Wigan Council will receive funding from the UK government to administer the Crisis and Resilience Fund.
This funding is to support low-income households who encounter a financial shock and to support activity that builds individual and community financial resilience.
This funding covers the period of 1st April 2026 to 31st March 2029 inclusive.
Crisis payments
Crisis payments are available to low-income households to:
- Support individuals who have experienced financial shock. A financial shock is a sudden, unexpected expense or drop in income, that can place pressure on their budget and wellbeing, or
- Prevent individuals from entering crisis. Providing timely support so that people can manage pressures, maintain control and avoid being pushed into crisis or prevent crises from escalating.
It is important to note that crisis payments are intended to meet occasional or short-term needs and cannot provide an alternative source of regular income.
The application process for crisis support from the Crisis and Resilience Fund will be available from 1st April 2026.
Housing payment
Housing payments are available to provide limited short-term help with housing costs and are available to residents who claim:
- Housing Benefit, or
- Universal Credit with housing costs towards rental liability. This includes Shared Ownership properties which carry a rental liability.
Applications for housing payment support will be administered under our current Discretionary Housing Payment policy.
The application process for housing support from the Crisis and Resilience Fund will be available from 1st April 2026.
Additional support
We are working with a range of partners to ensure residents can access all support and eligible funding based on their individual circumstances and build longer term resilience. Multi-agency events take place in community venues across the borough regularly.
For details of the latest events taking place in your area please visit our Help to claim webpage.
Administration
The Crisis and Resilience Fund is funded by UK Government and will run from 1st April 2026 to 31st March 2029.
If you have been refused an award under the Crisis and Resilience Fund or you are unhappy with the award made, you can ask the Council to review the decision.
The review will be conducted by an officer who was not involved in the original decision and is of an appropriate grade. There is no statutory right to appeal against a decision not to award a grant, or against the value or composition of any grant.
Complaints regarding the administration of the scheme should be made using the Council’s complaints procedure. The only next step to take is through judicial review.
Further additional support
Other help and support is available by visiting: