Purpose

The Crisis and Resilience Fund is a UK government scheme running from 1 April 2026 to 31 March 2029, that provides grants to local authorities in England to help low-income households facing financial crises and build long-term financial resilience. It replaces the Household Support Fund. The total sum provided to this Council for 2026/27 is £285,289.76

Decision

RESOLVED – That the Council’s allocation of the Crisis and Resilience Fund of £285,289.76 to be spent by 31 March 2027, be approved and;

That this £285,289.76 be allocated to fund projects/services as follows:

A - £40,000 top up to the Council’s Discretionary Housing Payment Fund (https://tunbridgewells.gov.uk/benefits/housing-benefit/housing-payment-policy)

B - £113,000 to the Citizens Advice Bureau North & West Kent (CAB) to deliver a Voluntary Services Hub from the Royal Victoria Place Shopping Centre Marketing Suite.

C - £127,000 top up to the Community Support Fund.

D - £5,289.76 as Council administration costs of delivering the Crisis and Resilience Fund. And;

Delegate to the Head of Finance, Procurement and Parking and the Head of Facilities and Communities, in consultation with the Head of the Legal Partnership, to negotiate and complete all necessary agreements, deeds and documents arising from this decision.

Reasons for the decision

That the Crisis and Resilience Fund of £285,289.76, be allocated as in Note 2 above. This is compliant with the terms of the grant, fulfils objectives of the Council and is manageable administratively.

Alternative options considered

The Council can choose to provide these services themselves, but does not have the capacity or the expertise of the voluntary sector organisations.

The Council can choose to allocate more funding to individual voluntary services/charities but the ambition of trying to gather them together to work collaboratively is viewed as better than the sum of the parts. The CAB is considered the only organisation with the size and skill to be able to pull all of the voluntary services together.