Eligible households can get up to £300 to spend in Tesco supermarkets (Image: Getty)
Households in one part of the UK are being handed vouchers worth up to £300 to spend in Tesco supermarkets. The supermarket vouchers are being awarded by Surrey County Council to eligible residents who need help with everyday living costs as part of the Department for Work and Pensions’ (DWP) Household Support Fund, and while this particular scheme applies in Surrey, more cost of living support is being awarded by local councils in other parts of the UK too.
The DWP scheme gives local councils across England a share of a funding pot worth £742 million, which is then distributed to eligible households who need help to afford essential living costs over the winter months, including energy bills and food. 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.
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In South East England, Surrey County Council is awarding supermarket vouchers worth up to £300 to eligible households each month up until April through its Everyday Essentials E-voucher scheme using DWP funding to support those who find it difficult to afford food and toiletries.
The Everyday Essentials E-voucher can be redeemed across Tesco stores, although recipients can choose an alternative supermarket if they prefer, including Aldi, Asda, Farmfoods, Iceland, The Food Warehouse, Morrisons, Sainsbury’s and Waitrose.
There are two types of one-off amounts of funding available, with single households given vouchers worth £200 and households with children given vouchers worth £300. Only one E-voucher is available per household.
The February application window opened on February 3, but capacity for this month has now been reached, so the scheme is now closed for applications until Wednesday, March 4, at 1pm.
To be eligible for the vouchers, residents must be aged 18 or over, have household savings of £2,000 or less on average over a 90-day period, and have an annual household income under £27,007.50 before taxes and deductions.
Surrey County Council said: “The next E-Voucher scheme application window will open on Wednesday 4 March at 1pm. E-Voucher numbers are limited each month. Prepare for the next application window in advance by reading our application steps.£
The council added: “Depending on your choice of supermarket, you can either redeem your E-voucher online, via your phone in store or by printing off your E- voucher and using in store.
“You do not have to redeem your E-voucher all in one go. You have at least one year to redeem your E-voucher. Exact expiry times for each retailer can be found on the E-voucher portal, which you will have access to once you have received your E-voucher.”
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.
The 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, residents in Calderdale can get a maximum of two payments of £85, amounting to £170 worth of support in total, and residents of State Pension age in North Lincolnshire are being offered free air fryers, slow cookers and kettles.
In the East Midlands, households in Nottingham can apply for £100 vouchers to spend in supermarkets, and in South Yorkshire, Doncaster Council is giving eligible households up to £300 towards food costs, while 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, and residents in Manchester receiving Council Tax support and a disability benefit can get payments of up to £130 to help with living costs.
