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Worcester: Household Support Fund & Crisis and Resilience Fund

What Worcester’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

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

What Worcester’s scheme covers

Award: Amount depends on individual circumstances; no fixed sum published
What you get: Crisis Payments may be cash payments, energy vouchers, supermarket vouchers, or essential household goods
Who qualifies: Must receive Housing Benefit from Worcester City Council or the housing costs element of Universal Credit (Housing Payments)
How often: Housing Payments are intended as short-term support only, not a long-term solution
How to apply: Apply online via the CRF Housing Payments application form; call to request a paper form in exceptional cases
Decision: Aims to decide within 28 days of receiving the application and all required supporting evidence
You will need: Upload supporting evidence during the online application, or contact the council if evidence isn't available at that time
Not covered: Cannot cover utility bills, meals or personal care, historic rent arrears, Housing Benefit overpayment deductions, or Council Tax
Funding period: Fund runs for three years, until 31 March 2029
Government allocation: £141,844 for 2026-27

Worcester City Council is one of 6 district councils in Worcestershire. 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. Worcestershire County Council was allocated £6,527,725 for 2026-27; Worcester City Council was allocated £141,844 of its own. If what you need is help with food or energy rather than rent, start with the Worcestershire scheme.

What Worcester itself says

Award. “The amount you receive depends on your individual circumstances”
What you get. “Support may include: - Cash payments - Energy vouchers - Supermarket vouchers - Essential household goods”
Who qualifies. “You may be able to apply if you receive: - Housing Benefit from Worcester City Council, or - the housing costs element of Universal Credit”
How often. “CRF Housing Payments are intended to provide short-term support. They are not designed as a long-term solution, and each application is assessed individually”
How to apply. “To apply for CRF Housing Payments, please complete our application form”
Decision. “We aim to make a decision within 28 days of receiving your application and all the supporting evidence we need”
You will need. “You can upload your supporting evidence as part of your online application”
Not covered. “CRF Housing Payments cannot be used to pay for: - utility bills, meals or personal care - historic rent arrears - Housing Benefit overpayment deductions - Council Tax”
Funding period. “The CRF is funded by the UK Government and will run for three years until 31 March 2029”

Quoted from Worcester’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 Worcester’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 Worcester scheme page

Source: Worcester 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

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.
Credit union loans — the cheapest borrowing, capped at 3% a month.

Not in Worcester?

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: Worcestershire, Cornwall, Northumberland — see all 141.

Find your council by postcode

Not in Worcester? 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 Worcester 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.