A more resilient future: rebuilding discretionary crisis support in England

By Arianne Clarke, Network Policy & Research Officer at Trussell

For people trying to survive on a low income, life events or other financial shocks are more likely to result in hardship. Trussell’s Hunger in the UK research found over half (53%) of people referred to Trussell food banks had faced a large and unexpected cost that they had difficulty paying in the previous three months. Effective discretionary crisis support can mean the difference between someone staying on their feet, or being pushed into hunger and hardship.

Despite the benefits, discretionary crisis support in England is in a sorry state. A lack of ring-fenced funding or statutory duty has led to a postcode lottery of support, with significant variation in provision and a total absence of support in some areas.

Since 2021, the Household Support Fund has provided a lifeline to people on the lowest incomes and allowed many local authorities to boost funding for local crisis support schemes. But effectiveness has been limited by last-minute, short-term funding rounds; severely impacting local authorities’ ability to plan and deliver preventative support focussed on building longer term financial resilience.

This discretionary, local support has also been forced to prop up our inadequate social security system. With major cuts planned to disability payments from next year, it is crucial that crisis support is not seen only as a crutch for failings in the rest of the system. We need a better solution.

The role for UK Government

A new approach to discretionary crisis support would play a vital role in helping the UK government to raise living standards, and creating the security we all need to access opportunities. This would be both an investment in increasing financial resilience in our communities, and in reducing pressure on our public services.

We recommend the UK Government:

• Introduces a new Financial Crisis and Resilience Fund, backed by a multi-year, ring-fenced funding commitment and clear guidance
• Works with local authorities to develop a clear outcomes framework for the new Financial Crisis and Resilience Fund
• Updates the Immigration Rules to allow people with no recourse to public funds to receive crisis support
• Explores the options for a new legal duty on local authorities to operate a financial crisis and resilience scheme
• Works with local authorities to embed the key principles of effective local crisis and resilience schemes to create preventative crisis support systems locally.

The key principles of effective local crisis and resilience schemes

• Widely promoted. Local authorities should promote schemes and build awareness, including promoting schemes in multiple languages in areas where this would help reach more people.
• Easy to access with a choice of application channels – e.g. online/ phone/ face to face; and a simple application process.
• Take a cash-first approach. Cash offers dignity, choice, flexibility, speed and convenience. Schemes should still maintain flexibility to offer vouchers or goods to suit individual needs and circumstances.
• Integrated with the wider local welfare system. There should be a ‘no wrong door’ approach so that when people seek one type of financial support, they are linked up with others e.g. Discretionary Housing Payments and Council Tax Support.
• Integrated with advice provision with clear referral pathways between schemes and local advice provision, particularly advice services focussed on maximising incomes.
• Part of a closely coordinated system of preventative services beyond advice including housing, employment, health and other community support.
• Have clear delivery standards, ensuring support is timely and sufficient. This should include ensuring applications are processed within two days.
• Involve people with experience of hardship in their design to help make sure support is easy to navigate, welcoming and dignified.
• Appropriately monitored and evaluated. UK Government and local authorities should work together to establish monitoring requirements and a clear outcomes framework.
• Prevention prioritised as a measure of success. Schemes should be viewed through the lens of prevention and a sustained improvement in financial security.

Effective local welfare provision is an important part of working towards a future without the need for food banks. Alongside a fit for purpose social security system, we all need to have somewhere to turn in a financial crisis or emergency to get cash-first help quickly and be connected to advice and support. This can help a situation from getting worse and build long-term financial resilience.

Read our policy report: A more resilient future: Rebuilding discretionary crisis support in England.

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This article is featured in our 2 April newsletter.

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