites.

Additional help available

The council funds a range of smaller projects from the Household Support Fund, which include the following:

• Support with energy efficiency measures in our Better Housing Better Health programme
• Free period products in some of our libraries
• Support for community larders across the county
• Grants programmes run by Oxfordshire Community Foundation and Good Food Oxfordshire to enable community organisations to bid for funding to support their communities with the cost of living

Wider Cost of Living help

Please see our webpage on Help with rising living costs for additional support available in Oxfordshire.