Only 2 per cent of councils believe funding for the new Crisis and Resilience Fund (CRF) will be sufficient to meet local welfare needs ‘to a great extent’, according to an LGA survey.
The £842 million-a-year CRF for England is set to replace the Household Support Fund (HSF) and Discretionary Housing Payments (DHP) from April 2026.
Two-thirds of councils in England report rising household financial hardship and expect this trend to continue, according to the survey.
While councils welcome the aim of combining emergency support with preventative measures to build financial resilience, they warn of tight timelines, funding adequacy and administrative challenges – with just 15 per cent confident that the CRF will be ready by April.
The HSF provides vital crisis support through cash-first help, vouchers and longer-term measures, such as debt advice, while DHP assists with housing costs.
Councils have stressed the importance of retaining these strengths in the new scheme and would support a fully funded statutory requirement for local advice provision.
Cllr Dr Wendy Taylor MBE, Chair of the LGA’s Health and Wellbeing Committee, said: “Reducing financial hardship can have a direct impact on reducing existing health inequalities. Streamlining the funds together will be a challenge, as they are currently administered by different tiers of local government, with different rules and purposes.
“Councils should have a key role in the commissioning and delivery of the services, to ensure they can be integrated effectively with local services to improve health and wellbeing… it is vital that the development of the new approach is informed by the experiences of residents, support organisations and councils.”