Issue - meetings

Decision

That Cabinet:

1.    Approve the acceptance of the grant award of £909,278 for the delivery of the Crisis and Resilience Fund (CRF) 2026/27.

2.    Approve the Council’s proposed delivery approach for the Crisis and Resilience Fund (CRF) for 2026/27 as set out in this report.

3.    Approve the proposed eligibility criteria and operating principles for crisis payments.

4.    Approve the delegation to the Deputy Chief Executive and Section 151 Officer in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Housing of any operational decisions and associated expenditure required to deliver the CRF scheme in accordance with the approved scheme framework, government guidance and allocated budget (as detailed in paragraph 2.17 of the report)

Reasons for the decision

The DWP expected authorities to commence delivery of the scheme from 1 April 2026 and submit a delivery plan by 1 July 2026. Joint working had been in place between Lincolnshire County Council, District Councils and support organisations during all stages of the Household Support Fund. It was recognised that a joint approach to this level of support would achieve the desired outcomes as set out in the framework and guidance.

Other options considered

The ‘do nothing’ option was discounted as the funding had been provided, and the requirement of the funding was to provide residents with support during times of crisis.

Decision

That Cabinet:

1.    Approve the acceptance of the grant award of £909,278 for the delivery of the Crisis and Resilience Fund (CRF) 2026/27.

2.    Approve the Council’s proposed delivery approach for the Crisis and Resilience Fund (CRF) for 2026/27 as set out in this report.

3.    Approve the proposed eligibility criteria and operating principles for crisis payments.

4.    Approve the delegation to the Deputy Chief Executive and Section 151 Officer in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Housing of any operational decisions and associated expenditure required to deliver the CRF scheme in accordance with the approved scheme framework, government guidance and allocated budget (as detailed in paragraph 2.17 of the report)

Other options considered

The ‘do nothing’ option was discounted as the funding had been provided, and the requirement of the funding was to provide residents with support during times of crisis.

Reasons for the decision

The DWP expected authorities to commence delivery of the scheme from 1 April 2026 and submit a delivery plan by 1 July 2026. Joint working had been in place between Lincolnshire County Council, District Councils and support organisations during all stages of the Household Support Fund. It was recognised that a joint approach to this level of support would achieve the desired outcomes as set out in the framework and guidance.

This issue had been presented to Rural and Communities OSC on more than one occasion. 80 pages of the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) guidance had kept members informed about the design of the scheme. The process had involved all Lincolnshire district councils and Lincolnshire County Council (LCC).

The Fund aimed to provide a safety net for those on low incomes and wanted to invest in people to enable financial resilience, reducing the crisis need. The funding focussed on achieving three main outcomes:

1. Effective crisis support
2. Investment in improving financial resilience.
3. Building a strong support system, creating visible safety nets with pathways between councils and their partners.

It was not ideal that the eligibility criteria for the Fund hadn’t yet been confirmed. The government issued initial guidance on 15 January 2026, and a working group was mobilised shortly after. No major changes were anticipated to the delivery approach, eligibility criteria and operating principles attached to the Fund. Any operational changes would be approved under delegation to the Deputy Chief Executive.

£909,278 was granted to SKDC, with £625,086 for the delivery of crisis payments and £284,192 for resilience services. The funding was a significant financial uplift on the Household Support Fund. There was a contingency of funding – SKDC would feed back to LCC if they neared the total spend. If SKDC did not have any funding available, the crisis payments would cease. Resilience support would continue.