Helpful resources

Benefits, money and debt

There is help available to support you:

• Turn2Us - Advice and support to help maximise your income and manage your Budget
• Credit Unions - These can help you with affordable loans
• Citizens Advice  - For free and impartial advice on all aspects to support you through difficulty

Benefits

You may be able to claim benefits if you need more support to live independently.

People who may be eligible to claim benefits include:

• job seekers
• low-income families
• carers
• disabled people

Benefits are paid by the central government, not your local council.

You can read more about how benefits work on GOV.UK.

If you're not sure if you'd be able to claim benefits, you can use a benefits calculator to find out.

Debt advice

There are lots of organisations and services who can support you with debt advice, including:

• Macmillan Cancer Support
• Age UK
• Citizens Advice

You can also find debt advice services on our Suffolk InfoLink website. 

They can help you with advice about:

• your legal rights
• managing your money
• how to deal with financial problems

Grants

A grant is an amount of money that a government or local authority gives to an individual or an organisation for a particular purpose, such as support with housing costs.

If you are struggling financially, there are grants available which you may be eligible to apply for which can help lessen the burden.  The following support is administered by Suffolk County Council:

Household Support Fund

The Household Support Fund is an allocation of funding the Government has given Suffolk to support people who are struggling to pay their energy and utility bills.

Suffolk County Council allocates this funding to residents in the following ways:

Support for children during school holidays

Where a child is eligible for income related free school meals, families will be contacted directly by their child's school regarding supermarket voucher grants, available to them during the school holiday from October 2022 until March 2023. Further information will be available from your school on what support is being offered.

Where a child is not eligible for free school meals because they are not attending a state funded school, a family can seek support directly from the Local Welfare Assistance Scheme. 

Make a direct application to the Local Welfare Assistance Scheme

The Local Welfare Assistance Scheme (LWAS) helps those experiencing financial hardship. There are lots of reasons why you may be in hardship and if you are eligible, we can provide financial help.

The scheme is not intended as emergency support and only one application can be made per household. LWAS is not intended as long-term support. The quickest way to make an application is via the webform, using your smartphone, tablet or computer. If you have all the information required to make an application the webform will take approximately 15 minutes to complete.

To make an application and find out whether you are eligible for support, please visit the Local Welfare Assistance Scheme webpage. 

Housing support via District and Borough Councils

If you need further help with housing support, it is recommended that you discuss your circumstances with your local Housing Needs Team so they can help identify what options may be available to you and the support required. Please note, the team are unable to support with mortgage assistance as part of the Household Support Fund. To contact your local housing team, please visit:

• East Suffolk Council
• Ipswich Borough Council
• Mid Suffolk and Babergh Councils
• West Suffolk Council

• Find out about deals and discounts from major UK businesses as part of the Government’s Help for Households campaign.
• Suffolk Infolink has a directory of Foodbanks in Suffolk - please note that some require referrals.
• Find a pop-up or top up shop on Suffolk Infolink - These are for anyone struggling financially to buy food. No referral needed just bring an empty shopping bag.  £2 a bag for lots of groceries available at various locations across Suffolk
• Period products are available for free through the Pride and Periods scheme in selected Suffolk Libraries

• The Government website has information on help that you could be entitled to which will help with energy bill payment 
• The Warm Homes Suffolk programme helps Suffolk residents to make it cheaper to heat their homes through various energy efficiency measures
• Do you use Oil for your heating? Over 46,000 households in Suffolk do.  You may benefit from Community Action Suffolk's community oil buying scheme.  They offer pre-payment and direct debit schemes.  Please note, they do not offer a ‘buy now, pay later’ scheme.  For more information visit the Community Action Suffolk website.
• Oil buying clubs in Suffolk could help reduce the amount you pay as group buying yields better deals. Search for your nearest on the Oil Club website.

Help for Households

The Government Help for Households website provides more information about eligibility for Cost of Living payments, as well as help with rent payments, water bills and more. 

Housing support via District and Borough Councils

If you need further help with housing support, it is recommended that you discuss your circumstances with your local Housing Needs Team at your District or Borough Council, so they can help identify what options may be available to you and the support required. Please note, the team are unable to support with mortgage assistance as part of the Household Support Fund.

To find out who your local District or Borough Council is, you can use the Postcode Checker at GOV.UK. 

To contact your local housing team, please visit:

• East Suffolk Council
• Ipswich Borough Council
• Mid Suffolk and Babergh Councils
• West Suffolk Council

• Suffolk Infolink is a useful resource to add your postcode or home village/town name and the type of support you are looking for eg 'debt advice' so that you can see what support is available near to you.
• Babergh District Council - Cost of Living Support
• East Suffolk Council - Ease the Squeeze
• Ipswich Borough Council - Support for Communities
• Mid Suffolk District Council - Cost of Living Support
• West Suffolk Council - Cost of Living

Please be aware that scammers take advantage of people when they are vulnerable.  You may find yourself more susceptible to scams when distracted and worried about your financial situation.  

Be scam aware

Follow Suffolk County Council's Trading Standards on social media to see the most up to date advice and scams circulating

• Like Suffolk Trading Standards on Facebook.
• Follow Suffolk Trading Standards on Twitter.
• Follow Suffolk Trading Standards on Instagram.
• Subscribe to Suffolk Trading Standards on YouTube.

Always report a scam

Please report scams to Trading Standards via Citizens Advice Consumer service on 0808 223 1133 or via their online reporting service. If you have lost money or given a scammer your financial details, contact your bank immediately.

Forward scam text messages to 7726.

Send scam emails to the National Cyber Security Centre at report@phishing.gov.uk

Your mental health may suffer if you are worried about the cost of living pressures.  We have advice and guidance to support you through the challenges on Suffolk Infolink.

It is important that you do not feel alone, and continuing connections in your local community can be helpful in keeping you active and involved.  You can find groups, activities and support in your local area by adding your postcode in to Suffolk Infolink

• Rural Coffee Caravan - Find out about Meet up Mondays, Rural Coffee Caravan visits near you and Coffee and Friends events.
• Suffolk Libraries - at the heart of your community, there are lots of reasons to visit your local library.