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Sunderland: Household Support Fund & Crisis and Resilience Fund

What Sunderland’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

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

What Sunderland’s scheme covers

Covers: Crisis payments for emergencies and unexpected financial shocks; housing payments for rent; resilience services for longer-term financial stability; and community coordination linking local services
Status: Crisis Payments temporarily closed 27 July to 21 September 2026; the council's Local Welfare Provision Crisis Support Scheme is available in the meantime (confirmed 10 September 2026)
Funding period: Three-year scheme ending 31 March 2029
Award: Holiday food vouchers worth £15 per pupil per holiday week (free-school-meal pupils)
Who qualifies: Pupils eligible for means-tested free school meals (for holiday vouchers)
Government allocation: £5,685,004 for 2026-27

Before you apply

Use the right route. Apply online via the separate CRF Crisis Payments and CRF Housing Payments pages
Check it is still open. Crisis Payments temporarily closed 27 July to 21 September 2026; the council's Local Welfare Provision Crisis Support Scheme is available in the meantime We confirmed this on 10 September 2026.

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

What Sunderland itself says

Award. “vouchers are worth £15 per pupil per holiday week”
Who qualifies. “eligible for means tested free school meals”

Quoted from Sunderland’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 Sunderland’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 Sunderland scheme page

Source: Sunderland City 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

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 Sunderland?

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: Surrey, Wyre Forest, Hyndburn — see all 141.

Find your council by postcode

Not in Sunderland? 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 Sunderland City 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.