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Crisis and Resilience Fund amounts: what councils actually pay
There is no national figure. What the councils that do publish an amount pay, the savings and income limits that decide it, and why the rest assess case by case.
Written by the benefitmoney.co.uk editorial team · Last reviewed 15 September 2026
There is no national amount. The Crisis and Resilience Fund is discretionary: your council decides each award on what you need and what it has left, so the same circumstances can pay differently in two neighbouring areas. And most councils do not publish a figure at all — of the 141 councils we checked, only 10 state an amount up front. Those are below, along with the savings and income limits that decide whether you get anything.
The councils that publish an amount
These are the only figures stated on the councils’ own pages. Everywhere else the award is assessed case by case — which is not a refusal, just a reason not to expect a set sum.
| Council | What it publishes |
|---|---|
| Canterbury | £300 towards heating oil costs |
| Cheshire East | £200 crisis payment per household; £300 oil heating payment per household |
| Cheshire West and Chester | £150 one-off payment |
| Dudley | Payment of up to £250 into your bank account; higher awards may be given in exceptional circumstances |
| Leicester | Crisis Payment: £250 for households with dependent children (other tiers apply for single people / couples); Housing Payments and Council Tax Relief are based on individual circumstances |
| Maidstone | One-off £300 heating oil payment |
| Peterborough | Typically £50-£150, may be lower or higher in some cases |
| Rotherham | £80 or £200 depending on circumstances |
| Sunderland | Holiday food vouchers worth £15 per pupil per holiday week (free-school-meal pupils) |
| Wolverhampton | Food support: £40 for a single adult, £60 for a couple, plus £30 per child |
From each council’s own page, quoted on that council’s page here. Checked September 2026.
The money tests that decide it
Where a council publishes a savings or income cap, it is usually the hard gate — miss it and the application stops there, whatever the crisis.
| Council | Test | Limit |
|---|---|---|
| Cheshire East | Income, single adult | up to £24,454.04 |
| Cheshire East | Savings | up to £3,000, or £6,000 at pension age |
| Hampshire | Savings | under £6,000 |
| Cornwall | Crisis support already had | not eligible above £1,500 in 12 months |
What your council was given
This is the council’s budget, not what a household receives. It is worth knowing only because it tells you whether a scheme is likely to still have money in it late in the year.
| Council | Allocation | Period |
|---|---|---|
| Somerset | £22.66m | April 2026 to March 2029, including £1.2m for heating oil |
| Bristol | £21.3m | April 2026 to March 2029 |
| Gloucestershire | £17.1m | April 2026 to March 2029 |
| Hampshire | £11.035m | 2026/27, including £586,000 for heating oil |
| Norfolk | £11.2m | first year |
| Sheffield | £9.97 million | 2026 to 2027 |
| Devon | £8.4m | a year, excluding Plymouth and Torbay |
| Surrey | £7.1m | a year |
| Rotherham | £5.2 million | 2026/27 |
| Rochdale | £5 million | 2026/27 |
| Peterborough | £3.6m | a year |
Figures as published by each council. Councils not listed had not published an allocation on the page we checked. Checked September 2026.
Why there is no single figure
- It is discretionary by design. Councils assess income, essential outgoings and the underlying need, then decide. Durham puts it as taking “a kind and understanding approach”; Staffordshire says support is given “based on need, not on who applies first”.
- It is often not cash. Awards commonly arrive as supermarket or energy vouchers, a PayPoint code, a white good delivered, or a payment straight to a supplier.
- The budget is finite. Bolton states plainly that once the year’s fund is exhausted there are no further awards — so applying earlier in the year matters.
- Repeat awards are capped. Cornwall excludes anyone who has had more than £1,500 of crisis support in 12 months; Newcastle allows up to three awards in a year.
Find your council
Amounts are set locally. Enter a postcode to see what your own council publishes.
We look the postcode up with the free postcodes.io service to find your local authority. Nothing you type is stored.
Frequently asked questions
How much can I get from the Crisis and Resilience Fund?
There is no set national amount. Most councils assess each application individually. Where a figure is published it tends to be modest and specific — Cheshire East states £200 a household for a crisis payment and £300 for oil heating, and Wolverhampton pays £40 for a single adult towards food.
Is the payment cash?
Often not. Councils commonly pay as supermarket or energy vouchers, a PayPoint code, a delivered white good, or a payment made directly to your supplier or landlord.
Can I apply if I have savings?
Usually only up to a limit. Hampshire requires savings under £6,000; Cheshire East allows up to £3,000, or £6,000 if you are pension age. Check your own council’s figure — it is the gate that stops most applications.
Do I have to be on benefits?
Not always. Several councils, including Liverpool and Wirral, say low income and no accessible funds is the test rather than which benefit you claim.
Can I apply more than once?
It varies and it is capped. Cornwall excludes anyone who has had more than £1,500 of crisis support in the last 12 months, and Newcastle allows up to three crisis awards in 12 months.
Does a payment affect my benefits?
No. GOV.UK states that a payment from the Crisis and Resilience Fund will not affect your benefits.
Sources
- GOV.UK — Crisis and Resilience Fund: guidance for local authorities in England, 1 April 2026 to 31 March 2029↗. Checked September 2026.
- Council figures are taken from each council’s own page and are linked from our council-by-council list. All opened September 2026.
This page is independent. It is not run by any local council, the Department for Work and Pensions or GOV.UK. Amounts and limits change without notice; the council’s own page is always the current position.