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Cheshire West and Chester: Household Support Fund & Crisis and Resilience Fund

What Cheshire West and Chester’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

What Cheshire West and Chester’s scheme covers

Covers: food energy white goods furniture housing debt

Covers

Crisis payments for a financial shock; school-holiday food support; essential furniture and white goods through the HELP scheme; rent or Council Tax shortfall help; heating oil support; and welfare and debt advice

Status

Active (replaced the Household Support Fund) (confirmed 10 September 2026)

Funding period

1 April 2026 for three years

Award

£150 one-off payment

What you get

Direct payment into the applicant's bank account (not a voucher)

Who qualifies

Applicant must be liable for Council Tax or receiving Housing Benefit at the property, and must demonstrate the financial shock they have encountered

How to apply

Apply online, visit a resident assistance point for staff support, or call 0808 175 3599

You will need

Property reference number, bank account details, and evidence that the bank account belongs to the applicant (e.g. a bank statement)

Government allocation

£4,369,344 for 2026-27

Before you apply

1. Use the right route. Apply through the scheme's sections — Crisis Payments, HELP, Housing Payments and School Holiday Support — on the council page
2. Check it is still open. Active (replaced the Household Support Fund) We confirmed this on 10 September 2026.

Only what Cheshire West and Chester states on its own page. Other councils ask for more — see what they have in common.

What Cheshire West and Chester itself says

• Award. “a payment of £150 via a direct payment to their bank account”
• What you get. “a payment of £150 via a direct payment to their bank account”
• Who qualifies. “liable for Council Tax or receiving Housing Benefit”
• You will need. “evidence that the bank account belongs to you e.g. bank statement”

Quoted from Cheshire West and Chester’s own page↗ and its application 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 Cheshire West and Chester’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”.

Source: Cheshire West and Chester 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

• Borrowing while on benefits — what it costs and what it does to your award.
• Crisis Loans — what replaced them, and where to apply now.
• Help with energy bills — grants and supplier schemes.
• Eligibility checker — see what you could be entitled to.

Not in Cheshire West and Chester?

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: Chesterfield, Harlow, St Albans — see all 141.

This page is independent. It is not run by Cheshire West and Chester 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.