Councils in England React to Plans For New Local Crisis and Resilience Fund
A new survey of councils in England reveals that just two per cent believe the £842 million-a-year Crisis and Resilience Fund (CRF) will be sufficient to meet the local welfare needs of their to a great extent.
The recent survey by the Local Government Association (LGA) sought the views of councils in England on the design of the new fund and other aspects of local welfare provision. Two thirds of respondents reported they had seen households’ financial hardship increase in the last year and expected this trend to continue.
Councils are currently engaging with government on the design of the new fund due to replace the existing council-delivered Household Support Fund (HSF) and Discretionary Housing Payments (DHP) from April 2026.
The multi-year CRF will combine emergency support and preventative approaches with the aim of building greater financial resilience among households and communities.
The HSF provides a vital source of funding for councils to provide crisis support to families at risk of immediate hardship, both through cash-first support and as vouchers and in-kind support, as well as funding longer-term financial resilience support such as debt advice. DHP enables councils to provide additional financial support to people who are struggling to meet their housing costs.
Over two thirds of surveyed councils were in favour of a new fully funded statutory requirement for local advice provision, and nearly half of upper tier councils surveyed have an additional local welfare scheme in place to support the poorest households.
Councils said they recognise the potential benefits of bringing the two funds together and the commitment from government to putting funding for local welfare provision on a more sustainable footing. However, some expressed concerns about tight delivery timelines, funding adequacy and the administrative burden of introducing the new fund – only 15 per cent of councils are confident the CRF will be ready to implement by April 2026.
Cllr Dr Wendy Taylor, Chair of the LGA’s Health and Wellbeing Committee, said:
“Financial security and wellbeing are closely intertwined with the overall health and wellbeing of individuals and families and life expectancy, so reducing financial hardship can have a direct impact on reducing existing health inequalities across the country.
“We are pleased that the Government has maintained funding for local welfare support through the new CRF by bringing together the current HSF and DHP schemes. However, it is important that the best of these schemes is retained, particularly their role in supporting long-term financial resilience.
“Streamlining the funds together will be a challenge as they are currently administered by different tiers of local government, with different rules and purposes. Local councils are ready to work closely with DWP and MHCLG as they develop and implement the new approach.
“Councils should have a key role in commissioning and the delivery of these services to ensure that they can be effectively integrated with local services to improve health and wellbeing and deliver for those households in most need. Local councils are best placed to represent the needs of their residents. With only 15 per cent of councils confident the new fund will be ready to implement by April, it is vital that the development of the new approach is informed by the experiences of residents, support organisations and councils.”
