Local Support Payments

What is the Local Support Payments scheme?

Local Support Payments (LSP) is the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea’s local welfare scheme. It provides short‑term help to residents who are experiencing a financial crisis or emergency and need support to protect their health, safety or ability to live independently.

LSP is not a regular benefit and it is not a loan. It is a discretionary scheme, which means there is no automatic right to receive an award. Each application is looked at individually to decide whether support can be provided based on the rules of the scheme and your circumstances.

What can Local Support Payments help with?

Local Support Payments are intended to meet essential, one‑off needs arising from a sudden crisis or emergency. Awards are usually provided as vouchers rather than cash.

Common types of help include:

• Essential furniture and white goods needed to move into or remain in a home, such as:
• Beds and mattress
• Cooker or oven
• Fridge or fridge‑freezer

More rarely support with the following can be provided:

• Food and essential items, provided through supermarket vouchers
• Fuel costs (for example, gas or electricity) in exceptional circumstances

Some items and costs cannot be covered by LSP, including debts, rent, council tax, ongoing living costs, TVs, mobile phones, holidays, medical expenses, or items another organisation has a legal duty to provide.

Who can apply for Local Support Payments?

To be considered for Local Support Payments, all of the following must apply:

1. You are experiencing a crisis or emergency

The situation must:

• Be unexpected or sudden, not an ongoing issue
• Create a serious risk to health or safety for you or your family
• Be connected to a recent event (for example fire, flood, illness, fleeing violence, or moving from institutional or temporary accommodation into permanent housing)

Each situation is considered on its own facts.

2. You are aged 16 or over

Applicants must be at least 16 years old to qualify.

3. You live in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea

You must normally live in the borough. If the Council has placed you in accommodation outside the borough, you may still be treated as living in Kensington and Chelsea for the purposes of the scheme.

4. You receive a qualifying benefit

You must be receiving at least one of the following benefits:

• Income Support
• Income‑based Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA)
• Income‑related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA)
• Pension Credit
• Incapacity Benefit
• Disability Living Allowance (DLA)
• Personal Independence Payment (PIP)
• Attendance Allowance
• Universal Credit at the maximum rate (not reduced because of earnings or other income)

People waiting for their first Universal Credit payment may be treated as eligible, depending on their circumstances.

5. Your savings are below the capital limit

• Most applicants must have £1,000 or less in savings
• If you receive Pension Credit, the limit is £3,000

Savings held by a partner are counted as part of your household capital.

6. Limits on how often you can receive an award

You can receive no more than two Local Support Payment awards in any rolling 12‑month period, regardless of the type of support requested.

How to apply

Information you will need

When you apply, you will be asked for information such as:

• your personal details (name, address, date of birth)
• your National Insurance number
• details of the benefits you receive
• information about your savings
• details of the crisis or emergency you are facing
• what help you are asking for and why it is needed

If more information is needed to make a decision, the team may contact you

Apply by email

Completing an application form and applying by email is the fastest route to getting a decision. 
Download the form and once complete send it to [email protected]  

Apply by phone

You can apply by calling the Local Support Payments team:

• 020 7745 6464

Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm (excluding bank holidays

What happens after you apply?

• Applications are usually decided within 10 working days of receiving all required information
• The Council aims to make decisions as quickly as possible
• You will receive your decision by email

If your application is successful, any award will normally be provided as vouchers rather than cash.

Requesting a review

If you disagree with the decision on your application, you can ask for a review.
A review will:

• Look again at your application and any new information you provide
• Check whether the eligibility rules were applied correctly

Reviews are normally carried out within 14 days of a request by a different officer from the one who made the original decision. You will receive a written outcome once the review has been completed.

There is no further right of appeal after a review decision.

Getting help with your application

If you need help applying or want to discuss whether Local Support Payments might be right for you, please contact the Local Support Payments team on 020 7745 6464.

The Council will also signpost you to other support services if the Local Support Payments scheme is not able to help.