Apply for a Hardship Prevention Fund payment 2024
We have extended our Hardship Prevention Fund for 2024.
You may be able to receive up to £900 if you are in financial hardship and you do not have enough money for basics like food, gas or electricity.
You will need to complete our application form and describe the hardship you are in, what goods or financial assistance you need, and provide details of your income and expenditure so that we can work out how much we can award you from this fund to help alleviate the hardship you are currently suffering. The more information you provide and supporting evidence, the quicker we can get a payment out to you.
Hardship prevention payments are one-off awards to help H&F residents if they are in financial hardship and without immediate help you could be at risk and you have no other source of financial support available to you to alleviate your current issue.
Examples of what may be causing you hardship at this time:
- You are a pensioner and have lost your winter fuel allowance and are now worried about your winter bills and have no additional financial resource to meet this loss
- You are in arrears with your gas, electricity and or water
- You are on a low income and need help to replace your child's school uniform, shoes and or winter coat
- You are living with family or friends and cannot meet your current living costs or have an unexpected expenses and have no other source of financial support to help you.
Find out more about the fund and what the payments can and can't be used for.
How much you can receive
You can apply for a one-off payment of up to £900 if you have not had a hardship prevention payment (previously called Crisis Prevention) from us in the last rolling 6 months.
In exceptional circumstances we do have the discretion to award more than £900 and can consider an additional payment of up to £900 in less than the 6 months if you have provided sufficient evidence and reasons as to why you need an additional award from this fund.
The amount you receive will depend on your circumstances and the size of your household.
The fund is discretionary and there is no automatic entitlement, there is no right to appeal if you are deemed not eligible for support at this time.
All payments will be paid directly into your bank account, and once paid you won't have to pay anything back.
We do have the discretion to consider any case for a Hardship Prevention Fund payment if you can demonstrate and evidence your hardship and need.
Who can apply
To apply for a hardship prevention payment you must:
- be a resident of Hammersmith & Fulham
- be 18 years of age or older or 16 and be responsible for younger children be struggling with energy or water arrears that are causing you hardship
- be responsible for council tax or living independently and paying rent,
or if you are not responsible for council tax or the rent, and you are living in an address in Hammersmith & Fulham and you can evidence your residency in the borough and are in hardship we will consider a one off payment to you the equivalent to the weekly basic living amount for your circumstances - have less than £1,000 in total savings at the time you apply
- not have enough money for your short-term essential living expenses, due to an unexpected change in your circumstances, or there has been a disaster or emergency and are going to face hardship as a result.
You do not need to receive government benefits to apply, but you will need to show you don't have other money available.
You can also apply if you have temporary immigration status.
Priority groups for this fund
We have identified the following groups as a priority for this fund:
- older people in fuel hardship (including fuel and energy arrears), or who are worried about keeping warm during winter
- households with Disabled adults or children, who are struggling with higher utility bills
- Disabled and long-term ill residents claiming DLA, PIP or Incapacity Benefit
- unpaid carers (adults or children)
- care experienced young people
- large families with children under 5 years old
- single parents
- single-person households
- single-person households (with or without dependents) commonly contacting our cost-of-living support team
- individuals fleeing domestic violence or facing other community safety issues.
Applications will only be assessed for people who meet the eligibility criteria and fall into one of these groups.
How to apply
You can apply for a hardship prevention payment online at any time.
You will need to provide information about:
- where you live
- who you live with
- your circumstances
- your income and expenses
- your savings
- your health
- what help you are applying for
Please make sure you provide all the information you've been asked for.
If you don't have all the supporting evidence you need when you apply, you have up to 14 days to send it to us.
Failure to provide evidence within 14 days may lead to your application being refused. If you require more time to provide evidence, tell us why when you apply.
Incomplete applications will be closed after 14 days.
What happens next
We aim to process your application as soon as possible.
It may take longer to process your application if we need to contact you for more information.
Get help with your application
Contact our cost-of-living support team if are finding it difficult to apply online, or you have a question about a new or existing application.
You can call them on our free phone number 0800 917 6994. The line is open 8am to 6pm, Monday to Friday.
Or click on the webchat icon in the bottom right hand corner of the screen and an advisor will respond straightaway if in working hours.
British Sign Language (BSL) users can contact the team using a BSL video interpreter.
About the Hardship Prevention Fund
The Hardship Prevention Fund is for H&F residents who are struggling with essential day-to-day living expenses such as paying for food and utility bills (gas and electricity).
In some cases, we can provide financial assistance for other essential household items such as white goods and furniture.
In exceptional cases, we may also provide financial assistance for repairs and or replacements.
Assistance through the fund is intended to help with one-off and short-term needs, rather than on-going financial hardship.
What the fund will not cover
Not every application will be successful as our funds are very limited.
We will not make payments for:
- applications felt to be 'not an immediate need' or where other means of support are available
- applications from those with sufficient income or savings
- clothing (except where hardship is evidenced for children's uniforms or winter coats and in exceptional circumstances where someone is fleeing their home because of flood, fire or domestic violence)
- furniture and household items where living in private rented furnished accommodation or furnished temporary accommodation, where this is the responsibility of the landlord
- mortgages or mortgage arrears
- rent or rent arrears
- council tax or council tax arrears
- personal debts – we will refer to appropriate agencies for support
- phone costs or associated expenses
- parking fines, Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) or congestion zone charges
- court expenses (legal proceedings) such as legal fees, court fees, fines, costs – unless related to an individual voluntary arrangement (IVA)
expenses for self-employed businesses - vehicle repairs or improvements
- any need that occurs outside of the UK
- medical expenses, treatments or items of medication (unless related to running expenses for medical equipment)
- domestic assistance and respite care
- repairs to a local authority property or the property of housing trusts
- home repairs and improvements
If your application is unsuccessful, we may refer you to other advice and support that's tailored to your situation.
This may include advice on how to:
- reduce your energy bills
- claim benefits
- manage your budget and debt.
Privacy notice
Read our Hardship Prevention Fund privacy notice to see what we do with your personal information.