Cost of living support in Suffolk
COST OF LIVING
There is a lot of information out there about the support available both nationally and locally to help you with the Cost of Living. To make it easier to navigate, we have compiled information about the different support and advice below. Click the sections to find out more.
The Government's Help for Households website has lots of resources and links to support you and your family at this time.
Suffolk County Council's Cost of Living Support leaflets signpost you to local services who can help. Translated versions of this information are available on their Helpful Resources page.
Food
- Find where the nearest food banks are (Please note that some foodbanks only take referrals)
- Find a Pop Up or Top Up shop in Suffolk
- Healthy Start provides vouchers for pregnant women and families with a child under four years old on a low income to buy basic food items. Call: 0345 607 6823
- BBC £1 Meals
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Asda have £1 meals this winter: Asda Café’s bring back £1 'winter warmer' initiative for over 60’s
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Morrisons: Get one free kids meal with any adult meal £4.50 or over. All day, every day.
- Henry - Healthy meal recipes for families with children under 5.
- Advice on how to cut down on your food waste from foodsavvy.org.uk
- Love Food Hate Waste is another website giving advice on how to cut down on your food waste
- Olio - Your Local Sharing App (olioapp.com) - Find anything from local businesses which is nearing its sell-by date, spare home-grown vegetables, breads from your local baker or even groceries from your neighbours
- Too Good To Go app - Make sure good food gets eaten, not wasted. Every day, delicious, fresh food goes to waste at cafes, restaurants, hotels, shops and manufacturers - just because it hasn’t sold in time. The Too Good To Go app lets customers buy and collect Magic Bags of this food - at a great price - directly from businesses
- Kitche is a free smart kitchen app that is designed to help you do just that with helpful reminders and recipe ideas based on what you’ve already got, so you’ll never be stuck for meal ideas
Fuel, Energy, Utilities and Household Bills
- The Government website has information on help that you could be entitled to which will help with energy bill payment
- How to save energy and lower your bills this winter - Help for Households - the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero campaign provides advice to householders on ways to reduce energy use and associated cost without reducing comfort levels
- The Warm Homes Suffolk programme helps Suffolk residents to make it cheaper to heat their homes through various energy efficiency measures
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Eastern Savings and Loans (based in Ipswich) have a Suffolk Green Homes Loan, for improved energy efficiency; Suffolk Oil Loans - Eastern Savings and Loans (eslcu.co.uk)
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Electric Heater replacement scheme - homeowners and private tenants (with their Landlord's permission) can apply for a Government grant to have old, uneconomical room heaters replaced with electric storage heaters free of charge
- British Gas Energy Trust
- Energy Saving Trust - tips to save money on your energy bills
- Support for EDF customers
- Some additional Energy saving tips - Lowering your combi boiler’s flow temperature could save up to 8% of your gas use and turning off your boiler’s preheat setting could save another 5-10%. Check which of these energy saving tips provided by Octopus Energy and Money Saving Expert (Martin Lewis) could help you reduce your bills.
Oil
- Do you use Oil for your heating? Over 46,000 households in Suffolk do. You may benefit from Community Action Suffolk's community oil buying scheme. They offer pre-payment and direct debit schemes. Please note, they do not offer a ‘buy now, pay later’ scheme. For more information visit https://www.communityactionsuffolk.org.uk/oilbuying
- Oil buying clubs in Suffolk could help reduce the amount you pay as group buying yields better deals. Search for your nearest at www.oil-club.co.uk/search/
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Eastern Savings and Loans (based in Ipswich) Suffolk Oil Loans - Eastern Savings and Loans (eslcu.co.uk) have a Suffolk Oil Loan available; https://www.eslcu.co.uk/products-and-services/loan-products/suffolk-oil-loans/
Other utilities and household bills:
- Water: Anglian Water offers tariffs for low-income households that can offer up to 50% discount on water and sewage usage
Anglian Water LITE and Extra LITE: Up to 50% depending on income and eligibility assessment
Payment breaks: You can pay less than your water bill, or have a break from paying for a small period of time, and catch up later
Reach:Out-Here to Help: Reach:Out has partnered with Anglian to listen and provide friendly support to customers in financial challenge
- Phone & Broadband: Find social tariffs for your phone and broadband with Ofcom's table of providers offering discounts. Social tariffs are cheaper broadband and phone packages for people claiming Universal Credit, Pension Credit and some other benefits
- Free Mobile Data: The National Databank is providing free mobile data to 500,000 people in need via Good Things Foundation’s network of community partners, in partnership with Virgin Media O2, Vodafone and Three: www.goodthingsfoundation.org/databank/
Finance, Benefits and Debt
There is help available to support you:
- Turn2Us - Advice and support to help maximise your income and manage your Budget
- Credit Unions - These can help you with affordable loans
- Citizens Advice - For free and impartial advice on all aspects to support you through difficulty
Benefits
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Are you claiming all the allowances due to you?
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- If you are a carer, you may be entitled to Carer’s Allowance and/or an extra amount called the ‘carer element’ within Universal Credit. This could mean £69.70 a week in Carer's Allowance if you care for someone at least 35 hours a week and you, the person you care for and the type of care you provide meets the criteria
- Personal Independence Payment (PIP) (for adults under state retirement age) and Attendance Allowance (for those over state retirement age) are not means-tested. The assessment considers the way that your health conditions affect your daily living and mobility needs.
- Benefits and money advice
- Organisations and services offering advice on money matters
- Organisations who can support you if you are in poverty
- National Debt Line - or call 0808 808 4000. Webchat function is also available on their website
- If you have concerns about your money situation, your bank will be able to offer advice and support. Do reach out to them to understand what is available to you as a customer.
Benefits are paid by the central government, not your local council.
You can read more about how benefits work on GOV.UK.
If you're not sure if you'd be able to claim benefits, you can use a benefits calculator to find out.
Benefits advice
There are lots of organisations and services who can support you with benefits advice, including:
- Citizens Advice
- DAS - Disability Advice Service, East Suffolk
- DANES - Disability Advice North East Suffolk
You can also find other finanial advice services
They can help you with advice about:
- your legal rights
- managing your money
- how to deal with financial problems
Grants
A grant is an amount of money that a government or local authority gives to an individual or an organisation for a particular purpose, such as support with housing costs.
If you are struggling financially, there are grants available which you may be eligible to apply for which can help lessen the burden. The following support is administered by Suffolk County Council:
Household Support Fund
You can visit our Household Support Fund page to find more information.
The Local Welfare Assistance Scheme
The Local Welfare Assistance Scheme (LWAS) is administered by Suffolk County Council and helps those experiencing financial hardship. There are lots of reasons why you may be in hardship and if you are eligible, LWAS can provide financial help.
The scheme is not intended as emergency support and only one application can be made per household. LWAS is not intended as long-term support. The quickest way to make an application is via the webform, using your smartphone, tablet or computer. If you have all the information required to make an application the webform will take approximately 15 minutes to complete.
To make an application and find out whether you are eligible for support, please visit the Local Welfare Assistance Scheme webpage.
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- Help with Health Costs: if you have a low income, the NHS Low Income Scheme could help pay for:
- NHS prescription charges
- NHS dental treatment charges
- the cost of sight tests, glasses and contact lenses
- the cost of travelling to receive NHS treatment
- NHS wigs and fabric supports
Check to see if you are eligible: NHS Low Income Scheme
- Help with funeral costs: This can be an expensive time, and can be unexpected and not planned for, bringing financial worry for those remaining. Bereavement might also affect the benefits of those left in the household. For information and support see; https://www.gov.uk/when-someone-dies
- Martin Lewis' Money Saving Expert is the UK's biggest consumer website, with more than 16 million users a month. The site's dedicated to cutting your bills and fighting your corner with journalistic research, cutting-edge tools and a massive community – all focused on finding deals, saving cash and campaigning for financial justice.
Housing
- Government support website - Help for Households
- Warm Homes Suffolk is a project designed to help vulnerable people and families make their homes cheaper to heat. The project can provide the following for eligible residents in Suffolk:
- Grants for First Time Central Heating
- Boiler or heater stopped working? Warm Homes Healthy People can lend you electric heaters and point you in the direction of any grant funding available such as assistance in applying for a local authority renovation or home assistance grant.
- Do you own or privately rent your property? Warm Homes Healthy People can arrange for an independent surveyor to visit your home and discuss energy efficiency improvements that could make a real difference to your heating bills.
- The project can also access grants to help pay for insulation and basic draught proofing
Call Warm Homes Suffolk on 03456 037 686 or email whhp@eastsuffolk.gov.uk
- Homelessness
- Streetlink exists to help end rough sleeping by enabling members of the public to connect people sleeping rough with the local services that can support them.
Mental Health
Worrying about your financial situation can take its toll on your mental health.
There's lots of support you can access which will help you
Speak to someone you trust
- You may find it helpful to talk to your partner, a relative or a friend about your problems. If this is not possible, talk to someone else you can trust, like a faith leader or a tutor, or try a helpline.
Speak to your GP
- To find a GP visit NHS website
Speak to the NHS Wellbeing Service
- If you are aged 16 or over and live in Suffolk, the NHS Wellbeing Service are here to help. They have a range of free support including one-to-one therapy and online workshops to help you manage and cope with feelings of stress, anxiety, depression and low mood, to improve your wellbeing and quality of life. For further information, view the full range of free online workshops or self-refer for support, visit wellbeingnands.co.uk
- Or call 0300 123 1503 (8am to 8pm, Monday to Friday)
Speak to Suffolk Mind
- call 0300 111 6000
- visit www.suffolkmind.org.uk or Norfolk and Waveney Mind
Other resources and places you can go for information and support:
- Keep well and active
- NHS
- Healthwatch Suffolk
- Healthy Suffolk
- Dementia
- Sneewellbeing.org.uk
- Suffolk User Forum is a user-led mental health charity which supports people with mental health problems.
Speak to the Samaritans who offer free emotional support 24 hours a day - in full confidence.
- Call 116 123
If you are emotionally distressed and need urgent mental health support:
- Call 111 and press option 2 for the NHS Mental Health Crisis Support line.
- If someone is in immediate danger of harming themself call 999
Keeping active can help you keep mentally well - NHS better health, keeping active.
Turning Point can support you if you have drug or alcohol issues or a mental health concern
NHS health costs
You could be eligible for help with the cost of NHS prescriptions, NHS dental treatment, eyecare, travel to receive NHS treatment and NHS wigs and fabric supports.
Find out if you are eligible using the free eligibility checker at www.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/check
You'll answer a few questions, and it will show the help available if you're not automatically eligible including:
- NHS Low income scheme
Provides help with health costs for families on a low income. Apply online or find more information at www.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/lowincomescheme
- NHS maternity exemption certificate
Entitles you to free NHS prescriptions if you're pregnant or have had a baby in the last 12 months. The certificate can also be used to provide entitlement to free NHS dental treatment. Ask your doctor, midwife or health visitor to apply. Find more information at www.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/matex
- NHS medical exemption certificate
Entitles you to free NHS prescriptions if you have a certain medical condition or physical disability. Check the medical conditions list at Medical exemption certificates | NHSBSA
- NHS Prescription Prepayment Certificates (PPCs)
Provides help with NHS prescriptions. If you pay prescription charges a PPC could save you money.
3 and 12 month PPCs covers all your NHS prescriptions for a set price. www.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/ppc
HRT PPC covers certain hormone replacement therapy (HRT) medicines for 12 months. www.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/hrt-ppc
Warm Spaces
Warm Spaces are available throughout the county for people to access and come together for sociable reasons.
- All Libraries in the County are welcoming Warm Spaces available for anyone to come and use
- Rural Coffee Caravan's Meet Up Mondays venues are also available as spaces for social meet ups
- Warm Spaces in Suffolk mapped out by the Rural Coffee Caravan
If you are unable to drive or walk to your nearest community space offering this service, please consider using community transport where this is available.
Are you keen to offer a Warm Space facility in your community? Contact Rural Coffee Caravan for support on how to offer a safe and supportive space.
You may be able to receive a grant from your local District or Borough Council to support you in any additional costs occurred in providing these spaces.
Support for Families
Home Start in Suffolk is ready to support families through their toughest times. Call: 01473 621104 Email: headoffice@homestartinsuffolk.org
If you’re on a low income, you might be able to get help with some of the costs of sending your child to school:
- Many schools offer support to families who need financial assistance with uniforms, for example by giving you vouchers towards the cost.
- It's also worth checking if your school has any second-hand uniform sales – this can be a good way to pick up lower-priced uniform at a fraction of the retail cost.
- Check if your child can get free school meals in England and find out how to apply
- School uniform grants
- Childcare
- Tax free Childcare
- Visit the Government’s Childcare Choices website to find out how you can save money on your childcare. Whether you have toddlers or teens, you could get support.
- Government support with childcare - Help for Households: The Government's Cost of Living campaign
- Suffolk Baby Bank | Facebook collects donations of toys, clothes, accessories and other items for babies, children and parents alike. Once checked they meet current UK safety standards, they are rehomed with families in Suffolk experiencing hardship.
Support for Older People
- Technology to help you live independently | Suffolk County Council
- Help to live at home
- Good Neighbour Scheme
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Pension credit
Around a third of eligible pensioners don’t claim Pension Credit, often because they don't know they can or that they need to.
Pension Credit tops up your weekly income to £201.05 if you're single; your joint weekly income to £306.85 of you have a partner. It is a tax-free payment for those who have reached State Pension age and live in Great Britain.
The average Pension Credit payment is over £65 per week – equating to more than an extra £3,000 per year.
Find out if you’re eligible and how much you could get using the Pension Credit calculator and apply online or call 0800 99 1234 Pension Credit: What you'll get - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
- sneewellbeing.org.uk This website gives advice and details of practical support to help you and those you care for stay well while waiting for surgery or hospital treatment. Physical and mental ill-health, money worries, loneliness and a lack of transport are just some of the factors that harm our wellbeing.
What other help is available?
- Suffolk InfoLink | Grants & funding
- Staying well this winter - Suffolk and North East Essex ICS guide. Plus other information and support this Winter
Winter Matters
Help with Household Essentials
- Freecycle is a website where people can donate and receive free household items
- Similarly, Freegle is also an online community where free household items are on offer
Help to combat Domestic Abuse
Unfortunately, we know that cases of domestic abuse increase in circumstances where there are worries around finances, debt, losing a job etc. If this is happening to you or a loved one, there is advice and support for you.
Suffolk Domestic Abuse Helpline provides support for those facing domestic abuse 0800 977 5690
Help to reduce addictive behaviour
During times of stress, addictive habits can start or worsen. Dependency on drugs or alcohol can take hold as a way of coping with the situations you may be facing. Gambling can feel like a way forward to help get you out of debt quickly but can quickly spiral.
Help is at hand.
Read our information and support on addiction
I'd like to offer my help
Donate money to help others in Suffolk
- You can help people struggling financially by donating £1 per week through the 500 Suffolk Reasons initiative. 500 Suffolk Reasons – A small local fundraising group where 500 people donate a pound a week to give £500 to a person, or a family in need. Once £500 has been raised by members, it will be donated to an individual or family in need to support. Potential recipients are nominated by members.
- Make a donation to support Suffolk Community Foundation's Surviving Winter Appeal, please give online (via just giving), telephone 01473 602602 (during office hours), or visit any branch of Suffolk Building Society to make a payment over the counter.
- Rural Coffee Caravan has it's Cooking With Kindness campaign. Donate money to allow slow cookers to be bought and given to those most in need across Suffolk
Volunteer your time
- Volunteer with charities which support families during this time. Register on Volunteer Suffolk to see what opportunities there are near you
- Speak with your employer as you may be entitled to paid volunteer time off work. You could you use this paid time to work with a local charity, food bank or credit union to undertake tasks which support them to support those most in need.
- Looking to set up a Warm Space in your community? Contact the Rural Coffee Caravan for support on how to set up a safe session and get your facility mapped. Your local District or Borough council may be able to help with funding to support your group financially to provide this service. Please see the direct contacts to the right of this page to fnd out more.
Food banks - volunteer or donate
- Food banks rely on the goodwill and support of local communities to be able to supply food to those who are struggling to buy it. You can help by offering to volunteer or by making a donation to help them support those who need it.
- The best way to get started is to contact your local food bank directly to see what they need the most.
Free food sharing app
- Share surplus food with your neighbours rather than throw it away by signing up to Olio - Your Local Sharing App (olioapp.com). Here you can give away food for free to local people - whether it is groceries from your fridge, foods about to go off or spare home-grown vegetables. This way you can help those who might not have a lot of money for food, whilst also helping the environment by cutting down on your food waste.
Give away unwanted household items
- Do you have unwanted household items you want to give away for free to someone who needs it in your community? Online community groups such as Freecycle: Front Door and Freegle connect local people who can donate for free - everything from sofas and fridges to baby buggies and DVDs.
Support for Businesses
Help for Businesses
The Cost of Living situation presents challenges for many businesses.
However, there is help and support available for business owners:
- Business Debt Line - call 0800 197 6026. This is a sister company of the National Debtline, providing free debt advice for small business owners.
Helpful resources to download
In addition to the Cost of Living flyers produced by Suffolk County Council, there are other resources which can support you, and illustrate the work being undertaken in the County to tackle inequalities at its root cause:
- How to save money with little impact on your daily living - Anglia Care Trust. Money, Welfare and Debt services page including a downloadable leaflet with lots of useful tips on how to save money
- Suffolk Public Health's Cost of Living dashboard - data on factors which affect residents facing hardship
- Suffolk County Council's Poverty Strategy and Action Plan was published in 2022 and outlines actions being taken to address poverty in Suffolk.
What are we missing?
Are we missing vital links to support? Are we showing out of date information?
Let us know the gaps and any additional content you know of that will help others.
Email us at costofliving@suffolk.gov.uk