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New Forest: Household Support Fund & Crisis and Resilience Fund

What New Forest’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

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

What New Forest’s scheme covers

Award: Amount depends on individual circumstances
Who qualifies: 18+, responsible for Council Tax, living in New Forest, unable to afford essentials like food or fuel
How often: Priority given to those not previously helped by this fund or other government schemes
Government allocation: £231,962 for 2026-27

New Forest District Council is one of 11 district councils in Hampshire. 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. Hampshire County Council was allocated £11,035,376 for 2026-27; New Forest District Council was allocated £231,962 of its own. If what you need is help with food or energy rather than rent, start with the Hampshire scheme.

What New Forest itself says

Award. “the amount of any award will be dependent on your circumstances”
Who qualifies. “not having enough money to pay for essentials like food or fuel”
How often. “priority will be given to those that have not previously received any support through this fund or from other government support schemes”

Quoted from New Forest’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 New Forest’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 New Forest scheme page

Source: New Forest 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

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 New Forest?

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: Newcastle, South Derbyshire, Castle Point — see all 141.

Find your council by postcode

Not in New Forest? 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 New Forest 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.