The DWP is launching a Crisis and Resilience Fund to support households from April 1 (Image: Getty)
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has confirmed that new cost-of-living payments will be rolled out to eligible households in England after March.
A new Crisis and Resilience Fund (CRF) will be made available to local authorities across England from April 1 to support low-income households in the new tax year. Councils will receive a total of £1 billion worth of funding to cover the period from April 1, 2026, to March 31, 2029, and the new fund will replace the DWP‘s current Household Support Fund, which ends on March 31. The DWP said the new scheme will bring together Discretionary Housing Payments into a single, streamlined grant, and the new simplified approach will help to reduce the administrative burden on councils, ensuring families can access the support they need, when they need it.
Under new rules, councils have been advised to prioritise digital or physical cash payments, including bank transfers or cash-out vouchers, such as through PayPoint, Post Office and ATM’s, and these can be used to help households with food, housing, energy, furniture and transport costs, among others.
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It marks the first time a multi-year settlement will be in place for crisis support, replacing the annual cliff-edge funding cycle of previous years, allowing councils to plan ahead.
According to the Government, this will allow the fund to act as a “genuine safety net to prevent families from falling into poverty”, and it comes alongside other initiatives, including expanded free school meals and free childcare hours, and legislation to end the two-child limit for families claiming Universal Credit.
From April, each unitary authority and county council in England must deliver a CRF Crisis Payment scheme that offers payment support to low-income households who have experienced “financial shock”, such as a sudden, unexpected expense or drop in income, or to prevent individuals from entering “crisis”.
The DWP said: “There is no prescriptive list specifying eligible expenditure for Crisis Payments; it is at the Authority’s discretion to determine appropriate support by taking a person-centred, needs-based approach. However, it may include awarding a Crisis Payment to support:
water including for drinking, washing, cooking, as well as for sanitary purposes and sewerage
housing costs
period and hygiene products such as soap and toothpaste
energy for any form of fuel that is used for the purpose of domestic heating, cooking or lighting, including oil or portable gas cylinders
clothing including uniform, warm winter clothing and shoes
essential furniture and appliances such as beds and bedding, washing machines, window coverings and carpets, fridge-freezers and ovens
essential transport-related costs such as repairing a car, buying a bicycle or bus pass or paying for fuel
digital and connectivity essentials such as broadband or phone bills.”
The fund will support a wide range of low-income households and will not be limited to those in receipt of benefits. Councils will have the flexibility to apply their own discretion when determining eligibility for their Crisis Payment schemes, with the fund to be issued on a needs-based approach.
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Sabine Goodwin, director of the Independent Food Aid Network, said: “The eagerly awaited Crisis and Resilience Fund is set to be groundbreaking for households living on low incomes in English local authorities.
“Its newly published guidance outlines the delivery of effective crisis support via prioritised cash payments, enabling choice and dignity as well as the need to help residents build financial resilience through bolstered community support.
“Taking a cash-first approach to poverty, this multi-year funding pot has the capacity to reduce the number of people having to turn to charitable food providers and to help fulfil the Government’s commitment to end mass dependence on emergency food parcels.”
