Other available benefits

Can I claim free school meals for my child? 

To be eligible to claim free school meals, your child must be attending a school within the East Riding boundary and you must meet certain eligibility criteria.

Read more about eligibility for free school meals and how to apply.

Pupil Premium Grant:

Can I claim a clothing grant for my child?

To be eligible to claim a clothing grant, your child must be moving from primary to secondary school and both schools must be in the East Riding boundary and you must also be resident within the East Riding boundary. 

Please note: that clothing grants are not payable to children moving from primary school to an Academy.

The parent/carer must be in receipt of one of the following:

• Income support

• Job seekers allowance (income based)

• Employment and support allowance (income related)

• Pension credit guaranteed credit

• Child tax credit, provided they are not entitled to working tax credit and have an annual income (as assessed by HM Revenue & Customs) that does not exceed £16,190  

• Universal Credit. Your annual income assessed by the Department for Work and Pensions must be less than £7,400.

• Be receiving support under part VI of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999.
  

Apply for a clothing grant

Please note: all payments will be paid by PayPoint voucher. Please ensure you provide an email address on your application form for this voucher to be sent to. 

Find your nearest PayPoint outlet (external website)

Can I use childcare vouchers to help cover the cost of childcare?

Childcare vouchers are an employee benefit for all eligible working parents.

They're a Government-approved, tax-efficient way of paying for childcare. If you join the scheme, you can exchange up to £243 a month (£55 a week) of your gross salary for childcare vouchers.

The part of your gross salary you exchange for childcare vouchers is tax-free and exempt from National Insurance contributions (NI). Because of this, you can make savings of up to £933 a parent, a year.

All registered childcare providers can accept childcare vouchers as a method of payment, including the following:

• Nurseries
  
• Nannies
  
• Au pairs
  
• Crèches
  
• Childminders
  
• Out-of-school clubs
  
• Extra-curricular activities (such as music lessons)
  
• Breakfast and after-school clubs
  
• Holiday clubs or schemes
  
• Activity holiday companies 
  
• Qualifying childcare offered by schools.

Read more about childcare vouchers on the GOV.UK website. 

Am I eligible for any other benefits or financial help?

Our online calculator provides you with an estimate of the amount of:

• housing benefit
  
• council tax support
  
• child benefit
  
• working tax credit
  
• child tax credit
  
• universal credit 

and any other benefits that may relate to your particular circumstances.

To receive an accurate estimate of your entitlement, you will need details of your earnings, capital and any benefits you currently receive:

Calculate your entitlement online

I'm having financial difficulties, who can help me?

Make an appointment to talk to us

If you are struggling with your finances, you can make a telephone appointment with our welfare visiting team. They may be able to help you create a more suitable payment plan for your council tax and make sure you are claiming the benefits you are entitled to.

Free impartial debt advice

There are also a number of independent organisations who can provide useful advice and information for people who are experiencing financial problems.

Take a look at organisations that can offer financial and debt advice.

Can I get any help paying my rent?

If you are struggling to pay your rent, we might be able to offer you a discretionary housing payment (DHP). This is a short-term payment from the council to help cover some shortfall in your rent or housing cost element of Universal Credit.

The council has a limited sum of money available to assist housing benefit claimants who still have some rent to pay. The council decides how DHPs are allocated and each case is decided on its own merits. There isn't a clear set of allocation rules but the council must be fair and reasonable when deciding.

Read more about Discretionary Housing Payments.

Can I get help with my electricity payments?

You could get £140 off your electricity bill for winter 2021 to 2022 under the Warm Home Discount Scheme run by Government. The scheme opens on 18 October 2021. 

The money is not paid to you - it’s a one-off discount on your electricity bill, between October and March. You may be able to get the discount on your gas bill instead if your supplier provides you with both gas and electricity. Contact your supplier to find out. 

To find out more visit:

GOV.UK - The warm home discount scheme (external website)

Can I get help with my water bills?

The WaterSure scheme is available for certain customers with a water meter. 

It allows them to have their bills capped. This is to make sure that these customers don’t cut back on how much water they use because they are worried about how they will pay their bill. 

To qualify for help under the WaterSure scheme, you or someone living with you, needs be entitled to certain benefits. If you think you are eligible for WaterSure, you will need to apply through your water company.

To find out more visit:

Ofwat (external website)

Can I request a hold on recovery action and additional fees?

Read about the new, statutory scheme called ‘Breathing Space’ which is designed to provide people with debt problems the right to legal protection from creditors for a limited period of time.