Household Support Fund

The government has announced new funding to support people who are in financial crisis. This funding will replace the current Household Support Fund, which will end on 31 March 2026.

The new fund is intended to help people cope with a sudden, unexpected expense or loss of income, while also helping with longer term financial resilience.

The fund will run from 1 April 2026 to 31 March 2029.

We'll update this page when the distribution arrangements have been finalised.

The Crisis and Resilience Fund is funded by the UK Government.

The Household Support Fund is a government fund (provided by the Department for Work and Pensions) designed to support vulnerable households across the country.

In Buckinghamshire, we're responsible for distributing our share of funding in line with government guidance. This includes supporting low-income households and those experiencing financial hardship with:

• energy costs
• food costs
• other household essentials

In October 2024, the government announced:

• an additional £742 million of funding
• a 12-month extension of the Household Support Fund from 1 April to 31 March 2026

We plan to spend our £4.2 million on:

Final spending figures for this period will be available after 31 March 2026.

If you or your family are on a low income and experiencing financial hardship, contact our Helping Hand Team to apply for support.

For other forms of support including:

• help with heating, bills and home essentials
• help buying or accessing food
• advice on benefits, debt and money
• help finding a warm space

see Help with the cost of living (Helping Hand).

For an overview of UK Government support, visit the Cost of Living Hub (GOV.UK).