Policy Brief: The Household Support Fund
In this follow up to a recent policy brief, the Cost of Living research group respond to the news that the Household Support Fund will be extended as part of the spring budget.
The Government’s Spring budget has extended the Household Support Fund (HSF) for a further six months, providing £500 million to cover the period 1st April to 30th September 2024.
In response to this, researchers from the University of York's Cost of Living research group have published a new policy brief. The brief was written using evidence from research with Local Authorities and parents and carers living on low income.
Read the full policy brief: Household Support Fund Policy Brief - March 2024 (PDF 
, 173kb)
£1 billion per year lifeline
The HSF is a £1 billion per year lifeline for low-income households administered by local authorities in England. By 30th September 2024, supposedly temporary discretionary support delivered via local authorities – for the pandemic, the surge in energy bills and the rising cost of living – will have accounted for over £3 billion in welfare provision since December 2020.
The HSF has played an important role in addressing the needs of hundreds of thousands of low-income households and in supporting activities in the third sector such as welfare advice organisations and foodbanks. Levels of destitution have surged in recent years as the national social security system has developed major cracks; the HSF has become the final backstop in this system, offering a vital lifeline to households facing financial crisis.
Uncertain future
The future of the of HSF was uncertain ahead of the budget and a wide coalition of organisations had lobbied for it be extended. Barnardo’s said the loss of HSF would be “catastrophic”. While an extension to September is welcome, this merely postpones removal of the scheme. The majority of local authorities lack resources to replace HSF financed activity, meaning vital support will disappear this autumn in many parts of the country, plunging households facing crisis further into hardship.
Short-term funding and last-minute decision making by Government has not created good conditions for local authorities to plan and deliver support financed via HSF. While the HSF scheme has provided vital support across England, it has many imperfections. Schemes have varied considerably by locality and awareness of the HSF has often been limited. The limitations of the HSF scheme offer lessons for how discretionary crisis support might be strengthened in the future.