Rutland County Council is set to receive £800,000 over the next three years to support households struggling with the cost of living.

The Crisis and Resilience Fund is a new three-year government programme running until March 2029.

It will replace Discretionary Housing Payments (DHP) and the Household Support Fund (HSF). 

A report due to be considered by councillors next week states: "Its purpose is to provide immediate, cash-first crisis support to low-income households while building long-term financial resilience for individuals and communities." 

Local authorities must deliver the fund across four strands – crisis payments, housing payments, resilience services and community coordination.

Crisis payments come in the form of cash support for households experiencing a financial shock such as loss of income or unexpected expenses. 

The scheme will operate all year round and councils must aim to deliver support to households within 48 hours.  

Housing payments will fully replace DHPs and involve targeted support for households in receipt of housing benefit or universal credit with housing costs, who face a shortfall in meeting rent or essential housing related costs. 

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Resilience services involves support designed to improve households' financial resilience. 

This can include debt advice, budget maximisation, income maximisation, income smoothing and financial education to support financial literacy.   

According to the report, community coordination revolves around "investment in activities that connect and enhance the local support network". 

The council is required to submit a delivery plan to the DWP by July 1.

Rutland County Council will receive £256,800 per year for the next three years to deliver the fund.

Additional one-off funding of £30,868 was announced on March 16 to support low-income households with heating oil because of the spike in costs due to the conflict in the Middle East, taking the total level of funding to £801,268.