Household Support Fund (HSF) to be replaced by a new Crisis Resilience Fund (CRF)

This change means that families who currently receive Edenred vouchers, through the HSF scheme, will receive their last vouchers in March. The council's Crisis and Resilience Service (CRS) will continue and there will also be support for families in crisis as part of the new scheme. However, eligibility for free school meals will not lead to automatic entitlement. 

We understand that this will be difficult news for some families and we wanted to let you know now, so that you have the chance to identify families that might find themselves in particular hardship and can help to signpost them to advice and support.  

Why is this happening? 

Since 2021, the County Council has been providing vouchers of about £15 per month per child to families who have children who are eligible for free school meals.  This has been possible because of funding provided by government called the HSF.  This fund comes to an end on 31 March.

The government is putting a new Crisis and Resilience Fund in place that will start on 1 April.  The government's rules for this new fund are different; we cannot use this money to pay for voucher schemes like this.

What happens next? 

The council is currently planning for the introduction of the CRF and we will update you when we have more information. We will also be providing an updated leaflet about the support on offer, which you will be able to share with families.

The Government is clear that the future scheme must be needs tested and include wraparound support. This means that the current eligibility criteria cannot apply. 

• Although HSF is coming to an end, there will be ongoing support for families in crisis. We would encourage people to visit www.norfolk.gov.uk/costofliving which will be kept up to date with any help on offer. 
• If families have any unspent vouchers, we would encourage them to redeem them as soon as possible and for the March vouchers to be redeemed within the three-month timeframe to ensure they do not expire. 
• If families are in difficulty, we would encourage them to contact our Family Hubs services www.norfolk.gov.uk/familyhubs where there is broader support on debt and welfare rights. 
• The Big Norfolk Holiday Fun programme is continuing, and the Easter programme will launch in the coming weeks. Families can visit www.norfolk.gov.uk/bignorfolkholidayfun to sign up. 

Thank you for your ongoing support with identifying families that need extra support. We want to stress that these changes to HSF are outside the council's control, but we will continue to do all we can to support families in crisis. 

More information

Further information on the national schemes to support families can be found at:

• Cost of living support: Overview - GOV.UK
• Universal Credit: What Universal Credit is - GOV.UK
• Child Benefit: How it works - GOV.UK
• Free Childcare for Working Parents: Check if you're eligible - GOV.UK