Household Support Fund Leeds – Cost of Living Grants

The Household Support Fund (HSF) is a Central Government fund to help people in need pay for food and fuel.

The seventh round of Household Support Fund grants (HSF7) is now open for applications.

Forum Central is administering grants for groups and organisations to distribute to the people they support, particularly communities including cultural diversity, mental health, young people, learning disabilities, physical and sensory impairment and older people.

To apply you must be part of a third-sector group or organisation working with people in Leeds. The funding has to be used to support people who are facing hardship to have access to fuel and food.

If your organisation received HSF7 funding from Forum Central in July 2025 you are eligible to apply for this second round of funding provided you have allocated all the money to households and successfully completed your monitoring return by the application deadline.

Forum Central is unable to accept applications from individuals who need help to pay for their own household fuel and food.

Funding is distributed to organisations through grants of up to £5,000 and is targeted at households in Leeds. We particularly welcome applications from small groups and organisations who wish to apply for less than £1,000.

Timeline

The HSF7 grants round opens on Friday 12 September 2025 and closes at 5 pm on Monday 6 October 2025.

All funding must be spent and monitoring submitted by Friday 27 March 2026. The Household Support Fund is a Central Government fund. The monitoring deadline is specified by the Department for Work and Pensions and Forum Central is unable to change this.

How to apply for a grant:

After reviewing suggestions from delivery partners in previous rounds we created a range of ways that groups and organisations can apply for a grant.

Online: To complete a short online application form please click this link to take you to the Household Support Fund grant application page.

Email: Download the application form to your computer, type your answers, save it and email it to grants@forumcentral.org.uk

Post: Download the application form, print it, handwrite your answers and post to:

Grants team, Forum Central, Suite E1 Joseph’s Well, Hanover Walk, Leeds LS3 1AB

Voice recorder: Read the questions on the application form and speak your answers into a voice recorder app on your smartphone, then email this audio file to grants@forumcentral.org.uk

Telephone: Call Jenni at Forum Central on 07536 416 402 before the closing date to request a printed copy of the application form and guidance notes. Alternatively, ask Jenni to book an appointment slot so that someone from Forum Central can call you back to complete your application form over the phone.

What can it be spent on?

Your group doesn’t need to be constituted but if your application is successful the funding must be paid into an organisation’s bank account, not an individual person’s bank account.

The funding can be used to help people with fuel costs and/or provide food or food vouchers. The grant can also be spent on other wider essentials, such as toiletries and baby items, and essential household items including energy saving goods. In exceptional circumstances the funding can be used for housing costs and travel costs.

Because additional funding has been allocated to the Food Aid Network and the Leeds Community Anchor Network, Forum Central will prioritise funding which supports people with issues of fuel poverty.

Please note that overheads of groups and organisations need to be below 15% of the amount requested.

Contact

If you have any questions about the grant application process please email grants@forumcentral.org.uk or call 07536 416 402.

For full funding guidance, please download our Household Support Fund (HS7) Guidance for Applicants | PDF