Crisis Payment Scheme

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Crisis Payment Scheme

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Eligibility
Types of financial crisis considered
Application assessment
What you will need for your application
Make an online application
What happens next?
Further help and support

This scheme is intended to provide one-off assistance to people facing a sudden and unexpected financial crisis. It is not intended to support people with day-day living costs, or provide long term support.

Eligibility

The applicant:

must be resident in Peterborough
must be 16 year old, or over
is currently experiencing a financial crisis (see types of financial crisis)
must have savings of less than £1000 (£5000 if pensionable age)
does not need to be in receipt of welfare benefits to apply.

Types of financial crisis considered

This is not an exhaustive list but used to give a guide to the types of financial crisis that the council will consider. The council will use its discretion in assessing individual needs on a case by case basis.

Fuel poverty – having been cut off from fuel supply, or unable to afford immediate fuel costs. We also have a specific page relating to the oil crisis payment scheme.
Inability to pay for heating, electricity, water or broadband services.
Unexpected essential household expenses – e.g. boiler; car repair; household appliance (cooker, washing machine, fridge).
Costs of setting up a new home due to domestic abuse, fleeing violence or other household breakdown.
Moving costs due to unsafe or unsuitable housing.
Caring costs, particularly for supporting friends/family with disability or long term illness.
Inability to pay for school uniform.
Anyone affected by a disaster e.g. fire or flooding.
Where money has been lost or stolen and living expenses are required.
Short-term gap in regular income due to redundancy or a significant change in working pattern.

Application assessment

Applications will be assessed on a household basis, with awards determined by the nature of the crisis and the impact on the household.
Normally, one application will be allowed per household within a rolling 12-month period.
Additional payments within the 12-month period may be considered where there are exceptional circumstances, distinct crises, or safeguarding considerations.

The scheme offers a cash-first approach

Payments will be awarded on an individual basis and subject to:

the specific financial crisis in your application, and
the impact that the crisis is having within a household.

Payments will typically range from £50-£150, but there may be cases where a lower or higher award is warranted. The council may also offer vouchers, or goods at its discretion and a cash payment is not guaranteed.

What you will need for your application

To help us assess your application you will need to provide evidence of your income, savings and crisis or hardship details. Documents can be uploaded in PDF or image formats. Evidence is also required for others in the same household, including joint bank accounts. You can save the online application, if you need to come back to it and upload required documents.

Supported applications

You can receive support from one of our CRF community partners. Staff and volunteers can help you understand the Crisis Payment Scheme and will support you to complete an application if needed.

You will need to take the following with you:

National Insurance Number
Copies of your and your partners bank statements for each of the accounts listed, covering the last 3 months including address and transactions.
Proof of identification e.g passport, residency permit or driving license)
Your benefit letter (if you receive benefits)
Your tenancy agreement (if you rent your home)
P45 / job centre letter / police report / letter from insurer / medical letter
(if relevant to your situation/circumstance)

Make an online application

You will apply through the Funding Connect Platform. The Evouchers team will review and process applications and payments on behalf of the council.

Apply for Crisis Payment (Funding Connect)

Privacy Notice - Crisis Payment Schemehtml

We collect your personal data to carry out an assessment of your financial situation before offering support through the Crisis Resilience Fund. This assessment helps us understand your individual circumstances and tailor the services we provide to best support you. We work with Evouchers, Citizens Advice and Carezone to offer financial support, expert advice and practical support to those in crisis.

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What happens next?

We will use the following criteria to assess your application.

Priority will be given to first time applicants and those not eligible for other types of help
Clear detailed evidence of a crisis or hardship
Whether your situation is likely to get worst without support
Additional identified needs, for example, vulnerability disability, health issue, carer, children
It will not be awarded for ongoing housing costs or unsustainable tenancies
It will not be awarded to provide mortgage support

For successful applications we aim to approve applications and make payments within 2-4 days of all evidence being received.

Further help and support

Take a look at our wider help with Money and Benefits section.
Get in touch with one of our Crisis Resilience Fund - CRF Community Partners.

The Council will only operate the scheme whilst there are funds to do so.
The scheme is discretionary, and there is no statutory right to payment or award
This scheme is not intended to replicate or take over the responsibility of statutory agencies.
The scheme is a crisis service and is not intended as regular support for those on low income who need help with day-to-day living.
Awards will normally only be made to those who meet eligibility criteria in accordance with this policy. However, even if this is the case the Council has the overriding discretion to refuse an award, and this will be linked to budget restrictions and any other conditionality in this policy.
Eligibility criteria will be used to ensure that the funds are targeted at the most vulnerable residents and those with greatest need. Decisions on eligibility and exclusion will be reasonable and rational and subject to a certain degree of flexibility and discretion in order to meet exceptional cases and circumstances as and when necessary.
Applicants who do not meet eligibility criteria will be signposted to the wider offer of universal services and support available from the third/community and voluntary sector.
Each application will be treated on its own merits and will receive equal and fair treatment to take account of the Council’s responsibilities under all relevant legislation.
Each applicant will normally be restricted to a single award within a rolling 12-month period, commencing from the date their last application was approved.

The Council is committed to preventing fraud in all its forms. A claimant who tries to make a claim to the Crisis Resilience Fund fraudulently by falsely declaring their circumstances, providing a false statement or evidence in support of their application, may have committed an offence under the Fraud Act 2006.

Where it is alleged, or the Council suspects that such a fraud may have been committed, the matter will be investigated and if fraud is found to have occurred, action will be taken including sanctions against future claims or if appropriate criminal proceedings.

The Crisis and Resilience Fund (CRF) and Crisis Payments will indirectly replace the Household Support Fund (HSF) which was launched in 2001 to support households on low income by providing emergency food, furniture, white goods, and vouchers to eligible pupils during school holidays.

The new fund will see £3.6m a year coming to Peterborough over the next three years to support residents in dealing with both short-term crisis and longer-term financial challenges, supporting them to become financially stable. The main aim of the fund is to provide a safety net for those on low incomes who encounter a financial shock, such as sudden income loss or unexpected expenses, and to invest in building stronger support in communities to enable people to better deal with crises in the long-term, thereby reducing crisis need.

The Crisis Resilience Fund (CRF) is a grant provided to local authorities across England to help support low-income households. The fund runs from 1 April 2026 to 31 March 2029.

The aims of the fund are to:

Provide effective crisis support
Improve individuals’ financial resilience
Bolster the local-level support landscape

You can find more information about CRF at Crisis and Resilience Fund (1 April 2026 to 31 March 2029) - GOV.UK.

At Peterborough City Council, we have committed to using this fund to support households and individuals who are facing financial hardship. It will also help to build financial resilience amongst households and individuals.