vouchers

THOUSANDS of households need to look out for supermarket vouchers landing on doormats worth up to £180.

The latest Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation figures for June confirmed food prices have soared in the last 12 months.

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But there are ways to drive down the cost of your weekly shop, starting with help through the Household Support Fund (HSF).

The £742million fund has been shared between councils in England who then decide how to allocate their share.

Some are directing cash payments to residents in need while others are distributing supermarket vouchers to cover the summer holidays.

We’ve rounded up what some local authorities are offering below.

We won’t have covered all the councils offering help, so if your local authority isn’t included it’s worth checking with it to see what you are eligible for.

Most councils have pages on their websites dedicated to the Household Support Fund where you’ll find details on who is eligible and what you’re in line for.

You can find what local council area you fall under by visiting www.gov.uk/find-local-council.

That said, below are some of the councils offering qualifying households supermarket vouchers.

Bracknell Forest Council

Schools in Bracknell are automatically distributing supermarket vouchers to children registered for free school meals.

These vouchers have been paid for through Bracknell Forest Council’s allotment of the Household Support Fund.

The council has not confirmed how much the vouchers are worth.

Wakefield Metropolitan District Counci

Wakefield Metropolitan District Council is issuing supermarket vouchers worth £50 to families receiving council tax support.

The vouchers are being issued via letters on July 21 and take up to seven days to arrive.

Full instructions on how to redeem the vouchers will be included in the letters.

Once the voucher has been redeemed, it doesn’t have to be used all at once and can be used several times until it is spent.

Nottingham City Council

Nottingham City Council is distributing £75 supermarket vouchers to households each month until March 2026.

There is a limit on the number of vouchers being shared each month meaning you have to act fast to claim one.

Applications for this month’s vouchers opened on July 7 so may all have been allocated for July.

Nottingham City Council has said the dates applications for vouchers will open between August and next March will be confirmed “later in July”.

Ealing Council

Ealing Council is giving supermarket vouchers worth £90 to families with children on benefits-related free school meals this month.

The vouchers are worth £90 per child meaning you could get £180 if you have two kids.

You don’t need to apply for the vouchers as they are being sent automatically to emails or as letters.

The council’s partner, Blackhawk, is issuing a 16-digit personalised code and instructions on how to redeem the vouchers on the Blackhawk website – ealingcouncil.select-your-reward.co.uk.

Devon County Council

Devon County Council has issued supermarket vouchers worth more than £90 to 22,000 families with children on free school meals.

The £90 is equivalent to £15 per week for the six week school holiday.

The council has said the vouchers can be redeemed in major supermarkets but hasn’t said which ones.

Portsmouth City Council

Portsmouth City Council is issuing £50 supermarket vouchers to children on benefits-related free school meals.

You might also be eligible if your child is not on free school meals and you’re on a low income, and can apply for the vouchers from the end of the school term.

You can also forward your email address to the council and will be contacted when the application window opens.

More details can be found via www.portsmouth.gov.uk/services/benefits-and-money-advice/help-and-support/money-advice/household-support-fund.

Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole (BCP) Council

Families on free school meals are eligible for supermarket food vouchers being distributed by schools in the area.

You do not need to apply as they are being issued automatically.

Food vouchers may also be available for children under five years if certain criteria is met.

To receive a voucher, children must be living in Bournemouth, Christchurch, or Poole and meet one of the following criteria:

• currently claiming 2 year old early education funding at an early years setting in Bournemouth, Christchurch or Poole during the term
• currently claiming Early Years Pupil Premium funding for 3 and 4 year olds at an early years setting in Bournemouth, Christchurch or Poole during the term (this is different to the early education funding available to all 3 and 4 year olds)
• currently have an open case with a social worker or Early Help family support worker and are of pre-school age

Food vouchers for this group of families have to be applied for, with more details on the BCP Council website.

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MARKS and Spencer has issued an update for customers with gift vouchers after its cyber attack.

Customers have taken to social media to share their dissatisfaction with the retailer’s latest update.

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It comes as the ongoing chaos has left scores of M&S shoppers unable to use their gift vouchers.

Yet the retail giant initially told customers they won’t get extensions of the expiry dates on vouchers due to expire.

One customer took to X, pleading: “My vouchers expire at the end of this month but I can’t use them. Can I have them extended?”

But M&S responded: “Unfortunately we’re unable to extend vouchers.”

They later appeared to soften, agreeing to “double check” on the customers behalf.

Last month, shoppers also said they’d hit a brick wall.

One couple revealed on the MoneySavingExpert forum that they’ve been saving up vouchers from their M&S credit card for months, only to be told they’d have to use them now or lose them entirely.

The customer posted: “We contacted M&S Customer Support which bluntly said that if we didn’t use the vouchers by their expiry date then that was tough.

“The only option we have is to spend them on something we don’t really need.”

They added that M&S stores aren’t even able to place orders, meaning customers can’t just pop in and buy bigger items either.

Even staff are reportedly unable to order stock, with fears some branches could start running out of essentials altogether.

Some stores have even been stripped of staples like bananas and Colin the Caterpillar cakes, and popular meal deals were pulled in smaller branches

An MSE forum ambassador said: “Given the number of people this may affect, perhaps thousands as you suggest, I would expect M&S to extend the end date for these.”

While another shopper fumed: “The least they could do is extend the date.”

M&S credit card reward vouchers are valid for 17 months, while shoppers with gift cards have 24 months from the last transaction to spend them.

When The Sun contacted M&S, it advised affected customers to get in touch – but didn’t confirm whether it would offer extensions on a case-by-case basis after all.

A M&S spokesperson said: “The majority of M&S credit card customers redeem their reward vouchers in stores, and they can continue to do so.

“If for any reason customers aren’t able to redeem in store, and their vouchers are due to expire soon, we would ask them to get in touch with us so we can support them.”

Meanwhile, the attack is still causing carnage across the business.

M&S was forced to pull online orders, birthday perks were suspended, and Sparks offers were frozen.

The store has now confirmed that some freebies, like birthday cookies, will still be honoured eventually.

But when it comes to Rewards Vouchers — a perk many customers save up to use for larger purchases — the answer so far is a hard no.

The cyber attack, which kicked off over Easter weekend, has been one of the worst to hit the high street in years.

It has forced M&S to halt online orders and triggered widespread disruption, including a £300million blow to profits.

Customer info was also nicked during the breach, with security experts now blaming “Scattered Spider”— a notorious cyber gang thought to be behind the chaos.

Online shopping is still out of action and is expected to remain patchy until at least July, with fashion, home and beauty sales taking a battering.

Meanwhile, M&S isn’t the only store facing cyber trouble.

Co-op was forced to shut down part of its IT system after facing a hacking attempt last month.

It confirmed that it had “taken proactive steps to keep our systems safe”.

It was later revealed that the personal data of a “significant number” of its 6.2million customers and former members had been stolen.

The details included names, contact information, and dates of birth.

However, the retailer assured customers that passwords, credit card details, and transaction information were not compromised.

Full services resumed on May 14, following the reactivation of its online ordering system.