Research and analysis

Household Support Fund management information for 6 October 2021 to 31 March 2022

Published 28 July 2022

Applies to England

Introduction

The £421m Household Support Fund was made available from 6 October 2021 to 31 March 2022 to support those most in need across England with the cost of:

  • food
  • energy (for heating, lighting and cooking)
  • water (for household purposes, including sewerage)
  • other essential living needs

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) provided funding to county councils and unitary authorities (including metropolitan councils and London boroughs), under section 31 of the Local Government Act 2003. The Authorities administered the scheme to provide assistance to vulnerable families with children and other vulnerable households during the final stages of economic recovery.

151 County councils and unitary authorities in England participated (Isles of Scilly did not participate). The guidance enabled them to deliver the scheme through a variety of routes, including issuing grants to third parties, providing vouchers to households or making direct provision of food. County councils were encouraged to work together with district councils to provide support and ensure the funding met its objectives.

The conditions of the scheme required that at least 50% of expenditure should be to support “Households with children” and the grant is primarily allocated to support with the costs of food, energy (for heating, lighting and cooking), water (for household purposes, including sewerage) and other essential living needs as described in the grant determination below:

(a) “the authority must ensure that:

  • at least 50% of the grant is allocated to support households that include:
    • a person who will be under the age of 19 as at 31 March 2022, or
    • a person aged 19 or over in respect of whom a child-related benefit is paid or free school meals are provided during the period, and
  • up to 50% of the grant is used to assist other households, and

(b) “the authority is to ensure that the grant is primarily allocated to support with the costs of food, energy (for heating, lighting and cooking), water (for household purposes, including sewerage) and other essential living needs in accordance with the Scheme guidance;

(c) in exceptional circumstances of genuine emergency, the Authority may allocate grant funds to support with housing costs as set out in the Scheme guidance.

The grant determination has been published on GOV.UK.

About these statistics

The figures shown in this release are from the statement of spend (as of 22 June 2022) from the 151 English Authorities which participated in the Household Support Fund programme (Isles of Scilly did not participate). The template for returning the spend, the grant determination (describing the terms of the grant) and detailed guidance are published on GOV.UK.

The Annex shows by Authority, the:

  • Authority Grant allocation for the period 6 October 2021 to 31 March 2022
  • Authority’s reported spend for the same period
  • % of the Authority spend on administering the scheme

Statement of application of the Code of Practice for Statistics

The Code of Practice for Statistics (the Code) is built around 3 main concepts, or pillars:

  • trustworthiness – is about having confidence in the people and organisations that publish statistics
  • quality – is about using data and methods that produce statistics
  • value – is about publishing statistics that support society’s needs

The following explains how we have applied the pillars of the Code in a proportionate way.

Trustworthiness

The figures were created following interest from Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) ministers and the Members of Parliament. We were unable to restrict access to the data ahead of the publication as the data has been used internally as Management Information (MI). They are being published now in order to give equal access to all those with an interest in them.

Quality

The data which underpins this information is taken directly and solely from the Statements of spend returned to DWP by participating Authorities and the published grant determinations for the scheme. DWP liaised with Authorities to validate the returns. Analysis of the Authority returns has undergone review by analysts and internal audit. The MI has also been reviewed and approved by the scheme’s project design group.

Value

Releasing this information serves the increased public interest in how Authorities have used grant funding from DWP to support those most in need over the winter during the final stages of economic recovery. The figures also help reduce the administrative burden of answering parliamentary questions, Freedom of Information requests and other forms of ad hoc enquiry and serves public interest.

Further information and feedback

Lead Statistician: Lottie Devaney

Analyst: Andrew Friedman

Contact the DWP Press Office if you have any questions or feedback.

Annex: Authority level MI

Grant Allocation and reported spend for the Household Support Fund by authority for the period 6 October 2021 to 31 March 2022

Note: All MI as reported by authorities in their declaration of spend for the Household Support Fund (HSF).

Authority Total HSF awarded (£) Spend (£s) Number of awards % Expenditure on families with children % Spend on administration
Bath and North East Somerset UA 966,860.28 966,860.28 9,701 76% 6%
Bedford UA 1,201,485.00 1,201,484.84 26,856 74% 0%
Blackburn with Darwen UA 1,618,526.59 1,618,526.00 24,234 88% 6%
Blackpool UA 1,745,857.53 1,501,771.00 40,310 98% 7%
Bournemouth, Christchurch & Poole UA 2,653,367.04 2,600,896.00 72,574 93% 3%
Bracknell Forest UA 555,468.03 555,468.03 8,620 63% 1%
Brighton & Hove UA 2,140,360.89 2,140,360.89 15,231 76% 1%
Bristol UA 4,039,965.11 4,039,965.11 73,340 53% 2%
Buckinghamshire UA 2,399,190.54 2,399,190.54 72,154 83% 7%
Cambridgeshire 3,581,424.56 3,581,424.56 114,907 87% 5%
Central Bedfordshire UA 1,483,073.82 1,483,073.82 14,476 90% 6%
Cheshire East UA 2,203,892.10 2,203,892.10 55,861 89% 6%
Cheshire West and Chester UA 2,290,047.45 2,290,047.00 33,846 91% 4%
City of Nottingham UA 3,556,933.83 3,541,731.00 151,356 82% 5%
Cornwall UA 4,528,569.87 4,528,569.87 141,421 71% 2%
Cumbria 3,690,234.69 3,690,234.69 54,510 71% 8%
Darlington UA 913,853.75 913,853.75 6,100 90% 1%
Derby City UA 2,224,711.41 2,224,711.41 84,676 82% 1%
Derbyshire 5,404,080.90 5,404,080.90 67,766 74% 1%
Devon 5,064,876.12 4,892,726.23 173,754 88% 10%
Dorset UA 2,294,941.45 2,294,941.45 51,716 82% 3%
Durham UA 4,676,099.65 4,676,099.65 70,247 89% 1%
East Riding of Yorkshire UA 2,061,832.61 2,061,832.61 12,850 84% 4%
East Sussex 3,896,783.88 3,896,783.86 87,174 85% 3%
Essex 9,436,542.83 9,436,542.83 154,445 90% 2%
Gloucestershire 3,692,483.14 2,833,447.83 47,664 80% 9%
Halton UA 1,297,880.42 1,265,707.00 37,606 90% 5%
Hampshire 7,124,127.25 6,834,299.78 233,682 79% 3%
Hartlepool UA 993,021.25 993,021.00 20,108 77% 3%
Herefordshire UA 1,329,601.78 1,329,601.78 18,033 98% 3%
Hertfordshire 6,172,064.84 6,172,064.84 221,401 73% 2%
Isle of Wight UA 1,131,576.08 1,131,576.08 38,298 90% 4%
Isles of Scilly 11,130.10 - - - -
Kent 11,065,380.80 10,782,669.17 254,702 83% 5%
Kingston upon Hull UA 3,038,293.68 3,038,293.68 117,527 68% 0%
Lancashire 9,678,235.22 9,678,235.22 229,593 87% 6%
Leicester City UA 3,429,353.16 3,429,353.16 78,628 83% 6%
Leicestershire 3,620,038.89 3,620,038.89 82,190 71% 4%
Lincolnshire 5,464,685.20 5,420,899.00 133,524 84% 4%
Luton UA 1,829,274.04 1,829,274.00 28,013 72% 4%
Middlesbrough UA 1,653,614.95 1,653,520.57 33,575 75% 6%
Milton Keynes UA 1,792,516.52 1,792,000.00 16,469 76% 5%
Norfolk 6,696,806.23 6,696,806.23 102,829 75% 7%
North East Lincolnshire UA 1,559,664.65 1,559,664.65 15,100 71% 0%
North Lincolnshire UA 1,323,892.77 1,323,892.77 22,860 77% 4%
North Somerset UA 1,307,847.79 1,239,280.00 18,753 85% 4%
North Yorkshire 3,537,549.92 3,537,549.92 20,624 92% 5%
North Northants 2,465,491.77 2,465,491.77 15,318 92% 3%
Northumberland UA 2,480,330.00 2,480,330.00 47,698 72% 4%
Nottinghamshire 5,646,450.03 5,624,169.00 130,597 83% 5%
Oxfordshire 3,361,256.14 3,361,256.14 72,217 91% 3%
Peterborough UA 1,824,636.27 1,824,636.27 61,246 86% 4%
Plymouth UA 2,294,796.82 2,294,796.82 51,487 84% 4%
Portsmouth UA 1,888,214.70 1,888,214.70 32,112 86% 1%
Reading UA 1,130,648.94 1,130,648.94 15,813 69% 3%
Redcar & Cleveland UA 1,296,381.17 1,296,381.00 3,833 71% 2%
Rutland UA 157,371.07 156,467.00 3,159 80% 15%
Shropshire UA 2,088,795.13 2,088,795.13 51,302 66% 4%
Slough UA 1,177,691.53 1,177,691.53 38,673 73% 2%
Somerset 3,820,415.56 3,770,349.00 53,692 76% 10%
South Gloucestershire UA 1,410,016.31 1,410,016.31 39,800 80% 6%
Southampton UA 2,222,676.23 2,216,065.00 61,523 80% 4%
Southend-on-Sea UA 1,413,078.83 1,412,779.46 21,520 80% 8%
Staffordshire 5,506,547.99 5,503,220.26 97,632 86% 5%
Stockton-on-Tees UA 1,685,873.97 1,685,873.97 22,210 71% 2%
Stoke-on-Trent UA 2,686,721.90 2,686,136.00 70,126 91% 8%
Suffolk 5,106,030.02 5,106,030.02 123,303 69% 2%
Surrey 5,290,829.72 5,205,560.00 63,981 81% 3%
Swindon UA 1,515,345.60 1,515,345.00 29,795 82% 2%
Telford and the Wrekin UA 1,514,547.04 1,514,547.00 11,188 89% 2%
The Medway Towns UA 2,262,463.11 1,908,248.00 73,168 90% 5%
Thurrock UA 1,295,040.81 1,295,040.69 50,135 89% 0%
Torbay UA 1,235,356.81 1,235,356.81 24,687 81% 7%
Warrington UA 1,440,750.42 1,440,750.00 9,735 79% 5%
Warwickshire 3,472,997.02 3,472,997.02 91,892 98% 1%
West Berkshire UA 694,849.63 694,849.63 9,487 90% 3%
West Sussex 4,870,362.11 4,870,362.11 37,447 76% 4%
Wiltshire UA 2,728,656.41 2,728,656.41 59,393 72% 5%
Windsor and Maidenhead UA 587,905.21 587,905.21 18,775 78% 2%
Wokingham UA 525,573.35 525,573.35 12,648 82% 8%
Worcestershire 3,949,139.19 3,949,139.19 82,583 76% 7%
York UA 1,037,906.47 1,037,906.47 9,691 80% 4%
Bolton 2,780,316.57 2,780,316.57 72,253 89% 2%
Bury 1,534,200.05 1,498,452.00 32,593 80% 4%
Manchester 6,453,163.20 6,453,000.00 119,736 60% 0%
Oldham 2,419,369.23 2,419,369.23 56,570 87% 4%
Rochdale 2,337,383.85 2,337,383.00 66,905 68% 2%
Salford 2,733,899.11 2,733,899.11 38,702 62% 5%
Stockport 2,163,129.71 2,163,129.71 45,394 63% 11%
Tameside 2,224,686.33 2,222,483.54 66,977 93% 0%
Trafford 1,458,074.48 1,458,074.48 25,572 76% 5%
Wigan 2,818,234.30 2,818,234.30 55,478 91% 6%
Knowsley 1,862,188.67 1,862,188.67 65,048 88% 6%
Liverpool 6,054,020.20 6,054,020.20 95,586 72% 3%
St Helens 1,779,580.89 1,779,552.00 23,687 70% 6%
Sefton 2,435,111.24 2,435,111.00 56,777 84% 7%
Wirral 3,049,345.09 3,049,345.09 81,557 81% 5%
Barnsley 2,351,263.96 2,351,263.62 16,475 58% 0%
Doncaster 2,989,273.08 2,989,273.08 88,501 84% 6%
Rotherham 2,489,029.87 2,489,029.87 85,908 65% 0%
Sheffield 5,203,825.56 4,933,805.74 127,855 94% 0%
Gateshead 1,836,629.95 1,836,629.95 32,512 76% 1%
Newcastle upon Tyne 2,898,403.85 2,461,314.15 25,146 87% 9%
North Tyneside 1,609,998.05 1,609,998.05 41,097 84% 4%
South Tyneside 1,484,854.01 1,484,854.00 39,112 100% 2%
Sunderland 2,673,561.91 2,673,561.91 29,043 79% 5%
Birmingham 12,791,135.04 12,606,588.43 74,637 84% 8%
Coventry 3,224,222.30 3,201,867.15 106,585 71% 4%
Dudley 2,625,519.07 2,625,519.07 81,900 91% 3%
Sandwell £ 3,471,442.28 3,471,442.28 118,964 88% 0%
Solihull 1,408,359.07 1,408,359.07 31,494 87% 9%
Walsall 2,819,810.19 2,780,323.00 37,639 74% 5%
Wolverhampton 2,631,877.25 2,631,877.25 43,739 76% 6%
Bradford 5,694,487.83 5,694,487.83 116,301 64% 0%
Calderdale 1,833,003.46 1,833,003.00 30,364 70% 0%
Kirklees 3,702,823.27 3,702,823.27 142,876 85% 0%
Leeds 7,098,648.16 7,098,648.00 218,116 70% 7%
Wakefield 3,124,926.90 3,124,926.90 57,901 65% 2%
City of London 63,080.28 55,206.94 270 51% 18%
Camden 2,006,931.89 2,006,931.89 49,556 83% 7%
Greenwich 2,378,692.91 2,378,692.91 57,626 88% 3%
Hackney 2,822,258.58 2,803,913.00 26,634 86% 7%
Hammersmith & Fulham 1,414,374.97 1,414,374.97 96,149 80% 1%
Islington 2,218,159.62 2,218,159.62 53,265 54% 1%
Kensington & Chelsea 1,180,369.12 1,128,060.00 31,024 68% 4%
Lambeth 2,720,637.01 2,720,637.01 53,358 85% 6%
Lewisham 2,668,537.62 2,668,537.00 34,449 66% 1%
Southwark 2,734,366.02 2,734,365.58 62,098 66% 6%
Tower Hamlets 2,996,279.40 2,996,279.00 30,860 57% 5%
Wandsworth 2,069,485.13 2,069,485.00 50,552 79% 5%
Westminster 1,951,507.12 1,951,507.00 27,842 66% 2%
Barking & Dagenham 2,162,051.52 2,162,051.52 49,866 80% 7%
Barnet 2,455,182.90 2,455,182.90 16,605 87% 9%
Bexley 1,542,309.65 1,542,000.00 57,891 70% 2%
Brent 2,781,222.28 2,781,222.28 26,718 67% 3%
Bromley 1,867,882.58 1,867,882.58 10,837 91% 3%
Croydon 3,013,689.49 3,013,688.80 34,365 91% 2%
Ealing 2,658,804.97 2,658,804.97 11,874 89% 5%
Enfield 2,847,994.64 2,847,994.64 125,593 89% 1%
Haringey 2,406,671.72 2,406,671.72 70,751 70% 4%
Harrow 1,476,707.18 1,469,155.29 31,902 86% 8%
Havering 1,648,150.98 1,447,948.00 28,421 78% 9%
Hillingdon 2,069,342.07 2,069,342.00 28,385 96% 5%
Hounslow 2,042,396.17 2,042,396.17 72,585 96% 0%
Kingston upon Thames 862,867.15 862,866.27 9,345 79% 2%
Merton 1,186,607.26 1,186,607.00 17,287 76% 1%
Newham 3,339,194.75 3,339,194.00 102,457 91% 10%
Redbridge 1,965,979.20 1,965,979.19 43,934 84% 1%
Richmond upon Thames 836,356.66 836,356.66 17,432 64% 1%
Sutton 1,155,788.99 1,145,000.00 37,513 72% 2%
Waltham Forest 2,327,527.60 2,327,527.60 66,995 70% 3%
West Northants 2,599,628.73 2,487,941.26 29,317 81% 4%
Totals 421,000,000.03 417,003,966.48 8,899,926 80% 4%

Notes

  • Total Household Support Fund awarded (£s), this is the total Award made to Authorities as described in the Grant Determinations for the scheme 6 October 2021 to 31 March 2022
  • All spend statistics derived from Individual Authority’s Statement of spend as of 22 June 2022 and as described in the scheme’s detailed guidance
  • Authority spend has been capped to remove any contributions made by Authorities using their own funds
  • Number of awards is as reported by Authorities, it may not represent the number of people helped as some may have received multiple awards
  • Percentage spend on admin: This is calculated for the period 6 October 2021 to 31 March 2022 as reported admin costs / total reported spend on the Household Support Fund for the authority