CRF Crisis Payments may be awarded for the following (these are just examples – there may be other situations too):

• food costs
• water, including for drinking, washing, cooking, as well as for sanitary purposes and sewerage
• period and hygiene products such as soap and toothpaste
• energy for any form of fuel that is used for the purpose of domestic heating, cooking or lighting, including oil or portable gas cylinders
• clothing, including uniform, warm winter clothing and shoes
• essential furniture and appliances such as beds and bedding, washing machines, window coverings and carpets, fridge-freezers and ovens
• essential transport-related costs such as repairing a car, buying a bicycle or bus pass or paying for fuel
• digital and connectivity essentials, such as broadband or phone bills
• housing costs can only be considered in exceptional circumstances where existing housing support schemes such as Housing Benefit, Universal Credit Housing Element, Crisis Resilience Fund Housing Payment and homeless prevention support do not meet the exceptional need and there is an immediate threat of eviction

CRF Move in Packs may be awarded for the following:

• when an applicant is moving from temporary or fully furnished accommodation or experiencing domestic abuse and leaving an abusive relationship/partner and need immediate financial help when moving into an unfurnished property for furniture and appliances

We’ll look at your circumstances and decide whether you're eligible. 

To apply for a CRF Crisis Payment you should be:

• experiencing a financial shock or to prevent crises from escalating
• you must be resident in the borough (or be supported by LBBD in temporary accommodation outside of the borough) for at least 3 months prior to applying
• no repeat applications within 12 months of a previous financial award for the same circumstance (applies to CRF Crisis Payments and Move in Packs only) unless there are extenuating circumstances and evidence is provided to support this
• any applicants who have capital held in their bank accounts that is a reasonable amount above regular monthly bill payments that does not relate to incoming and outgoing income and is therefore consistently held (surplus capital) will not be eligible for the scheme. Any applicant who is deemed to hold other capital assets such as cryptocurrency, stocks, shares or other property will also not be eligible for assistance through the scheme(s). Capital assets must be realised in full prior to any application

Things we will look at when we consider an application:

• evidence must be uploaded and submitted with all applications including the last 2 month’s full bank statements for all accounts held by you and any resident partner as a minimum requirement, plus any other evidence as detailed in the application.
• your application is likely to be refused, if you reapply within 12 months of a refusal, unless there has been a significant change to your circumstances (not including refusals for failing to provide evidence)
• your application may be refused if your bank statements show that you hold capital over the threshold or show regular, excessive unessential expenditure that is significantly higher than a reasonable, basic needs cost and the level of spending cannot be reasonably justified by the household’s circumstance, irrespective of your income including gambling, holiday’s, spending or sending money abroad, subscriptions, luxury items, restaurants and takeaways or regular unexplained payments out of your account
• you should have taken steps to maximise incomes available to you via claiming Universal Credit, Housing Benefit, Council Tax Support and all other benefits or support to which you may be entitled before making an application
• all applications will be treated individually on their own merit under all relevant schemes. We will only consider your application against each CRF scheme that you apply for, however we may consider any applications made to look to assist with Discretionary Council Tax Relief even if not applied for
• your application for discretionary financial support can be treated as a claim for Council Tax Support or Free School Meals if there is eligibility and entitlement should you not already be in receipt of these benefits and confirm that you wish to claim them

Before you start an application for a Crisis Resilience Fund (CRF) you should gather the evidence that is required, dependent on what you are applying for, so you are ready to upload it whilst completing your online application.

Evidence required for all cases:

• reasons for applying and what you are applying for
• two months bank statements for all accounts that you (and any resident partner) hold, showing all transactions, covering the last two months (mini statements and phone screenshots are not acceptable). This includes any savings accounts for you (and your partner) and any you hold for your children

If applying for a crisis payment, you should also provide supporting evidence, depending on why you are applying.

For example:

• evidence of why you are in financial crisis or why you have experienced a financial shock and any supporting evidence linked to your crisis or sudden loss of income.
• evidence of any essential expenditure linked to your crisis.
• applications for help with utility payments should be supported with proof of current utility arrears statements. This should be the full bill (front and back pages) showing the name and address of the supplier, the current amount owed, and your account number
• applications for the replacement of white goods or items should be supported with photographic evidence of damaged/broken items or missing essential items.

If applying for help with moving in packs for new tenancies, you must also provide:

• photographic evidence of the interior of the property to confirm the property is unfurnished is required.

Further evidence may be requested at the council’s discretion. 

If applying for help within 12 months of a previous award and you have extenuating circumstances that meet the criteria, then you should provide:

• any evidence that you have, to support your application.

Other information requested in the application form:

• details of all household members and their income
• details of debts (loans/store cards/credit cards/car finance or debt agreement)
• details of rent or mortgage costs
• details of household expenses

Before you submit the application, make sure you complete the form in full and upload all evidence needed (as indicated on the evidence checklist in the application form) to support your claim and avoid delay. 

If you fail to provide the evidence needed in support of your application, your claim will be refused with no appeal rights.

We will work to support the residents across a broad range of services. 

This will include referrals of applicants to services such as:

• B&D Works for employment support
• Budgeting and Debt advice
• Adult Learning
• voluntary sector organisations
• any other relevant service as applicable for further advice and ongoing support

Level of payment

We usually only make one award every 12 months, and this could be either a one-off payment or an ongoing award as deemed appropriate. The award can be issued by phone text payment (ATM withdrawal link), direct payment to council tax/rent accounts or landlords and in exceptional circumstances only a BACS payment into your nominated bank account.

The level of payment will be decided by the Council. 

The Council currently administers and operates the following discretionary financial support schemes, of which there is one online application form for all schemes:

• Crisis and Resilience Fund (CRF) Crisis Payments and Move in Packs
• Crisis and Resilience Fund (CRF) Housing Payment
• Discretionary Council Tax Relief Scheme (DCTR).

More than one scheme can be applied for, and we will only consider your application against each CRF scheme that you apply for, however we may consider any applications made to look to assist with Discretionary Council Tax Relief even if not applied for.

The online application can also be treated as a claim for Council Tax Support and Free School Meals, where there is eligibility and entitlement, unless you do not wish to receive these additional benefits. 

Apply for a CRF Crisis Payment 

Help with the application

Our outreach visiting service can support making an application only if the following circumstances apply:

• the applicant is disabled and
• is unable to leave the home as a result of that disability and
• is unable to complete the claim as a result of that disability and
• no family member, friend or other suitable person is available to assist the applicant
• has any other legitimate barrier to the completion of an application requiring support 

If all of the above apply, then please email visitingandwelfareemails@lbbd.gov.uk with your contact details and details of which scheme that you wish to apply for and the reasons for applying.

You must give authority to act to anyone applying for discretionary financial support on your behalf.

Right to appeal

The schemes are discretionary, and the applicant does not have a statutory right to payment or appeal. However, if requested, we will review the decision unless:

• your application was submitted without the required evidence, 

or

• you have had a previous award within 12 months and do not declare it, or you have no extenuating circumstances

If your circumstances change, you can reapply. 

• there is no limit on how many times you can claim a CRF Crisis Payment or Move in Pack. However, if you reapply without a change to your circumstances or without extenuating circumstances, then your application may be refused.

The personal information we collect from you will be shared with fraud prevention agencies, who will use it to prevent fraud and money laundering and to verify your identity. 

If fraud is detected, you could be refused certain services, finance, or employment. 

Further details of how your information will be used by us and these fraud prevention agencies, and your data protection rights, can be found on the Cifas website.