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Lichfield: Household Support Fund & Crisis and Resilience Fund

What Lichfield’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

Lichfield District 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; Lichfield’s own page (linked below) is the authority and the current position.

What Lichfield’s scheme covers

Award: Most the council can pay is the shortfall between the Universal Credit housing element/Housing Benefit and eligible housing costs
What you get: Crisis payments can include supermarket vouchers, fuel payments and funded holiday activities for children including food
How to apply: If not supported by a professional organisation, contact a Financial Wellbeing Coach via an online form
Decision: Response from a Financial Wellbeing Coach within 7 working days
Not covered: Housing payments cannot cover mortgages, council tax, fuel, heating, water, sewerage, food, or rent-arrears increases, nor carpets/appliances
Government allocation: £87,016 for 2026-27

Lichfield District Council is one of 8 district councils in Staffordshire. 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. Staffordshire County Council was allocated £8,915,996 for 2026-27; Lichfield District Council was allocated £87,016 of its own. If what you need is help with food or energy rather than rent, start with the Staffordshire scheme.

What Lichfield itself says

Award. “The most we can pay is the difference between your universal credit housing element or your housing benefit, and your eligible housing costs”
What you get. “Help provided can include supermarket vouchers, fuel payments and funded holiday activities for children that includes food”
How to apply. “If you think you may be eligible for a crisis payment but are not supported by a professional organisation, you can still get help and advice from a Financial Wellbeing Coach”
Decision. “You will receive a response from a coach within 7 working days of your request being received”
Not covered. “mortgages, council tax, fuel, heating, water, sewerage, food, or increases in rent to cover arrears”

Quoted from Lichfield’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 Lichfield’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 Lichfield scheme page

Source: Lichfield District 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

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.
White-goods grants — a broken fridge, cooker or washing machine.

Not in Lichfield?

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: Liverpool, Rochford, Bradford — see all 141.

Find your council by postcode

Not in Lichfield? 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 Lichfield District 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.