A West London council will hand out cash payments of £200 to thousands of residents to ease cost of living pressures in the New Year. Kensington and Chelsea Council said the cash payment will go to the 30per cent of residents in the borough on the lowest incomes and who are most in need, which it says is approximately 4,000 people.
It will also provide free school meals to thousands of students during the holidays until Easter 2026, with £579,000 being allocated for this. At a rate of £4 per day, per eligible pupil, the funds are expected to support 4,800 students from low-income households, according to the council.
The money comes from the Government’s seventh and final instalment of the Household Support Fund (HSF). Kensington and Chelsea Council received just over £2million, which was ringfenced to help the borough’s most vulnerable residents and must be spent by the end of the current financial year.
The £200 direct cash payments are to be made in January 2026 with eligible residents being contacted in writing. The council will also promote the scheme through its resident newsletters.
Any leftover funds will go towards the Housing Revenue Account Tenancy Sustainment Fund, which supports residents in crisis. Funding will also be used to cover administrative costs associated with delivering these programmes.
The council approved these measures when leaders met last Wednesday (November 12). Only those identified by the council’s Low Income Family Tracker (LIFT) dashboard will be eligible for the top up of at least £200. A total of £812,000 has been set aside for this.
Households living in fuel poverty, below the relative poverty line and residents who suffer acute health inequalities will be eligible for funding. Residents in poorer quality homes, who have low levels of education attainment, have low incomes or are unable to meet basic needs will also qualify.
Residents will be included on the council’s LIFT database if they receive either Universal Credit, the Legacy Housing Benefit or the Council Tax Reduction Scheme.
The council said its latest plan is part of a broader commitment to support households on low incomes. Since October 2021, the council received £7m across six rounds of the HFS to help residents impacted by the cost-of-living crisis.
Previous funding supported free school meals, direct payments to residents, tenancy support and grants to community organisations. The Government will replace the programme with the Crisis and Resilience Fund from April 2026. This fund will combine funding from the HSF and the Discretionary Housing Fund and the cash given to councils may differ from previous years.
Council faces £130m black hole
It comes as the council announces the need to find over £130million in ‘savings’ – £82m of which it says is due to the borough being harshly treated in the Fairer Funding review. Cost cutting proposals, which are out for consultation, include increasing council tax by 5pc, introducing a Second Home Premium and reducing its council tax relief scheme.
The council is also looking to cut funding for air quality projects in schools, free flu jabs for council staff and targeted domestic violence support in housing.
