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Wigan: Household Support Fund & Crisis and Resilience Fund

What Wigan’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

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

What Wigan’s scheme covers

Covers: Crisis payments for low-income households facing a financial shock or to prevent a crisis escalating; and housing payments giving limited short-term help with rent for people on Housing Benefit or Universal Credit
Status: Open (confirmed 10 September 2026)
Funding period: 1 April 2026 to 31 March 2029
How to apply: Apply online at welfaresupport.wigan.gov.uk, or call 01942 705221 (Mon-Fri, 9am-5pm)
Not covered: Meant for occasional or short-term needs, cannot be an alternative source of regular income
Government allocation: £5,435,002 for 2026-27

Crisis payments meet occasional or short-term needs and are not a regular income replacement

Before you apply

Use the right route. Apply for crisis or housing support online, or call 01942 705221 (Mon to Fri, 9am to 5pm)
Check it is still open. Open We confirmed this on 10 September 2026.

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

What Wigan itself says

How to apply. “call 01942 705221 – Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm”
Not covered. “Crisis payments are intended to meet occasional or short-term needs and cannot provide an alternative source of regular income”

Quoted from Wigan’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 Wigan’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 Wigan scheme page

Source: Wigan 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

White-goods grants — a broken fridge, cooker or washing machine.
Budgeting Advance or Budgeting Loan — interest-free from the DWP.
How much councils pay — the cheapest borrowing, capped at 3% a month.
DWP phone numbers — which line to call, and for what.

Not in Wigan?

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: Winchester, Cheshire East, Norfolk — see all 141.

Find your council by postcode

Not in Wigan? 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 Wigan 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.