Navigating rising bills as a postgraduate student

LucyClarke

As indicated in the title, I'm currently doing my MSc and renting privately in London - a challenging balance at the best of times. Since I took time out of work to undertake my studies and I'm not earning an income at the moment, the rising cost of bills is and will continue to put an increasing pressure on my finances.

I'm not eligible for the council tax rebate since I'm already exempt from paying council tax as a student. The government has made a lot of noise about a discretionary fund for those who are not eligible for the rebate, howevr my local authority discretionary fund is only accessible to those on benefits (which again I'm not eligible for as a student).

I have two questions:

1) Is there any national support available to students struggling with the rising cost of bills or alternative schemes I should look into?
2) Given I will start paying council tax in September, will I be eligible to claim the rebate at that point or will I have missed the window of opportunity?

Thanks so much for any insights!