Cost of living support in Leeds

Visit our page on navigating the benefits system.

A carer is anyone who provides unpaid care for a friend or family member. This might be due to illness, disability, a mental health problem or an addiction. Visit our caring for someone page for more information about local support.

To find out about financial support for carers or the person you care for, you can:

Contact the Carers Leeds support service. Carers Leeds are able to assist anyone who is an unpaid carer (you can be in receipt of Carers Allowance) or a cared for person who lives within the Leeds City Council area. They can assist with Attendance Allowance, Personal Independence Payments (PIP) and Disability Living Allowance (DLA) for children. They can also help with the transition from DLA to PIP. To find out more, call the Carers Advice Line on 0113 380 4300 (Monday to Thursday open 9.00am to 5.00pm, Fridays 9.00am to 4:30pm) or email them at advice@carersleeds.org.uk

Visit the Carers UK website for information about financial support, factsheets and details of regular free webinars for carers. You can also contact their helpline.

Healthy Holidays Leeds provides free engaging and enriching activities with a hot and healthy meal for children and young people during the Easter, Summer and Christmas holidays.

Find out about the Healthy Start scheme, which may be able to help pregnant women and families with young children access vouchers for milk and food.

NHS Healthy Start Scheme helps young families on low incomes to buy healthy food and milk. Those who are more than 10 weeks pregnant or have children under four years old and receive certain benefits could be eligible.

School uniform exchange pop-up shops make it easy for families to pass on good quality school uniform that’s no longer needed and, instead of buying new, find items of school uniform, for free! School uniform is usually available at Breeze Leeds events over school holidays, but you can find exhanges near you and learn how to set up your own. Follow Leeds School Uniform Exchange on Facebook, or see #LeedsSchoolUniformExchange on other social media platforms, for details of where and when you can pick up free school uniforms that have been donated through the exchange scheme.

Zero Waste Leeds also has tips to make your school uniform last longer. They also run:

• Together for Sport, offering access to second-hand sport kit and equipment
• Leeds Winter Coat Appeal, welcoming donations and offering free coats to those in need (adults and children) around the city – look out for information in the autumn and winter.
• A Zero Waste Clothing page, with links to charity shops, vintage shops, clothes exchanges, sewing classes and services offering repairs.
• Social media accounts – helpful for updates: X @ZeroWasteLeeds, Facebook zerowasteleeds, Instagram @zerowasteleeds, Facebook Leeds School Uniform Exchange.

Read the article from The Big Issue How to get school uniforms on a budget in 2025 about school uniform grants.

Look out on social media for lists of places where children can eat free or cheaply during school holidays. The Big Issue publishes a list of places where children can eat cheaply or for free over holidays, which is updated during the year.

You could also explore the Big Issue’s Summer Survival Guide: How to get through the summer holidays in the cost of living crisis for advice and ideas on coping with the cost of family life over school holidays.

Child Friendly Leeds shares ideas for activities during school holidays in their blog and on social media, on Facebook @childfriendlyleeds, Instagram @childfriendlyleeds and X @Child_Leeds.

See our Children and families section (above) for information about school uniforms, including exhange schemes.

Visit the Zero Waste Leeds website for:

• Leeds Winter Coat Appeal, welcoming donations and offering free coats to those in need (adults and children) around the city – look out for information in the autumn and winter.
• Together for Sport, helping people access great quality, second-hand sport kit and equipment needed to stay active.

You can also explore their Zero Waste Clothing page, which has links to charity shops, vintage shops, clothes exchanges, sewing classes and services offering repairs.

Find about about Leeds Community Clothes Exchange, community project encouraging the exchange of clothes and accessories in order to develop community spirit, reduce consumption and raise awareness of unethical consumer habits. It encourages you to clean our your wardrobe, get rid of items you don’t wear and swap for second hand items at their exchange events.

You might be able to pay less council tax depending on your circumstances. Visit the Citizens Advice council tax page to find out more.

The Coronavirus pandemic caused problems for people at work and at home, with changes or reductions in income, redundancies and more. Visit our Coronavirus and wellbeing page for links and resources.

In Leeds, you can access free, confidential, and impartial help and advice on a range of money-related matters through the Money Information Centre.

Find out about Dealing with Debt with information from the Money Helper website (formerly the Money Advice Service).

Citizens Advice offers free, confidential advice online, over the phone, and in person. They can help you problem-solve and find solutions to your financial problems.

Money Buddies is the biggest free independent financial advice service in West Yorkshire. Whether you’re having difficulty paying debt, need legal debt advice, or are unsure of what to do about your finances, they can help.

If you need to take out a loan, consider your options carefully. Citizens Advice has information about different types of loan and Leeds Money Information Centre has details of agencies in Leeds offering low cost loans.

Energy and heating

Learn more about help available if you’re struggling to pay your energy, utility and household bills from Leeds Money Information Centre website.

Find out about help with your energy bills from the UK government, including the Warm Home Discount Scheme, energy saving improvement schemes, cost of living payments and home energy support payments. This page is updated seasonally or when new scheme/payments are announced.

In 2024, the Household Support Fund is being provided via Leeds City Council to households living in Leeds who are in receipt of Council Tax Support. Emergency help is also available through the council’s Local Welfare Support Scheme, providing one-off support to eligible applicants.

Receive free energy advice and find ways to lower your energy costs, with support from Money Buddies. They can also help you to stop energy disconnections and arrange for you to get specialist free legal debt advice too. You can call them on 0113 235 0276 or email admin@egac.org.

Visit the Citizen’s Advice website for information including how to read your smart meter, grants and benefits to help you pay your energy bills and a planner tool to help you work out your budget.

Call the Energy Affordability Helpline from Citizen’s Advice – it can help clients in West Yorkshire and the North East to:

• understand your bill or tariff
• maximise your income through benefits and debt advice
• reduce your fuel debts through negotiating with creditors and securing charitable or other assistance
• access increased support through the Priority Services Register, Warm Homes Discount, tariff checks, charity applications, etc.
• resolve disputes with energy suppliers
• make a complaint to energy suppliers and the Energy Ombudsman
• reduce future fuel costs by accessing support from the Green Doctors and other appropriate services

Contact the Energy Affordability line

• call 0800 448 0721, open Monday to Friday from 9am to 5pm
• send them a query using an online form
• use their Energy Affordability webchat service – a chat icon will appear on the bottom right hand corner of the screen when there is an adviser available to take a chat. Click on this icon to begin.

Please have as much information available as you can when you get in touch – for example, recent energy bills or letters from your energy providers.

Home Plus (Leeds) also offers independent energy advice and can help with draught proofing and home repairs and can support on issues such as a change in housing or financial circumstances, bereavement or increasing care needs. Find out more about who Home Plus can help and their heating and energy efficiency service. You can also call them on 0113 240 6009 or email homeplus@care-repair-leeds.org.uk.

Get tips on how to become more energy efficient on Groundwork’s Green Doctors website – they help UK residents stay warm, stay well, and save money on household bills. The Green Doctors can also help with money advice, fuel debt support, install draft proofing and lots more. Explore the My Energy and Heating page on the Groundwork Yorkshire website.

You can find more advice on how to save energy and reduce costs from the Money Saving Expert website.

Scope offers free energy and water advice to disabled people and has energy saving tips, including how to understand your energy bill and the energy price cap, and information about how to use your heating controls.

If you’re confused about the Energy Price Cap, the Energy Saving Trust has a helpful blog post explaining what it means and how it might affect you.

Phone and broadband

If you’re on a low income you could get a cheaper internet, mobile or phone deal called a ‘social tariff’. Find out if you’re eligible with information from Ofcom.

Water

If you’re struggling to pay your water bill, there are short term and longer-term schemes you can apply for. Visit the Yorkshire Water get in touch page and select ‘I’m worried about paying my bill’ from the query options. You can arrange for them to call you back, phone them on 0345 1 299 299 or contact them through a BSL interpreter. They are open 8.00am to 6.00pm, Monday to Friday and 9.00am to 3.00pm on Saturdays.

Priority registers

For all home utilities – water, phone, gas and electric – companies often have priority registers for households with a disabled, elderly or frail person, new parents or someone with long-term health issues. Being on a priority service registers should mean they let you know about disruption to services, provide bills in accessible formats, allow someone to help you manage your account and even provide bottled water if there is a water supply problem.

Find out more from the links below or search on your company’s website or contact their customer services:

• AgeUK links to energy companies you can register online with
• BT
• Ofgem information about energy company registers
• Talk Talk
• The Priority Service Register (PSR) connects to a range of energy and water companies
• Vodafone
• Yorkshire Water

Find out about all emergency food support or your nearest food aid centre in Leeds.

Free or emergency food provision

If necessary, consider different types of support as a temporary measure such as food banks, community kitchens and drop-in meals, or applying for a grant.

Trussel runs food banks around the UK and you can find locations on their website.

You can also find free community meals from Foodcycle venues, with places in or near Leeds.

Low cost or pay-as-you-can food provision

There are community schemes such as Surplus to Purpose, with stores in Leeds, Bradford and York, and food pantries in locations in Leeds and around the country. These let people pay a small amount, such as £3:50 a week, to receive roughly £15 of fresh food each week. Food is supplied by organisations such as FareShare Yorkshire and Rethink Food. Some operate independently whereas others are run in partnership with larger organisations such as churches or community groups.

• Explore the list of food pantries on the Leeds Food Aid website
• Find food pantries around the UK on Your Local Pantry
• The Pantry is run by the St Giles Trust, with projects in various UK locations. People using the Pantry pay a weekly subscription of £3.50 and in return are able to access affordable, nutritious food and added support to help them move towards independence. The Pantry – Leeds is based in LS7 and you can refer yourself using an online form.

More ideas for saving money and reducing food waste

Find tips for lowering food bills from The Money Saving Expert.

Explore ideas for cutting down on food waste with Love Food Hate Waste.

Read about the To Good to Go app for access to cheap Surprise Bags of food from cafes and shops.

Visit our Finding support in Leeds page to find help for more general issues such as anxiety and coping with stress or a difficult life event. There is also signposting to local and national support services, including counselling, peer group supports, and advice about talking to a GP.

Digital health hubs are dedicated community organisations and locations with trusted people on hand to help you get online, including providing free mobile data and digital skills training. Find your local hub.

Local community hubs offer a range of free, confidential support including help getting online, free computer use and developing your digital skills.

Leeds Libraries can help you get online either at the library or at home, with library computers you can book, drop-in learning sessions and a tablet lending scheme. For more information, please call 0113 378 5005 or email leedslibraries@leeds.gov.uk. You can also visit Leeds Libraries Online Learning for useful videos and tutorials.

Home broadband: if you’re on a low income you could get a cheaper internet, mobile or phone deal called a ‘social tariff’. Find out if you’re eligible with information from Ofcom.

People in England can contact Help Through Hardship, run by the Trussell Trust with Citizen’s Advice. The free helpline can:

• assess which benefits you may be entitled to
• help you with benefits claims
• identify any grants you may be able to get
• help you access emergency support if you can’t afford the essentials
• refer you to Mind’s Infoline for mental health information and support.

Call 0808 208 2138 to speak to a friendly adviser, open Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm. Closed on public holidays.

Visit our information on housing and homelessness for where to find help.

Leeds Housing Options offer support for people who are homeless or at risk of being so. You can visit them at Merrion House, 110 Merrion Centre, Leeds, or call them on 0113 222 4412. For emergency out of hours calls, call 0113 378 8366.

If you are worried about someone sleeping rough you can notify the Street Outreach Team by calling 0113 245 9445 or emailing Leeds.SOS@cgl.org.uk.

If you’re struggling to find the right job, or need to develop your skills, advice and support is available from Leeds Employment Hub. Their team can help you find a job, apprenticeship, or a training or learning opportunity.

If you want a new job or you are at risk of redundancy, the Leeds Jobshops can support you to look for available jobs, update or create a CV, complete application forms and prepare for interviews.

During the winter months, organisations in Leeds offer Welcome Spaces (previously Warm Spaces). These are venues around the city where people can gather for free in a warm, safe, welcoming space. Some venues also offer hot drinks, activities, and other services such as free Wi-Fi. Find your nearest Welcome Space.

You can explore the Warm Space Finder UK website to find community venues across the country offering a warm welcome.

Zero Waste Leeds runs a warm coat campaign, welcoming donations and offering free coats to those in need around the city (adults and children) – see above in our Children and Families section for links to social media.

Worrying about money can affect your mental health – find ways to cope and access support in our Money worries and mental health section.

Find out about the links between Debt, stress and mental health.

If you’re struggling with your mental health and need to speak with someone urgently, visit our Need urgent help? page for 24/7 support.

Money in Mind is run by Leeds Mind to help support both your financial and mental wellbeing, offering information and practical support for those experiencing economic hardship.

You can work one-to-one with a navigator to help you explore the link between mental health and finances and you’ll set some personal goals to work towards. Your navigator will help by directing you to tools and local specialist support. If you’re interested in this free Money in Mind service, email admin@workplaceleeds.org.uk or call 0113 230 2631.

Money in Mind also runs free workshops for anyone who needs them, including budgeting, controlling spending and financial independence. You can explore and book upcoming workshops on the Leeds Mind website.

Everyday money is a collection of useful resources from MoneyHelper, with guidance on banking, budgeting, credit and more. It’s provided by the Money and Pensions Service, backed by the UK government.

Mental Health and Money Advice has helpful information about priority and non-priority debts, mental health breathing spaces and has a handy budget planner.

The Budget Planner from the Money Saving Expert if a free spreadsheet to help you detail all your income and outgoings, with tips on why budgeting is useful and how to do it accurately.

Visit our Managing money: where to start pages for useful resources, information and links.

Forum Central is committed to supporting third sector organisations and their employees during this difficult time and has gathered financial and wellbeing support information for the third sector workforce.

If you work in a health and care environment and are experiencing feelings that are difficult to cope with, the West Yorkshire Health and Wellbeing Hub is completely confidential and offers advice and support that can help with a range of issues.