Councillor Seema Chandwani, Cabinet Member for Resident Services & Tackling Inequality, approved an interim allocation of £2,470,000 from the new Crisis and Resilience Fund. This funding will ensure the continuation of existing support for low-income residents, including crisis assistance and housing payments, while a full policy is developed.

Crisis and Resilience Fund Policy

Councillor Chandwani approved the allocation of £2,470,000 from the government's new Crisis and Resilience Fund (CRF) for the period of 01 April 2026 to 31 March 2027. The total CRF allocation for Haringey Council for this period is £5,932,161. This interim funding is intended to maintain continuity of support previously provided by the Household Support Fund (HSF) and Discretionary Housing Payment (DHP) schemes, which are being replaced by the CRF.

The CRF has four key objectives: to provide crisis support to residents experiencing material deprivation, offer additional support with rental costs for low-income residents, deliver resilience services to improve financial resilience, and enhance community collaboration for advice provision.

The approved interim allocation will be distributed as follows:

• Crisis Support: Up to £1,000,000, including up to £550,000 for the Haringey Support Fund and up to £450,000 for holiday vouchers for pupils eligible for Free School Meals.
• Housing Support: Up to £1,192,000 to assist low-income households with their rental liabilities.
• Administration Costs: Up to £278,000 for IT equipment and staffing to manage the fund.

No funding has been allocated to resilience services or community collaboration in this interim phase. A further report will be brought to the Cabinet Member with proposals for the allocation of the remaining funds and a comprehensive policy for the fund's administration.

The decision to approve this interim allocation was made to avoid a gap in provision and to comply with the Department for Work and Pensions' (DWP) requirement for year-round crisis and housing support. An alternative of doing nothing until the full policy was developed was discounted as unviable. Committing all the spend immediately was also not feasible due to insufficient time for research, engagement, and planning.

The report noted that the funding is subject to the availability of government funding and will terminate if funding is withdrawn. The decision is expected to have a positive impact on equalities, particularly for children and those from lower socioeconomic backgrounds, aligning with the council's commitment to tackle inequality.

The Crisis and Resilience Fund guidance can be found on the GOV.UK website. The interim funding principles are detailed in Appendix 1.