Households in one part of the UK are being handed £100 cost of living payments in December to help pay winter energy bills.
The one-off payments are being awarded to households in receipt of certain benefits in Doncaster as part of the Department for Work and Pensions’ (DWP) Household Support Fund, with other local councils giving out cost of living support in other parts of the UK too. The DWP scheme gives local councils across England a share of a funding pot worth £742 million to help vulnerable households struggling to afford essential living costs over the winter months, including energy bills, food and other essentials. The funding is allocated from now until March 31, 2026, and local councils independently decide how to share the cash, so depending on where you live, there may be different criteria to qualify for the support.
In South Yorkshire, the City of Doncaster Council has confirmed it will be issuing single payments of £100 to eligible households this month to help pay for energy bills.
The council said the one-off payment will be provided to households living in Doncaster who receive any of the following:
- Housing Benefit
- Local Council Tax Reduction
- Universal Credit which includes the housing element
- Means-tested free school meals
Those who meet the eligibility criteria will receive a single payment of £100 which will be issued on or around Monday, December 15, 2025.
The City of Doncaster Council said: “A single payment will be made for energy bills to eligible households of £100 for households with or without children, who meet the eligibility criteria.”
Households that have previously received a payment through the Household Support Fund and still meet the eligibility criteria will receive the £100 automatically and don’t need to apply.
The payment will be made directly into your bank account using the information previously provided to the council, and those who were previously paid by cheque will be sent a cheque again, unless you provide the council with your bank details.
The council added: ““If you want to provide us with new bank details, or you want us to pay direct into your bank instead of a sending you a cheque please email householdsupportfund@doncaster.gov.uk and provide your name, National Insurance Number, your full address, your bank sort code, account number and name of the account holder.
“If you received a payment under the previous Household Support Fund and we have not been able to verify that you still meet the qualifying criteria, we will not pay you automatically and you will have to reapply if you think you are eligible.
“Households that have not received a payment previously must also submit an application if they meet the eligibility criteria.”
As Household Support Fund cash is distributed independently by local councils in England, it means that the cost of living support available will vary by location, with different vouchers or grants up for grabs up and down the country.
The payments may also be issued at different times depending on where you live, so it’s possible for some to receive the support in time for Christmas, while others may have a longer wait.
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) says there may also be differences in who the money is given to and if or how you need to apply for the support, as some local councils opt to share the money out through local charities and community groups, while some limit household applications to one per year.
For example, households in Staffordshire can get a one off £300 utility payment made direct to their utility provider via the scheme, while residents in Calderdale can get a maximum of two payments of £85, amounting to £170 worth of support in total.
In the East Midlands, households in Nottingham can apply for £100 vouchers to spend in supermarkets, while in South Yorkshire, Doncaster Council is giving eligible households up to £300 towards food costs and other households can qualify for a £100 payment to go towards energy bills.
In the East of England, Cambridgeshire County Council is issuing £110 to eligible households in the form of direct payments or supermarket vouchers, while residents in Manchester receiving Council Tax support and a disability benefit can get payments of up to £130 to help with living costs.