• Gov.uk – government benefits you can apply for including Universal Credit, Job-seekers Allowance, Tax Credits, Child Benefit, Pension Credit and many more.
• Housing Benefit and Council Tax Reduction - help with payment of rent and/or Council Tax if you have a low income
• Discretionary Housing Payments - this is money to help pay your rent for a short period of time if you are experiencing financial hardship
• Council Tax Discounts
• Council Tax Exemptions
• Council Tax Exceptional Hardship Payments - a discretionary payment to help you pay your Council Tax if you are claiming Council Tax Reduction and are facing extreme financial hardship
• Home improvement grants
• Heating, hot water and repair grants
• Discretionary East Sussex Support Scheme
• Low cost furniture – find low cost new and pre-owned furniture
• Food Bank and soup kitchens – food is available to those residents identified as in immediate need of food and support.
• Lewes District Food Partnership - emergency food parcels are available to those that need it

If you or someone in your family is disabled, you may be entitled to financial help or support from local and national organisations.

• Citizens’ Advice Bureau – Benefits for people who are sick or disabled – gives information about the benefits and tax credits that you or a member of your family may be entitled to.
• Gov.uk – Financial Help for Disabled People – includes information about Disability Living Allowance, Attendance Allowance, Employment and Support Allowance, Personal Independence Payments, tax relief and other deductions that you may be able to claim if you or another family member has a disability.
• Contact a Family – Benefits for looking after a disabled child – gives details of benefits and tax credits that you may be entitled to if you are looking after a disabled child, how they are paid and when to claim them.
• Gov.uk – direct payments – Arranging your own care and services – Direct payments are made by councils to people receiving social care services instead of the council providing the service directly. This link tells you more about whether you can get direct payments, what they can be used for and how to apply for them.
• Family Fund – The Family Fund supports families caring for children under 16 who are severely disabled or seriously ill. They provide grants and information to make life easier and more enjoyable for the disabled child and their family.
• https://dla-ending.campaign.gov.uk/ is a new website set up to help with enquiries about Disability Living Allowance claims that are due to swap to Personal Independence Payments.
• Disabled Facilities Grants
• Council Tax Discounts
• Council Tax Exemptions
• Blue badge – Apply for a disabled parking badge
• Disabled persons bus pass

Bringing up children can be costly and expensive. The web pages listed below will provide information on benefits, grants and allowances available to working and non-working parents including Tax credits as well as information to help you with the planning, budgeting, managing and balancing of your family finances.

• Gov.uk – benefits for families – including information about benefits, grants and allowances that you may be entitled to.
• Gov.uk – tax credits – are payments from the government. If you’re responsible for at least one child or young person who normally lives with you, you may qualify for Child Tax Credit. If you work, but earn low wages, you may qualify for Working Tax Credit.
• HMRC – Tax Credits Calculator – This online tool helps you to work out roughly how much tax credit you are entitled to.
• The Child Support Agency – helps tackle child poverty by making sure that parents who live apart from their children contribute financially to their upbringing by paying Child Maintenance.
• The Money Advice Service – Divorce and Separation - If you are going through divorce or separation, the Financial Services Authority Money Made Clear team can help you with the financial issues you face, providing advice to help you stay on top of your financial situation.
• Healthy Start - financial support towards food and vitamin supplements for pregnant woman or parents (with a child under four) on certain means-tested benefits.
• Free School Meals - for school children where a parent or carers is in receipt of a qualifying benefit.

Help with childcare costs

Childcare can be expensive. There are, however, a number of financial support schemes which could help you with the costs of childcare including Gov.uk – Tax credits, childcare voucher schemes and nursery education funding. Find out more about help with childcare costs.

• East Sussex Children’s Centres – Health and wellbeing support for families

From starting a business to finding out about financial support available at a local and national level.

• Gov.uk – Business finance and support
• Finance, funding and grants for businesses
• Starting up a business
• Business Rate Relief
• Rateable Value Appeal

This fund can be used to support households in the most need with food, energy and water bills. It can also be used to support households with essential costs related to those items and with wider essentials costs.

This scheme reopened on 24 May 2022 

Apply for a Household Support Grant