Cost of living crisis: help is at hand

We are here to help residents who are struggling with the rising cost of living.

As a council we are doing everything within our power to help you if you are finding it difficult to manage your money during these challenging times.

Funding boost

We have introduced a substantial special package of funding measures recently.

Overall some £550,000 of support is now available across a number of areas such as housing payments support to help residents on benefits, and hardship funding to help those in debt.

Extra funds are also being made available to Horsham Matters to support their foodbank activities and to Citizens Advice to recruit extra staff to cope with increased demand.

Supporting new initiatives for young people is also a priority, with extra money being provided for a mentoring scheme in partnership with West Sussex County Council.

Help with housing costs

We have allocated an additional £90,000 to the Discretionary Housing Payment Fund (DHP) from this year’s budget, so for 2022/23 there is now some £218,000 funding available.

This fund is used to support low income residents in Horsham with their housing costs. It is for residents who are in receipt of Housing Benefit or Universal Credit. It provides additional money for customers who are still struggling to make their rent payments and is awarded on a discretionary basis.

For further information about this DHP scheme and to apply, please visit the Council website.

In addition to this, Horsham’s Council Tax Support scheme is available is to help people on low income to pay their Council Tax. To make a claim please go to the Council Tax section of the Council website.

Other government support available

You may be able to get a payment to help with your cost of living if you’re getting certain benefits or tax credits. Read more on the GOV.UK website

Further help if you are struggling with rising cost of living expenses can be found by visiting the Government's Help for Households website.

There are other benefits available that you may be entitled to if your income is low or has gone down:

• Universal Credit: available via the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP)
• Job Seekers Allowance: available via the DWP
• Income Support: available via the DWP
• Employment and Support Allowance: available via the DWP
• Pension Credit: available via the DWP
• Tax credits: contact HM Revenue and Customs