Help in Emergencies for Local People (HELP)
Overview
Universal Credit migration
From April 2024, the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) is writing to some people who receive these benefits to let them know that they need to claim Universal Credit instead.
This letter - called a Migration Notice – explains what you need to do and when. It also provides information on the help available to continue receiving support from the government.
More information can be found on the Universal Credit Migration page.
HELP is a discretionary scheme offering local welfare assistance including:
- support for exceptional needs
- limited payments for emergency funding in a crisis
- to help people moving out of care.
Any awards that are made are conditional, with you accepting any support from us that we consider you need.
All awards are subject to a means test. This means we will look at your income and expenditure, which as any income that is available to you and may include income we usually ignore when looking at claims for Housing Benefit and/or Council Tax Reduction.
Funding will be made on a one-off basis and will be restricted to one award in any 12 month period. Normally, awards will be restricted to provide help with food vouchers or recycled goods.
For details on how we use your data provided within your request for assistance through the HELP scheme, please see our privacy notice.
