Home›Household Support Fund›Councils›Amber Valley

Amber Valley: Household Support Fund & Crisis and Resilience Fund

What Amber Valley’s local crisis scheme covers, how to apply, and whether it was open when we checked.

Written by the benefitmoney.co.uk editorial team · Last reviewed 14 September 2026

Amber Valley Borough Council runs its local crisis help as the Crisis and Resilience Fund. It is a grant — not a loan: help with essentials, nothing to repay. This is a summary; Amber Valley’s own page (linked below) is the authority and the current position.

What Amber Valley’s scheme covers

Who qualifies: Must be getting Housing Benefit or Universal Credit that includes a housing costs element and need extra help with rent
How often: Payments are usually only awarded for short periods
How to apply: Complete a downloadable application form
Not covered: Cannot cover ineligible services such as meals or water rates
Funding period: Fund runs for three years, April 2026 to March 2029
Government allocation: £145,832 for 2026-27

Amber Valley Borough Council is one of 8 district councils in Derbyshire. In a two-tier area the county council runs crisis payments and the district runs the housing side of the fund — rent shortfalls, a deposit, rent in advance. Derbyshire County Council was allocated £9,319,870 for 2026-27; Amber Valley Borough Council was allocated £145,832 of its own. If what you need is help with food or energy rather than rent, start with the Derbyshire scheme.

What Amber Valley itself says

Who qualifies. “If you get Housing Benefit or Universal Credit (which includes an element for housing costs) but need extra help with rent, you may be able to apply”
How often. “payments are usually awarded for short periods only”
How to apply. “To apply please complete the application form found using the”
Not covered. “It cannot cover ineligible services such as meals or water rates”
Funding period. “The fund will be available for a three-year period, from April 2026 to March 2029”

Quoted from Amber Valley’s own page↗, checked 14 September 2026. Nothing on this page is paraphrased into a rule the council has not published. The government allocation is from Annex A of the Crisis and Resilience Fund grant determination 2026 to 2027↗.

Apply on Amber Valley’s website

Applications are made on the council’s own site — this page collects nothing. If the link has moved, search the council site for “crisis and resilience”, then “household support”, then “welfare assistance”.

Open the Amber Valley scheme page

Source: Amber Valley Borough Council — Crisis and Resilience Fund. Opened 10 September 2026.

Where this money comes from

Central government funds it; the council sets the rules. A payment does not affect your benefits. How the fund works nationally.

Other help you may qualify for

White-goods grants — a broken fridge, cooker or washing machine.
Budgeting Advance or Budgeting Loan — interest-free from the DWP.
Credit union loans — the cheapest borrowing, capped at 3% a month.
DWP phone numbers — which line to call, and for what.

Not in Amber Valley?

See the other councils we have checked, or find yours via GOV.UK’s Get help with the cost of living from your local council↗.

Outside England the scheme has a different name: the Scottish Welfare Fund in Scotland, the Discretionary Assistance Fund in Wales, and Discretionary Support in Northern Ireland.

Recently checked elsewhere: Ashfield, Devon, Pendle — see all 141.

Find your council by postcode

Not in Amber Valley? Enter a postcode and we will point you at the right council’s Crisis and Resilience Fund page.

We look the postcode up with the free postcodes.io service to find your local authority. Nothing you type is stored.

This page is independent. It is not run by Amber Valley Borough Council, the Department for Work and Pensions or GOV.UK. Council schemes change without notice; the council’s own page is always the current position.