Cost of living and warm spaces

The Government has announced extra support for families to help with cost of living pressures.

Please note: These are government schemes. South Tyneside Council is not responsible for administering this support.

GOV.UK: Cost of living support

Support and advice

Find support and advice including:

• Money and debt advice, and local support services
• Check if you are entitled to benefits
• Crisis support and food
• Jobs and skills support
• Warm spaces South Tyneside
• Support with education

See support and advice

Welfare Support Service

The Welfare Support Service is the first point of contact for money advice in South Tyneside.

They provide debt, benefit and money advice on the phone, in your local area or if necessary, in your home.

The service is free, impartial and confidential.

Welfare Support Service

Warm spaces are free public places where residents can go to get warm, save money on their heating costs, avoid social isolation, and receive support and advice.

A number of organisations and venues have pledged their support to residents this winter. 

To view all the locations in the Borough, see Map of Warm Spaces in South Tyneside.

For more information see:

• Warm spaces South Tyneside (Community spaces)
• Warm spaces South Tyneside (Council spaces)
• Warm spaces South Tyneside (Children's centres)

You can request more information about a warm space by contacting warmspaces@southtyneside.gov.uk.

The Department for Work and Pensions has provided extra funding from 1 October 2022 to 31 March 2023.

This funding is to help towards:

• energy costs
• water bills
• food
• other essential costs

Who is eligible

You may be eligible for extra financial support if you:

• are struggling financially due to the cost of living crisis
• have not already received the government's £650 Cost of Living Payment, paid to those in receipt of certain welfare benefits.

There are household income and savings criteria that you will need to meet to be eligible for these awards.

If you meet the criteria for assistance, a single payment of £150 per household will be made.

If you don't meet the eligibility criteria

if you do not meet the criteria for the above support but are struggling to meet your day to day living expenses, you may be eligible for support under our local welfare provision service.

Apply for the Household Support Fund

To apply for help, please submit an application.

Please upload your latest payslip or proof of self-employed earnings to show you are currently employed or working.

Please make sure you have told us about all members of your household on the application form, and details of your household income.

Failure to provide this information may cause delay to your application's processing time.

Support through the Local Welfare Provision Scheme

You may be eligible for support through our Local Welfare Provision Scheme.

Funding for this scheme has been increased using money from the Household Support Fund.

This scheme provides short term financial help if you have a financial crisis or need help with your daily living expenses because you are experiencing exceptional hardship.

You will need to apply for this fund to check if you are eligible.

Applications will be considered on a case by case basis. You will need to provide proof of your circumstances.

Support is provided in the form of vouchers that you can use for food and energy.

Apply for the Local Welfare Provision Scheme

Money and debt advice

• Welfare Support Service
  The Welfare Support Service is the first point of contact for money advice in South Tyneside.
• Money and debt support services in South Tyneside
  Find local and national support services.
• Advice from the government
  GOV.UK has help pages about how to support your income, housing support, help with childcare costs, transport and getting into work.

Check if you are entitled to benefits

South Tyneside Council provides:

• Housing Benefit
  Help to pay your rent if you are on a low income
• Council Tax Support
  Help to pay your Council Tax if you're on a low income

The government provides other benefits, such as Universal Credit, Tax Credits, Job Seeker's Allowance and low-income benefits, disabilities benefits and benefits for families.

You can use an independent, free benefits calculator to check what you could be entitled to. See GOV.UK: Benefits calculator.

Also see GOV.UK: Benefits

Entitledto

Entitledto is an organisation which works with councils and housing associations to help people claim benefits - it provides an easy to use calculator to help people find out what they are entitled to and go on to make a claim.

Energy and water bills

• British Gas Energy Trust
  Helping families and individuals experiencing hardship who are struggling with energy debts.
• OVO Energy Fund
  Helping people who've fallen behind with their energy payments to OVO.
• E.ON Energy Fund
  Helping the most vulnerable existing or previous customers of E.ON Energy. The Fund can help pay current or final E.ON energy bill arrears to customers living in England, Scotland or Wales.
• EDF customer support fund
  Providing support for those who may be struggling with their household energy bills. From insulation and replacement heating systems to energy-efficient white goods.
• Scottish Power Hardship Fund
  If you're on a lower income and are struggling to pay your energy bills, you may be eligible for the ScottishPower Hardship Fund.
• Simple energy advice
• Energy saving trust
• Support with heating and insulation (Energy Company Obligation)
  Home energy efficiency measures such as insulation and upgrading inefficient heating for low income and fuel-poor households.
• Stay Switched on Campaign: Let's Help our Communities Keep Safe
  Sign up to your energy supplier's priority service register to see if you're eligible for extra support.
• Northumbrian Water SupportPlus
  If you're on a low income, less than £17,005 per annum, or receive pension credit, Northumbrian Water may be able to reduce your bill by up to 50%.
• Northumbrian Water WaterSure
  If you have a water meter Northumbrian Water will cap your metered charges, if you use more water than average, for reasons that can't be helped, such as a disability.
• Northumbrian Water Financial Support
  Offering a range of ways to help if you are struggling with water bills.
• LEAP
  A free service that is helping people keep warm and reduce their energy bills without costing them any money.

Crisis support, food and household items

• Crisis support
  If you have a financial crisis, you may be able to get short-term financial help.
• Food banks
  Food banks supply food parcels for individuals and families in crisis.
• Warm spaces South Tyneside
  Public spaces you can go to if you need to get warm, save money on heating costs, avoid social isolation, and receive support and advice.
• Greggs Foundation Hardship Fund
  Grants may be available from the Greggs Foundation Hardship Fund for white goods / carpets / baby items / clothing and vouchers for food shopping.
• Eon Next
  A replacement scheme for white goods if they become broken or are in a poor condition.

Jobs and skills support

• South Tyneside Works
  South Tyneside Works offers a range of over 250 courses to help you get into work, change career path and to improve your skills. Eligible learners will be fully funded and have nothing to pay towards the cost of the course.
• Employment and training agencies in South Tyneside
  Agencies in South Tyneside to help you get back into work, training, or education, or support you with setting up your own business.
• Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS)
  Help and support from the Local Government Pension Scheme during the cost of living crisis.

Health and wellbeing

• Mental health breathing space
  If you have debts and are unable to repay them, you may be able to get some breathing space from your creditors until your mental health condition improves.
• Money saving expert
• Advice and support services
  Support to stop smoking, gambling, reducing your alcohol intake and more.
• Homelessness and rough sleeping
  Get in touch with our homelessness and rough sleeping support services.

Support with education

• Free school meals
  Information on how you can get free school meals.
• School transport
  You may be able to get help with school transport.

Credit unions

To access low cost loans and secure savings options, see:

• NE First Credit Union
• Moneywise Credit Union

Other support

• Energy saving tips to save money
  There are lots of things you can do at home to reduce the amount of energy you use.
• Good Things Foundation: National Databank
  Providing free data to 500,000 people in need, in partnership with Virgin Media O2, Vodafone and Three.
• Help for Households campaign - social tarrifs
  Internet Service Providers (IPS) and Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) delivering low-cost broadband and phone service packages for those on low incomes. Use the social tariff toolkit or see the campaign.
• Healthcare travel costs scheme
  You may be able to claim a refund of reasonable travel costs under the Healthcare Travel Costs Scheme.

You can get help with your energy bills or to top up your prepayment meter.

You may also be eligible for benefits, grants and help offered by the government and energy suppliers.

GOV.UK: Help with energy bills

Apply for energy bill support if you do not get it automatically

Most households in England, Scotland and Wales get a £400 discount on their energy bills automatically.

In some cases, you do not get the discount automatically, for example if you:

• pay for energy through a landlord, housing manager or site owner
• live in a park home, houseboat or off the electricity grid

If you do not get the discount automatically, you can apply for it on the GOV.UK website:

Apply for energy bill support if you do not get it automatically

Help if you use alternative fuels for heating

You may be eligible for a £200 Alternative Fuels Payment (AFP) if both the following are true:

• your household is not connected to the mains gas grid
• you use alternative fuels as your main form of heating

This is on top of the £400 from your electricity supplier.

You’re eligible for this payment if the main way you heat your home uses:

• tank or bottled gas
• liquid petroleum gas (LPG)
• oil
• wood
• solid fuel

For more information, see

GOV.UK: Help if you use alternative fuels for heating