Nearly 18 million people will be left without crisis support if DWP fund ends

A total of 17.8 million people in England will be cut off from crisis support if the household support fund ends next month, new research has revealed.

The household support fund is provided by the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) and is currently set to expire on 31 September, which could mean that local welfare assistance disappears across many parts of the country.

There are already 36 local authorities who have closed their local welfare schemes, which support people with food, fuel and essentials in times of crisis, according to the charity End Furniture Poverty.

• Majority of councils unable to help those in crisis after DWP’s support fund ends next month
• Renters ‘must earn more than £75,000’ to afford to live in London

If the DWP’s household support fund ends for good, more councils will close their schemes, meaning there will be no crisis support in 44 local authority areas. That is nearly one in three (29%) local authorities in England.

The fund was introduced by the previous government in 2021 to support families through the cost of living crisis, with £1bn distributed to local authorities and the devolved governments each year. It was extended for a further six months by then-chancellor Jeremy Hunt in his Spring Budget.

Claire Donovan, head of policy at the End Furniture Poverty, said: “We know the household support fund is a sticking plaster, but we desperately need one last extension of funding while an urgent review of local authority crisis support is carried out.”

The charity has found that 65% of all local welfare assistance in England comes from the household support fund.

Donavan added: “The government has much to do and we understand that funding is tight but investing in local authority crisis support is vital to save families from going under – and it is investment that saves the public purse across the NHS, social care and much more.”

Councils have spent 44% of the household support fund on food vouchers to help families eligible for free school meals over the school holidays, equating to more than £370m.

If the fund is not extended, a minimum of 22 local authorities will stop providing free school meals over the holidays with an additional 20 saying they are unsure how they will be funded.

A spokesperson for the new government said: “This government will tackle the scar of poverty by making sure work pays and improving support to help people into good work. More details on the household support fund will be set out in due course.”

In the devolved nations, there are better-funded centrally run crisis schemes. This includes the Scottish Welfare Fund, a statutory scheme which End Furniture Poverty would like to see replicated across the UK.

On average, English local authorities spend just £1.34 per person on their local welfare assistance scheme, compared to £10.61 in Wales and £9.16 in Scotland.

It comes after the Local Government Association (LGA) found that councils are “deeply concerned” about the household support fund ending as winter approaches.

Local authorities are calling for the government to extend the fund by at least six months, after which they argue a long-term scheme should be introduced.

Councillor Pete Marland, chair of the LGA’s economy and resources board, said: “Councils want to see a shift away from short term, crisis support so they can instead invest in preventative services which improve people’s financial resilience and life chances. Crucially this must be underpinned by a sufficiently-resourced national welfare system.”

Do you have a story to tell or opinions to share about this? Get in touch and tell us more. Big Issue exists to give homeless and marginalised people the opportunity to earn an income. To support our work buy a copy of the magazine or get the app from the App Store or Google Play.