Crisis Payments

The Crisis and Resilience Fund is a three-year scheme funded by UK Government to help low-income households manage unexpected financial shocks and build longer-term stability.

Crisis Payments provide emergency help for people facing a sudden financial crisis, giving support to help with their immediate needs.

We recognise that financial hardship can be stressful and may be linked to difficult life events. We will work with you to understand your circumstances and look at the options available.

If you would like us to, we can also talk through other support that may help with your situation now and in the future. This could include practical advice or specialist services.

What is a Crisis Payment?

Crisis Payments can provide help with essential items and emergency needs linked to your situation.

The amount will depend on your individual circumstances, and support may be provided as goods or vouchers for specific items.

Who can apply for a Crisis Payment?

You may be eligible for a Crisis Payment if you are on a low income and:

are aged 16 or over
live in North Yorkshire or are moving to North Yorkshire
are experiencing a financial crisis that affects your health, safety or ability to live independently
cannot meet the need from your income or savings
may not be able to access support from other sources, or that support may not meet your immediate needs

What do you mean by a crisis?

Examples of a crisis affecting your ability to meet essential living needs include:

an unexpected essential expense like a boiler breaking down, emergency travel costs or replacing a household appliance
a sudden loss of income due to redundancy, illness or another unforeseen event
an emergency situation, including:
- risk of homelessness
- fire or flood damage
- domestic abuse
difficulty affording essential items

What Crisis Payments do not cover

Crisis Payments cannot provide support for:

ongoing living costs
non-essential items, such as gaming equipment or luxury goods
debts where there is no immediate risk to your health, safety or housing, such as credit card debts or unsecured loans
costs that can be met by another organisation or service
applicants with no recourse to public funds, except in limited circumstances

How to apply for a Crisis Payment

If you apply for a Crisis Payment, we will ask you about your circumstances, income and savings so we can understand your situation and assess what support may be available.

We may ask for information or evidence that is relevant to your application. This could include:

proof of identity
bank statements
proof of income or benefits
utility bills
tenancy information
quotes for essential repairs or replacement items
information relating to the crisis you are experiencing

We understand that it may not always be easy to provide information or documents straight away. If you are having difficulty providing evidence, please let us know and we will discuss what support may be available.

Income limits

To be eligible for a Crisis Payment, you must have less than £1,000 in savings and your annual household income after Tax and National Insurance must be below:

£17,212 if you are single or live alone
£20,225 if you live with a partner and have no children living with you
£22,932 if you are a parent or family with one child
£25,532 if you are a parent or family with two or more children

When calculating your income, we do not include:

Personal Independence Payment (PIP)
Carer’s Allowance
Child Benefit
Attendance Allowance
Disability Living Allowance (DLA)

Apply for a Crisis Payment

To apply for a Crisis Payment, please contact us.

If you need help to apply, or would prefer to speak to someone in person, you can visit one of our offices where our team can help you understand the support available.

Addresses for council offices where you can get help in person are:

Harrogate office
Civic Centre
St Lukes Avenue
Harrogate
HG1 2AE