PEOPLE living with a specific illness are eligible for a whopping £500 worth of cost of living payments.

The MND Association – a charity which supports people affected by motor neurone disease – has announced that the value of its Cost of Living Support Fund is increasing to a maximum of £500 from £350.

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This is an uplift of £150.

MND affects up to 5,000 adults in the UK at any one time.

The fund can be applied for by those with a confirmed diagnosis or suspected diagnosis of MND or Kennedy’s disease.

The scheme was set up in 2023 for those who are struggling with household bills, food or shopping costs.

It’s not means tested, so you will not be required to provide proof of income, and no quotes or receipts are required as part of
the application process.

With many people living with MND experiencing their bills rise, the charity made the changes to the fund on 1 November.

It was partly in response to the latest survey from the charity which revealed that over 80% of carers of people with MND have used savings or retirement plans to cover household costs.

Furthermore, research in 2023 found households affected by MND spend an average of £14,500 a year on costs associated with living and managing the condition – a clear indication that the financial impact of the disease has never been higher.

Those who have already received the previous amount can still apply for the difference, should they need to.

Sally Hughes, director of services and partnerships at the MND Association, said: “We know many people living with and affected by MND will be anxious and worried as household costs continue to rise. 

“As we head into the colder months, we want to ease the financial burden on people with MND. People shouldn’t have to worry about whether to eat, heat their home or turn on vital equipment. 

“It is once again another example of charities stepping up where statutory services have failed to do so.  

“What we really need is for the Government to do more to help vulnerable people rather than take away support, as they have with the recent changes to the Winter Fuel Payment.”

How can I apply?

If you would like to apply, a simple form asks you to outline why the Cost of Living fund is required and how it will be used.

You can download the application form from The MND Association’s website.

Once you have completed the form, you will need to email it to support.services@mndassociation.org and your application will be considered.

If you are awarded the fund, the MND Association will arrange for the payment to be made to you.

What other cost of living payments are available?

The current economic climate is seeing more charities step in to fill the gap left by a lack of support from the Government and statutory services. 

For those living with cancer, Macmillan’s Financial Grants Scheme was established to help support those who are struggling to cover essential living costs.

So anyone living with cancer and who needs help with bills and other essentials can apply for the grant.

It’s worth up to £350 and is a one-off payment and can be used to help with things like:

• Energy bills
• Home adaptions
• The cost of travel to and from hospital
• Any extra costs you might have because of cancer

However, unlike the MND Association fund, it is means-tested.

This means both the following need to apply to become eligible:

You must have no more than £6,000 in savings for a household of one person or no more than £8,000 for a household of two or more people

You must have a weekly income of no more than £323 per week for a household of one person or no more than £442 per week for a household of two or more people.

Benefits like personal independence payments (PIP), disability living allowance (DLA) or attendance allowance (AA) do not count towards income for this.

To apply you can call 0808 808 00 00 or you can speak to one of your healthcare team, like a district nurse or Macmillan nurse, care professional or benefits adviser who can fill in the form with you online.

The British Legion has also set up a Cost of Living grant, which can be applied for here using the Lightning Reach portal.

You can also find out what grants may be available to you using Turn2Us’s grant search on the charity website.

There are a huge range of grants available for different people – including those who are bereaved, disabled, unemployed, redundant, ill, a carer, veteran, young person or old person.

What is the Household Support Fund?

You may also be eligible for up to £500 worth of cost of living payments from the government’s Household Support Fund (HSF) which is worth £421 million in total.

It’s available to support those who are struggling to afford household basics including food, energy, wider essentials, and exceptional costs.

The fund has been split up between councils in England who are in charge of distributing their allocation.

It was set up in 2021, however, it has been extended by the UK government a number of times. 

How much you are eligible for is usually based on what benefits you already receive and your financial circumstances. 

To be eligible for help, you usually have to be in receipt of a council tax reduction or show proof of being in financial difficulty.

Each council has a different application process – so you’ll have to ask your local authority or find out via your council’s website.

To find out how to contact your local authority, use the gov.uk authority tool checker.

In the last round of funding, some residents received their share automatically, while others had to apply.

For example, Haringey London Council is issuing automatic payments to eligible residents, as well as a support fund which can be applied to.

It is also issuing payments to schools, which means they can distribute free school vouchers.

AMAZON has revealed its top 10 toys for Christmas this year including iconic brands like Play-Doh and Lego – but they come with a hefty price tag. 

The online giant has tipped a £60 Play-Doh pizza delivery scooter set as being one of the top gifts for kids this year. 

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As well as a £149.99  LEGO Star Wars Imperial Star Destroyer Starship Building Toy set, which includes seven Lego Star Wars minifigures, including Darth Vader.

The wishlist was handpicked by Amazon experts and it does include cheaper options, including a £7.99 Snackles Surprise Capsule plush soft toy. 

Matthew Redfearn, toys category leader at Amazon UK said: “Our Top Ten Toys list has something for all ages, interests and budgets, making it easier to find that perfect gift this holiday season. 

“With thousands of glowing customer reviews, people can shop with confidence, knowing that our Top Ten Toys list offers the latest in fun and entertainment.”

Shoppers can get 10% off any toy in the list by visiting –  amazon.co.uk/toptentoys2024.

Although, you only have until November 12 to take advantage of the deal. 

It’s worth keeping an eye out on Amazon though because prices may drop on Black Friday, which this year takes place on November 25.

Before splashing your cash on these toys, remember to check sites such as Price Spy and Idealo to find out if you can buy items cheaper at another store.

Free online price trackers like Price History and CamelCamelCamel will also give you an idea of whether you can save cash by buying it later in the year.

Here are the top toys Amazon reckons your children will want under the tree this year, in price order starting with the cheapest.

Snackles – £7.99

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This ultra-squeezable 12.7cm plush is made from cotton and is bound to but a smile on any kids’ face.

The soft plush is perfect to snuggle with while relaxing at home, watching a movie, or taking a long car or plane ride.

There are 11 Snackles to chose from and each one comes with its own snack including a Krispy Kreme doughnut, Mentos and a tub of Baskins Robins ice cream.

It’s the cheapest item on Amazon’s Christmas list.

We did find this item for sale at Argos for £8, which is just a penny more than at Amazon.

If you chose to visit your local branch of Argos, you could save cash by buying it there instead of Amazon and save on delivery.

Blue Orange Taco Cat Goat Cheese Pizza Card Game – £10

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Blue Orange has launched the perfect card game for kids and parents to enjoy on Christmas Day.

This card and word game is a race to see who can slap their hand on the pile of cards in the middle first once there’s a match.

The last one to do so must take them all, so players will want quick to be the first to get rid of all their cards.

Amazon describes the game as “addictive” and “unique”.

We also found this game for sale in Argos and John Lewis for £10, so you could save yourself on delivery by visiting one of these stores.

Simba SCREAMERZ Babbling Bear – £11.99

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The ScreamerZ bear has fluffy blue fur, sticking-up ears and crazy big round eyes – but don’t get draw in by his cuteness.

All you have to do is press the toy’s belly gently to hear him let out a little scream.

If you press his belly harder, he will let out a scream at the top of his lungs.

But if you shake it, the ScreamerZ lets out a funny, shaky scream.

Amazon’s price is the lowest on the market, we could only find it on sale at The Entertainer for £15.

Rainbow High Watercolour and Create DIY Fashion Doll – £24.99

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Rainbow High Water Colour and Create Brown Eyes Fashion Doll lets you custom your own Rainbow High doll in so many different ways, even with Tie-Dye.

Just add water to the six rainbow-coloured powders to create watercolours, then dip her clothes and hair using the included dual end application sponge.

You can even use the washable watercolours on your own hair.

Repeat play, just wash in soap and water, let dry and start creating again.

We found the same doll on sale for exactly the same price at The Entertainer.

However, we did find it slightly cheaper at Very for £21.99.

Lexibook Disney Stitch, Electronic Diary – £39.99

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This beautiful Disney Stitch Electronic Secret Diary is perfect for any stitch fan who wants to closely guard their secrets.

The electronic diary can be locked with a four-digit password and hidden in the diary is a secret compartment with an adorable notebook to store notes away from curious eyes.

With lots of fun features like voice recorder, voice changer, photo frame, or magical sound effects this is a perfect place to store memories.

The only other retailer we could find selling this toy was The Entertainer, and it was marked at the same price as on Amazon.

Hape Marble Run – £48.44

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Get ready for some marble madness with this do-it-yourself block set.

You children can build the towers and tracks then send the marbles rolling down through all the tricks, twists and surprises.

The set includes blocks, tracks, slides, marbles, marble trays, a jump, a bell-bucket, a spiral funnel, a ringing bell and a sliding track for your marbles to get through.

But do note that it is only suitable for children aged three and above.

HATCHIMALS Alive, Mystery Hatch Pufficorn – £49.99

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This Hatchimals Mystery Egg needs love to hatch.

Cuddle, tap, lift and rock the egg to encourage your character to hatch — the egg lights up and rocks and you’ll even hear the Hatchimal reacting from inside.

Once the egg has been given enough love, it will be ready to hatch.

Magical mist will appear and the egg will glow rainbow colours, building the anticipation.

Inside every Mystery Hatch Hatchimals egg is one of two characters, so the hatching will will be an exciting surprise to see which is revealed.

The Entertainer and Argo are also selling this toy for the same price as Amazon.

Gabby’s Dollhouse – £54.99

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The Rainbow Celebration Dollhouse is two-foot-tall and rainbow-themed.

It also comes with a 3.5-inch Gabby Girl figure, dollhouse furniture, and 10 accessories, like a kitty-themed Toilet and a Piano/DJ Table.

You can also Drop deliveries in the delivery tower and press the button to discover secret treasures hidden in the house.

You can also buy separate accessories and dollhouse furniture for the house too, but of course these come separately.

Play-Doh Pizza Delivery Scooter Playset – £59.99

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This isn’t just a scooter for children, it’s also a Play-Doh pizza toy that lets them make and deliver their own kitchen creations on wheels.

The stamp and spin action in the toy oven at the back of the scooter makes it fun to make pretend pizza creations again and again.

Box them up and put them in the slot on the side of the scooter for delivery, then sound the horn when it arrives.

The checkout station on the side of the toy scooter has a make-believe credit card reader and moulds to make Play-Doh money.

This toy is also suitable for children aged three and over.

Lego Star Wars Imperial Star Destroyer Starship Building Toy – £149.99

Dominate the galaxy with this Lego Star Wars Imperial Star Destroyer buildable toy starship playset for kids.

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Lego said it would make a great Christmas presents for boys, girls and fans aged 10 and up.

The Star Wars starship building toy features a hidden foldout carry handle for flying and two spring-loaded shooters, with a lift-off top panel and foldout side panels for easy access to the detailed interior.

Playful details inside include the bridge, command room, break room, armory, control panels and cargo box with thermal detonator elements.

It also comes with seven Lego Star Wars minifigures, including Darth Vader, Commander Praji and a special Lego Star Wars 25th anniversary minifigure of Cal Kestis.

Hundreds of toys from the must-have list will be donated to families in need in time for Christmas, as part of The Multibank charity initiative, co-founded by former Prime Minister Gordon Brown and Amazon.

The Multibank initiative was initially created to meet the needs of families and individuals living in poverty by taking surplus products donated by businesses and giving them to families in need.

To date, the initiative has donated more than three million items to help over 400,000 families experiencing poverty.

The toys will be delivered on the back of another iconic childhood toy – a life-size toy train, which is on track to tour the UK in the lead up to Christmas, stopping off at Multibank sites including:

• Felix’s Multibank in London
• The Big House Multibank in Scotland
• Cwtch Mawr Multibank in Swansea
• Brick-by-Brick Multibank in Wigan.

Do you have a money problem that needs sorting? Get in touch by emailing money-sm@news.co.uk.

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Chancellor Rachel Reeves said on Wednesday she will not “be coming back with more tax increases or more borrowing” before the end of the current parliament, arguing that no further topping up of spending on public services would be needed.

Reeves told MPs that last week’s £40bn tax-raising Budget, which also included £28bn-a-year of new borrowing, was a one-off “reset” and insisted: “We will never need to do a Budget like this again”.

“We have now set the envelope for spending for this parliament. We are not going to be coming back with more tax increases or more borrowing. We now need to live within the means we’ve set ourselves,” Reeves told the House of Commons Treasury select committee.

The comments appeared to be an explicit assurance from Reeves that she would not raise taxes or borrowing further. But when pressed by MPs, the chancellor softened her remarks and said it would be “naive” to “write five years’ worth of Budgets” given uncertainties in the global economy.

Reeves’ comments follow warnings from both the Office for Budget Responsibility — the UK’s fiscal watchdog — and the Institute for Fiscal Studies think-tank that many areas of public services could come under renewed strain after 2026 because the chancellor has front-loaded her new spending.

In addition, the extra £100bn of capital spending over five years that she announced will only keep public investment flat as a share of GDP.

Reeves told MPs she had “drawn a line” line under the previous Conservative government’s fiscal plans, which the OBR had said envisaged unrealistic spending cuts, and put the public finances on a firm footing.

She also sought to downplay warnings from economists that Britain’s growth prospects were at risk following Donald Trump’s re-election to the US presidency, given his threat to impose tariffs of 10 to 20 per cent on all imports.

Reeves said the UK’s Labour government would fight to keep trade open. “We’re not just a passive actor in this,” she said. “We will make strong representations about the importance of free and open trade.”

Reeves said UK ministers would use the time until Trump’s inauguration in January to “begin those conversations and prepare for different eventualities”.

She added: “I’m not in favour of new tariffs. I am in favour of trying to do more with countries that share our values.”

At the same hearing, James Bowler, the Treasury’s top civil servant, denied that his department had breached the law by not telling the OBR about a fiscal “black hole” that Reeves says she discovered after taking office in July.

Richard Hughes, head of the OBR, said on Tuesday that the Treasury had failed to disclose a potential £9.5bn overspend by government departments before the last Conservative Budget in March.

“Under law and the act [of parliament] they should have done,” Hughes said. The idea that the Treasury, under former Tory chancellor Jeremy Hunt, hid the fiscal truth has become a central argument for Reeves.

But Bowler told MPs that the Treasury did not break the law and this was something that was “quite important to me”.

The Treasury permanent secretary said: “The law is more about what the OBR have the right to ask for, rather than what is provided to them on our own initiative.”

He said the Treasury had made the assumption that the £9.5bn of spending pressures would be offset by spending cuts or departmental underspends, neither of which had materialised.

Bowler said the Treasury had now adopted a new “bottom up” system for notifying the OBR of spending pressures in each department.

HAPPY shoppers raced to fill their baskets with a popular biscuit scanning for just 16p.

Sainsbury’s fans were delighted to find the sweet treats on the shelves for an incredible price.

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The mega discount had been applied to the supermarket giant’s own brand Brain Filled Bournons.

Despite Halloween having passed, the chocolate goodies are still perfectly tasty any time of year.

The helpful information was posted in the Extreme Couponing and Bargains UK Facebook group.

“Sainsbury’s Weymouth, not with other biscuits, just in a Halloween section at back of store along with reduced sweets etc…stocked up for work staff room (if they make it that far)”, shared an excited shopper.

Another customer shared: “I took 10 packs into work and everyone ate them and said they were nice!”

“I think they’re lovely, normal bourbon biscuit and strawberry filling,” said someone else.

A third suggested: “Ours had the cola for 16p as well today in Hereford.”

“The biscuits taste nice, strawberry filling more suited to adult taste buds but I find that with standard bourbon biscuits anyway,” added a fourth.

“I bought them and I liked them,” said another.

The 150g packets of mixed berry flavour cream filled chocolate biscuits usually cost 65p.

Fans have hailed the Halloween candy, one said: “I bought these for Halloween, however my grandchildren scoffed the lot before we arrived home.”

Another wrote: “Fun, lighthearted, but tasty biscuits…ideal for Halloween or with a refreshing beverage.”

However do bear in mind that when prices are reduced by this much it’s usually in order for stores to clear excess stock, so availability will vary from store to store.

It’s always best to phone ahead to your local shop to check what they have available to avoid disappointment.

You can find your nearest Sainsbury’s store using the locator tool on the website.

It always pays to compare prices so you know you’re getting the best deal.

Prices can also vary day to day and by what deals are on at the time, plus remember you might pay for delivery if you’re ordering online.

You can compare prices on platforms like Google Shopping.

It comes as Sainsbury’s shoppers were also rushing to their local store to pick up an eight-pack of a popular fizzy drink which is scanning for just 25p.

Bargain hunters have been getting excited about the deal which could see them make a significant saving.

They took to the Extreme Couponing and Bargains UK group on Facebook to let others know.

Posting a picture of their haul of four eight-can packs along with the receipt, they wrote: “Eight can packs of Diet Coke is 25p at Sainsbury’s”.

The supermarket giant also recently launched their new winter clothes collection with budget-friendly pieces.

And, getting into the Christmas spirit, the superstore has dropped the price of the Baileys to £10 for a whole litre.