Category Financial advice and support   Show all

  • Latest news on the government’s Household Support Fund

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    As you may be aware, the government recently announced that they will be extending the Household Support Fund (HSF) for a further six months – from 1 April to 30 September 2024. Details of how the funding will be allocated will be available on the Council's website in the coming weeks.

    The Household Support Fund is there to support people living in low-income households who are struggling to afford their energy and water bills, food, and other essential items. To find out if you’re eligible for support, visit:
    Household support fund | Cheshire West and Chester Council

    Easter food vouchers

    Out of the remaining budget available from this year’s round of HSF (up to 31 March 2024) food vouchers will be provided for families with children in receipt of free school meals, for the Easter holiday period. Each eligible pupil will receive £10 per week. Schools will issue the vouchers to families in advance of the Easter holiday.

  • Help with paying for your childcare

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    Currently, all 3 to 4-year-olds in England can get 570 free hours of early education per year. It’s usually taken as 15 hours a week for 38 weeks of the year.

    This can be increased to 30 hours free childcare if you (and your partner, if you have one) are: in work, on sick leave or annual leave or on shared parental, maternity, paternity, or adoption leave.

    There is also 15 hours of free early education available for the most disadvantaged 2-year-olds to support the child’s development.

    In March 2023, the Government announced it would be extending childcare support to include 30 hours a week of free childcare for eligible working parents of children aged nine months to three years in England. This is to support parents returning to work by reducing the cost of childcare. Parents working the equivalent of 16 hours a week or more (earning the National Minimum Wage or Living Wage) and earning up to £100k per year will be able to benefit from this offer.

    Families can now check their eligibility and sign up to receive a newsletter and updates through the Childcare Choices website.

    www.childcarechoices.gov.uk/

    The roll out of the expansion is happening in the following phases

    • From April 2024, working parents of 2-year-olds will be able to access 15 hours of free childcare a week (38 weeks a year).
    • From September 2024, working parents of 9 month to 3-year-olds will also be eligible for this.
    • From September 2025, this will increase to 30 hours a week for working parents of 9 month to 3-year-olds.


    Eligible families will be able to access the new entitlements from the term after their child turns the appropriate age. You will need to apply for an eligibility code via HMRC and share this with your chosen childcare provider, to access your funded hours. You will also need to revalidate your code every 3 months.

    Eligible working families with 2-year-olds can apply for their code from now until 31 March 2024 to access the new 2-year-old entitlement from April 2024.

    The new entitlements can be stretched over the year depending on the number of weeks your chosen childcare provider is open. This would mean fewer hours per week are accessed over more weeks of the year, so the same total number of hours are accessed over the course of the year.

    Whilst the childcare hours are free, providers can charge for meals, snacks, consumables, and additional services. Families are advised to contact their childcare provider to ask about their funded offer.


  • Breathing Space – a government initiative to help people take control of their finances

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    Being in debt can be a frightening situation for many people particularly if you are being pursued by creditors and penalties are mounting.

    Breathing Space, also known as the Debt Respite Scheme, allows you to take time out, seek financial advice and take control of your finances.


    There are two types of Breathing Space:

    • Standard Breathing Space - a period of 60 days where no creditor action can be taken to pursue or enforce qualifying debts, and all interest and penalties will cease to accrue on those debts.
    • Mental Health Breathing Space - entitles the person to the same as stated above but with no strict time limits until after the person has recovered from their mental health crisis. To qualify for Mental Health Breathing Space, the individual must have been assessed by an approved mental health practitioner as being in a mental health crisis.

    Those seeking to enter the scheme must meet specific criteria and comply with scheme rules whilst in it. To enter, an individual will have to:

    • access free debt advice from a Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) accredited debt adviser
    • be assessed as being in problem debt by a debt adviser
    • not have already been in a Standard Breathing Space period in the previous 12 months (those in mental health crisis will be exempt from the 12-month restriction).

    The debt adviser is responsible for determining the debtor’s eligibility to enter the scheme. They will also notify creditors of individuals entering and exiting the scheme.

    If you feel that the weight of your debt is becoming too much to bear it’s important to seek free debt advice from a FCA accredited debt adviser as soon as possible.

    Free debt advice is available from:

    Citizens Advice

    • Call the debt helpline: Tel: 0800 240 4420 available 9am to 8pm Monday to Friday and 9.30am to 1pm Saturday. The debt helpline is not available on public holidays.
      Calls are free from mobiles and landlines.

    Relay UK - if you can't hear or speak on the phone, you can type what you want to say: 18001 then 0800 240 4420 You can use Relay UK with an app or a textphone. There’s no extra charge to use it.
    Find out how to use Relay UK

    Pennysmart – if you’re facing a financial crisis, Pennysmart can support you with budgeting, benefits and debt advice. Tel: 01244 651210