Household Support Fund replaced by Crisis and Resilience Fund

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has replaced the Household Support Fund with the Crisis and Resilience Fund in its guidance on Cost of Living Payments, according to an update log on the mygov.scot page¹. The change was recorded on 1 April 2026, the most recent update to a page first published on 13 March 2023¹.

The same page states that DWP is not planning to make any more Cost of Living Payments, a note added on 6 May 2025¹. The payments it describes ran between 2022 and 2024, and were made automatically to people who were getting certain benefits or tax credits on set qualifying dates. They were not taxable and did not affect the benefits or tax credits a recipient received¹.

For low income benefits and tax credits, the amounts and qualifying dates were:

Source: mygov.scot¹

The qualifying benefits and tax credits listed were income-based Jobseeker's Allowance, income-related Employment and Support Allowance, Income Support, Pension Credit, Universal Credit, Child Tax Credit and Working Tax Credit¹. People getting only New Style ESA, contributory ESA or New Style JSA did not receive a payment¹. Two Disability Cost of Living Payments of £150 were also made, for people receiving benefits including Attendance Allowance, Disability Living Allowance, Personal Independence Payment and Adult or Child Disability Payment in Scotland¹. Pensioners entitled to a Winter Fuel Payment for winter 2022 to 2023 or winter 2023 to 2024 received an extra £150 or £300 with their normal payment¹.

The page warns that anyone paid a Cost of Living Payment who was later found not to have been eligible may have to pay it back¹. It also states that a payment could be reduced to nothing, sometimes called a nil award, if earnings, savings or other circumstances changed, and that people in that position may still have been eligible if money had been taken off their benefit for other reasons, such as rent paid to a landlord or money owed¹.

Why it matters for households

The Cost of Living Payments described on the page were paid automatically and are now closed: DWP says it is not planning any more¹. The practical change for households is the route to local crisis support. The page now directs people in England to help from the Crisis and Resilience Fund through their local council, in Wales to the Discretionary Assistance Fund, in Scotland to a Crisis Grant or Community Care Grant, and in Northern Ireland to Discretionary Support or a Short-term Benefit Advance¹. The page does not set out the eligibility rules, amounts or start date of the Crisis and Resilience Fund, and these have not been reported here. The page applies to England, Scotland and Wales, with separate guidance for Northern Ireland¹.

What happens next

The page was last updated on 1 April 2026, when the Household Support Fund reference was replaced¹. No further changes are listed. Anyone who thinks a Cost of Living Payment was missed is directed to contact the office that pays their qualifying benefit or tax credits¹.