EXPERT HUB – BLOG: LOCAL CRISIS SUPPORT. THE GOVERNMENT MUST SAVE THIS LIFELINE

by: Inclusive Growth Contributor | on: 20.12.23 | in: Uncategorised

By Ivy Mullen, Policy & Research Assistant at Barnardo’s and Ali Cooper Senior Policy Advisor on Child Poverty at Barnardo’s

Local crisis support – why the Government must save this lifeline to protect the poorest families.

Local crisis support is vital. Distinct from wider social security, it forms a small but crucial part of the safety net by providing emergency support to those experiencing financial crisis. When families face a crisis such as being made redundant,  needing to leave a relationship due to domestic abuse, or experiencing sudden chronic illness, they can need help from their local authority. Local welfare assistance schemes, run by local authorities, were designed to meet this need however serious cracks have started to emerge in how local crisis support is organised and funded. A long-term solution is urgently needed.

What is the history of local crisis support? In the Welfare Reform Act 2012,  the Social Fund was decentralised, giving local authorities responsibility for crisis support. At the time Barnardo’s expressed concern about this change and warned the Public Bill Committee in 2011 that “the decentralisation of the Social Fund will, in the current financial situation, inevitably lead to less money getting through to people who need it”. Sadly this materialised: only £74m was allocated to fund Local Welfare Assistance schemes in 2015/16, falling from £178 million only two years prior in 2013/14.

Funding for local crisis support has increased in recent years, with packages to mitigate the impact of the pandemic and cost-of-living crisis. These tranches of funding have been a lifeline for many but have been designed inconsistently and on a short-term basis, making it difficult for local authorities to plan and deliver schemes. Many councils are now only able to operate with restrictive criteria in order to manage their spending, and others have been left unable to run a scheme at all – 37 Local Authorities in England were not operating any kind of Local Welfare Assistance Scheme in 2022/23.

Problems with provision of local crisis support have led to an increasing reliance on charities, like Barnardo’s, to fill the gaps. At the same time the cost-of-living crisis has magnified the pressures on families. Our frontline practitioners consistently report the difficulties families face in accessing rapid crisis support from their local authority and have had to assist families who have struggled to get help. Between October 2022 and September 2023, we helped more than 13,000 children and 7,200 families across the UK access essential furniture or white goods, get assistance with bills, or access winter clothing for children. One of these families told us “It’s just so difficult to know where to turn – I have never struggled like we’re struggling now. We can only afford a food budget of £50 a month”.

The most pressing concern with local crisis support is about the future of the Household Support Fund. This fund has been propping up local crisis support but ends in March 2024 and no announcement was made about the future of the fund by the Chancellor in the Autumn Statement. New research published in November 2024 by End Furniture Poverty found that 62% of local welfare spending comes from the Household Support Fund. Failing to extend the fund beyond March 2024 will leave a massive gap in support that cannot be filled by local government, nor the voluntary sector.  

Longer-term solutions are also needed. In our recent report on child poverty we set out changes to the Household Support Fund that would help to ensure that every family, everywhere can get help when they need it: 

• Efficiency should be embedded into the Household Support Fund with a three-year funding programme to ensure money is not wasted setting up and winding down schemes in response to short-term funding announcements. The value of the fund should also be increased by 16% (currently £842m) to meet demand.
• All local authorities should be required to provide a minimum level of crisis support, with the guidance being updated to encourage councils to use funds to support families with access to white goods and essential items of furniture, like beds and bedding.
• A Local Crisis Support Commissioner should be established to provide independent oversight of schemes and publish basic monitoring information. This role should focus on promoting best practice and supporting local authorities to deliver their schemes effectively.
• Robust guidance should be issued to local authorities to ensure they do enough to build awareness of the scheme, keep the application process simple and process applications within 48 hours.

Action is needed to address these deep-rooted issues but time is running out. With the Household Support Fund set to end in March 2024 the time available to fix local crisis support is dwindling. A new long-term approach is needed, built around the widely-held principle that everyone should be able to get help when they face a crisis.