English councils' Household Support Fund schemes close

English councils' Household Support Fund schemes closed on 31 March 2022, according to a benefits changes timetable published by the independent charity Turn2us¹. The same timetable states that the Household Support Fund in England has been extended to March 2023, and directs people to contact their council to find out more¹.

The closure is listed among a series of benefit changes taking effect in February and March 2022. On 5 February 2022, the period during which new claimants to Universal Credit and Jobseeker's Allowance could restrict their job search to fields in which they had previous experience was reduced. Until February 2022, new claimants could restrict their job search to favoured fields for 13 weeks; this was reduced to 4 weeks, after which people will be expected to apply for any job. The timetable notes this is not a requirement to get a job within four weeks of claiming Universal Credit or Jobseeker's Allowance¹.

On 15 February 2022, people with a terminal illness became exempt from the requirement to accept a claimant commitment for Universal Credit, with terminal illness still defined as a reasonable expectation that the claimant will die within the next six months¹. In Wales, applications for a £200 energy grant scheme closed on 28 February 2022¹. On 21 March 2022, the Adult Disability Payment was introduced in Scotland for new claimants to disability benefits in Perth and Kinross, City of Dundee and the Western Isles¹.

The timetable sets out further changes dated after the closure:

The timetable also records that the definition of terminal illness for Employment and Support Allowance and Universal Credit in England, Wales and Scotland will be changed from a doctor reasonably expecting the patient might die within 6 months to 12 months. The Department for Work and Pensions plans to change the definition for other disability benefits too, but this will not happen in April 2022. For Scotland's Adult and Child Disability Payment, terminal illness has no timeframe, and in Northern Ireland the definition has been changed from 6 to 12 months for all benefits¹.

Why it matters for households

Households in England that received support through their council's Household Support Fund scheme saw those schemes close on 31 March 2022¹. The timetable states the fund in England has been extended to March 2023 and that people should contact their council to find out more, so the practical position for any individual household depends on what its own council reports¹. The closure falls at the start of the financial year in which benefits are uprated and £150 cost of living payments are made through the council tax system in England, Scotland and Wales, under schemes that differ in each country¹.

Other changes affect particular groups. New Universal Credit and Jobseeker's Allowance claimants have 4 weeks, rather than 13, in which to restrict their job search to fields in which they had previous experience¹. People with a terminal illness no longer have to accept a claimant commitment for Universal Credit, under a six-month definition of terminal illness that is due to change to 12 months for ESA and Universal Credit in England, Wales and Scotland¹. Scottish Child Payment is to double from £10 to £20 per week in April 2022¹.

What happens next

The timetable lists the restart of Managed Migration from 9 May 2022, piloted initially in Medway and Bolton, and the opening of the Adult Disability Payment for new applications across all of Scotland on 29 August 2022¹. It also records a £500 payment in Wales to carers who were in receipt of Carer's Allowance on 31 March 2022, with a deadline to register of 15 July 2022 through local councils¹. Further detail on the benefits system is available in the site's benefits guide.