Teignbridge launches £300k 'Crisis Fund

Low-income families receive lifeline

A Devon council is to create a fund to help local families facing financial ‘shocks’.

The Crisis and Resilience Fund (CaRF) is being set up by Teignbridge Council as a way of directing hundreds of thousands of pounds of government money to the people who need it most.

And the council has pledged to use it if necessary to support local households in rural communities hit by the soaring price of heating oil as a result of the war in Iran.

“The cost of living crisis has not gone away,” said Cllr David Palethorpe (Lib Dem, Ipplepen). “Many households remain just one unexpected bill away from real hardship.”

The aim of the new fund is to support low-income households when they suffer a financial ‘shock’ caused by a sudden and unexpected expense or drop in income. It replaces the earlier Household Support Fund and Discretionary Housing Payments which closed at the end of March.

Cllr Palethorpe said resilience was about giving local families the tools and support they need to battle the cost of living crisis, and he welcomed the government’s commitment to fund the programme for the next three years.

He said the council’s new fund would be ‘responsive and impactful’.

“We are on the side of our residents,” he said. “We understand the challenges they face, and we are committed to providing lasting support.”

Cllr Suzanne Sanders (Lib Dem, Chudleigh) asked if the fund would help households hit by the escalating price of heating oil, which stood at 60p a litre in January, 80p in February and £1.30 at the end of March.

Cllr Palethorpe said it did not, simply because it had been drawn up before the Iran conflict began, but there would be support on fuel oil from the government and the CaRF when it was needed.