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Kent: Household Support Fund & Crisis and Resilience Fund

What Kent’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 Kent’s scheme covers

Covers: food energy housing

Covers

Crisis payments for financial shocks (redundancy, bereavement, domestic abuse, property damage); heating oil; budgeting advice; housing payments via district councils; holiday activities and food

Status

not stated (confirmed 10 September 2026)

What you get

Usually provided as vouchers for food and fuel

Who qualifies

Aged 16+, permanent Kent resident paying council tax to one of the 12 Kent district authorities (excludes Medway, Bexley, Bromley), on means-tested benefits or with household income of £33,000 or less, facing an urgent emergency need

Decision

Currently experiencing extended processing times due to high application volume

Not covered

Does not cover leisure activities and lifestyle choices, among other general/foreseeable costs

Government allocation

£20,169,772 for 2026-27

Before you apply

1. Use the right route. Not specified yet — an 'interim crisis support scheme' is running with the full scheme 'coming soon'; housing payments via your district council
2. Check it is still open. not stated We confirmed this on 10 September 2026.

Only what Kent states on its own page. Other councils ask for more — see what they have in common.

The 7 district councils in Kent

In Kent the county council runs crisis payments, but your district or borough council runs the housing side of the fund — rent shortfalls, a deposit, rent in advance. Each has its own rules, its own application route and its own government allocation.

• Ashford
• Canterbury
• Folkestone and Hythe
• Gravesham
• Maidstone
• Swale
• Tunbridge Wells

What Kent itself says

• What you get. “Support will usually be provided through vouchers for food and fuel”
• Who qualifies. “In receipt of means tested benefits or, if you are not in receipt of means tested benefits, you have a household income of £33,000 or less per year”
• Decision. “We are currently managing a very high volume of applications, which may result in extended processing times”
• Not covered. “leisure activities and lifestyle choices”

Quoted from Kent’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 Kent’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: Kent County Council — Crisis and Resilience Fund (CRF). 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

• Help with energy bills — grants and supplier schemes.
• Eligibility checker — see what you could be entitled to.
• White-goods grants — a broken fridge, cooker or washing machine.
• Budgeting Advance or Budgeting Loan — interest-free from the DWP.

Not in Kent?

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: King's Lynn And West Norfolk, Pendle, Amber Valley — see all 141.

This page is independent. It is not run by Kent County 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.