Crisis and Resilience Fund

The Crisis and Resilience Fund (CRF) is intended to help people cope with a sudden, unexpected expense or loss of income, while also supporting longer term financial resilience.

The Crisis and Resilience Fund is not intended to provide general cash support to low-income families.  Please do not apply for support unless you have a specific and urgent need.

The Crisis and Resilience Fund includes two types of direct financial support:

  • Crisis Payments
  • Housing Payments

Any financial support offered is based on your individual circumstances.

As part of the application process, you will be asked to complete a ‘benefits checker. This is to help to determine if there are any additional benefits you could be claiming. This will maximise your ongoing income and reduce the need to apply for further support in the future.

Please ensure you read the eligibility criteria, evidence requirements and details of what can and cannot be supported by Crisis Payments and Housing Payments before you apply.

Crisis Payments

Crisis Payments are intended to help residents who are experiencing a sudden or immediate crisis, or a serious risk to health, safety or wellbeing, and who do not have the resources to resolve the situation themselves.

Crisis Payments are designed to meet essential and urgent needs, such as food, fuel or other critical living costs, where support from other sources is not available in time.

Decisions will focus on each person’s individual circumstances, needs and priorities. Support will be based on the risks they face and the impact on their wellbeing, helping to reduce immediate risk where it is most needed.

Crisis Payments are not intended to provide general cash support to low-income families. Please do not apply for support unless you have a specific and urgent need.

What can Crisis Payments be made for?

Payments can be made for urgent and essential needs only, that arise from events such as fire, flood, theft or domestic abuse. Examples include:

  •  Access to food where no other provision exists (such as food banks).
  • Essential fuel or energy costs to prevent loss of supply due to lack of funds and maintain heating, lighting and cooking capability.
  • Necessary immediate travel costs required for health, safety or employment.
  • Replacement of essential household furniture or appliances where their loss creates an immediate need affecting health or wellbeing (for example cooker, fridge, bed or basic furniture).
  • Clothing or basic hygiene products needed in situations of exceptional hardship (for example fleeing domestic abuse, fire or flood).
  • Items required to support personal safety (for example baby items, sanitary products, bedding).
  • Support following events such as fire, flood, theft or domestic abuse.
  • Essential costs required to maintain basic digital connectivity needed for safety, health, welfare contact.

Crisis Payments are based on current hardship and future risk and will be the minimum necessary to address the immediate need.

What Crisis Payments cannot cover

The following cannot be funded:

Ongoing shortfalls in income or regular household bills.

  • Debts where the crisis is not immediate (credit cards, loans etc).
  • Non-essential household items or lifestyle costs.
  • Payments intended to compensate for benefit sanctions.
  • Items where another statutory body has responsibility (for example, social care equipment, DWP budgeting advances).
  • Needs that can reasonably be met through foodbanks, charitable provision, insurance, or existing support services.
  • Home repairs, maintenance, adaptations, improvements and capital works. However, the Council may consider the minimum work required to remove an immediate risk to health or safety, where supported by professional evidence and no other funding source is available.

Housing related costs, including rent, rent arrears, tenancy deposits, rent in advance, service charges and removal costs, will normally be considered under the Housing Payment scheme.

Who can apply for a Crisis Payment?

To apply for a Crisis Payment, you must meet the following criteria which has been developed in line with the statutory guidance.

Need requirements:

  • Not receiving a Crisis Payment will put you or your household at risk.
  • The crisis cannot be avoided before you receive further income.
  • Not receiving support will worsen your financial situation.
  • You must not have received a Crisis Payment in the last 3 months.

Financial requirements:

  • You must be on a low income, for example receiving a means-tested benefit such as Universal Credit, Pension Credit or Income Support, or have a household income that is not enough to cover essential living costs.
  • You must not have savings or other capital above £1,000.
  • You do not have the money or access to affordable credit needed to deal with the immediate crisis without getting into debt or going without essentials.
  • You must not be able to get support from anyone else in your household.

Residency requirements:

  • You must live in the Reading Borough Council area, have been placed in temporary accommodation by Reading Borough Council, or are sofa surfing/sleeping rough in the borough and supported by local services.
  • You must have recourse to public funds or can access support through alternative statutory powers.
  • You must not be a dependant, unless you are a young person without parental support.

What evidence is needed?

You may need to provide evidence to support your application for a Crisis Payment. We may ask for this when you apply or later if we need more information. Examples include:

  •  Proof of receiving a welfare benefit
  • Proof of income / bank statements
  • Receipts or quotes for essential items
  • Documents showing the cause of the crisis (for example letters that show a loss of income, loss of work hours, or sudden change in circumstance)
  • Evidence of crime, such as a police incident number when the crisis relates to theft or similar events.
  • Evidence provided by an allocated support worker or other professional supporting the applicant.

We will only ask for evidence that is needed to make a decision. If someone is facing an immediate crisis, we may make a decision based on the information available and request further evidence later if necessary.

What will the process be?

Where possible, the council will aim to process an application for a Crisis Payment within 48 hours of receiving all the necessary information from you.

Out of hours emergency support will be available or signposted where it is required urgently, when the Council is closed.

Incomplete applications may be closed if essential information is requested but not provided within 2 days.

The decision will be sent to you in the post or by email and will explain whether the application has been approved or refused, the reasons for the decision, and the amount of any award that has been given.

Housing Payments

Housing Payments are intended to provide support for residents struggling with housing costs, at risk of eviction, or difficulty sustaining a tenancy.

Who can apply for a Housing Payment?

To qualify for a Housing Payment, you must:

  •  Be receiving Housing Benefit or the Universal Credit Housing Cost Element, or
  • Have applied for Housing Benefit or the Universal Credit Housing Cost Element, and entitlement has been confirmed, but you have not yet received your first payment
  • Be liable for rent at a property within Reading Borough Council’s area
  • Have recourse to public funds.
  • Be considered to need further financial assistance with housing costs.

What Housing Payments can cover

Housing Payments can be awarded for eligible housing costs, such as rent liability, rent in advance, deposits or other lump‑sum housing costs needed to secure or maintain a tenancy.

Housing Payments can also be used to provide further financial assistance with essential housing costs in a range of situations, including:

  •  Covering eligible shortfalls in rent for residents receiving Housing Benefit or Universal Credit Housing Cost Element.
  • Meeting rent shortfalls caused by the benefit cap, Local Housing Allowance limits or the removal of the Spare Room Subsidy.
  • Help with rent in advance and/or a rental deposit when this is needed to secure a new tenancy and prevent homelessness or instability.
  • Covering reasonable lump‑sum housing costs linked to securing a tenancy, such as removal expenses.
  • Paying for dual housing costs where a resident is temporarily absent but liable for rent on two homes, for example in cases involving domestic abuse, and where a shortfall exists.

What Housing Payments cannot cover

Housing Payments cannot be awarded where the housing cost relates to:

  •  Ineligible service charges under Housing Benefit and Universal Credit regulations
  • Rent increases due to outstanding arrears
  • Sanctions, benefit reductions or overpayment recovery
  • Periods where the linked Housing Benefit or Universal Credit award is not payable

What evidence is needed?

When assessing a Housing Payment application, we may ask for evidence of your income, savings, household circumstances and housing costs, as well as proof of high or unusual expenditure, financial hardship, or the need for a one-off payment such as a rent deposit or rent in advance.

We may also need rent statements showing any arrears and evidence of any action your landlord has taken, such as warning letters, notices seeking possession, or court proceedings.

What will the process be?

Assessments will consider income, essential outgoings and housing costs, and whether support will improve your housing security.

The expected processing time to make a decision on a Housing Payment application is within 10 working days from the date that all the required information was submitted.

Residents should apply for a Housing Payment as soon as they know they need help.

Awards will normally start from the Monday following the application being received, unless there is a clear need to start the award earlier.

Incomplete applications may be closed if essential information is requested but not provided within 2 weeks.

Priority groups

The Housing Payment scheme is discretionary. The Council prioritises support for households where an award is most likely to prevent homelessness or sustain accommodation.

Priority may be given to:

  • Households facing severe financial hardship because of the benefit cap, the removal of the Spare Room Subsidy or Local Housing Allowance rates.
  • Households with a disability or significant health condition who rely on local medical services, support networks or informal care not available elsewhere.
  • Vulnerable residents with long standing local connections where it would be unreasonable to expect them to relocate and rebuild support networks.
  • Households living in substantially adapted properties that meet the needs of severe disability.
  • Households at risk of homelessness within 56 days.
  • Survivors of domestic abuse.

Council Tax Support

Council Tax Support, also known as Council Tax Reduction, helps reduce Council Tax bills for people on a low income or receiving benefits.

The application form below also allows residents to apply for Council Tax Support.

Who can apply for Council Tax Support?

You can apply for Council Tax Support if you: 

  • are on a low income, even if you are working
  • do not have more than £16,000 in savings (unless you are receiving Pension Credit Guarantee) 
  • are a person responsible for paying Council Tax 

You can still apply for Council Tax Support even if you are in the process of applying for Universal Credit.

How to apply

It is important to only apply for the support that meets your specific needs.  Please do not apply for a Crisis Payment if your need is housing related.

Apply for a Crisis Payment or Housing Payment

If you have any queries about the Crisis and Resilience Fund, you can contact us by:

If you visit the Civic Centre for support with your application, be aware:

  • the best times for getting support are 9am to 12 noon, Tuesday to Friday
  • the Customer Services Team cannot complete face to face applications on Mondays
  • if you visit for support 12 noon to 2pm or after 4pm, you may be asked to return another time
  • if you don’t have all the information needed, you may be asked to return to complete the application

Applicants where possible will be given a tablet to complete an application.

More information and support

For more cost-of-living advice or support, please visit our  Money Matters advice pages. 

There are also other government funded schemes to help with the cost of living. You can find more information about government support for rising living costs on the government’s cost of living support page. 

Resilience support

The council wants the Crisis and Resilience Fund to bring positive, long-term change to the financial health of Reading residents.

As well as providing financial support, the council is providing access to ongoing non-financial support and urges residents to take up these opportunities to avoid falling into financial crisis in the future.

As part of the Crisis and Resilience Fund, the council has agreed to prioritise:

  • helping residents to access cost-of-living support within their neighbourhoods
  • low-income families with children
  • pensioners experiencing income deprivation
  • creating more opportunities to save and reduce debt 
  • expanding the food pantry offer within the borough
  • protecting residents from the financial harm of unwanted life events

Please find below links to resilience services that are currently available for Reading residents:

Reading Pantries | Affordable Food Hubs in Reading
ReadiFood | Emergency Food Parcels in Reading
The Cowshed | Showing love and support to those in need in Berkshire

Details of other resilience services will be provided once they are available.

Plans, policies and reports

The fund runs for three years from 1 April 2026 to 31 March 2029. Reading Borough Council has been allocated £2.3 million for the first year, from 1 April 2026 to 31 March 2027.

The Crisis and Resilience Fund is funded by the UK Government.

Last updated on 14/10/2026