Dear Chancellor,
Call for the continuation of the Household Support Fund
We write on behalf of the Disability Poverty Campaign Group (DPCG).
The DPCG, convened by Disability Rights UK and Inclusion London, is led entirely by Disabled people-led organisations (DPOs) and works in alliance with civil society to improve structural and crisis support responses to disability poverty in the UK.
We are seeking urgent clarification of the Treasury’s planning around the impacts on Disabled people of the expected closure of the Household Support Fund (HSF) on 30 September.
The HSF is managed by local councils and distributed via the authority or its third sector partners. The HSF was designed to help qualifying residents pay for essentials including energy, water, food, vital equipment and household items. DPCG member organisations are directly involved in its distribution to Disabled residents in their areas.
In response to lobbying in 2023 by Inclusion London and the Greater Manchester Disabled People’s Panel, former Minister for Disabled People Claire Coutinho MP agreed to additional HSF statutory guidance for local authorities that cites the impact of the cost-of-living crisis on Disabled residents and their households. The guidance states:
“Authorities should also consider providing support to disabled people in their area. Disabled people may be facing acute challenges due to the disproportionate impact that rising costs bring for the additional services they need in order to manage their conditions, remain independent and avoid becoming socially isolated. For example, some disabled people may have increased utility bills due to the usage of equipment, aids or adaptations associated with their disability. They may also have additional heating, water or transport costs. Authorities are therefore strongly encouraged to explore ways in which this group may be supported and must record the total value of awards granted to disabled people in their Management Information (MI) returns for this grant.”
We attach to this letter the HSF 3 data on “support provided to households with a disabled person” released by the Department for Work and Pensions on 25 September in response to a March 2023 Freedom of Information request made by the DPCG.
The data gives a valuable insight into disability poverty across authority boundaries. It highlights the clear need for ongoing and better crisis support and adds substantial weight to growing calls for the government to address the structural drivers of disability poverty.
The data also makes clear a major deficiency with the HSF / crisis support model: significant variations in the volume of awards to disabled households issued by local authorities that indicates varying degrees of council success in meeting local need.
Additional concerns—reported to us by our members—are the lack of pathways for the challenging of HSF decisions, and the impacts on organisational capacity that some TPOs experienced following their involvement in distributing HSF. Crisis support must receive the investment it needs to function flexibly and in fully accessible ways in response to the scale of disability poverty in the UK.
In summary, whilst our members have concerns about some aspects of HSF, the consensus position is that DPCG is calling for the Fund’s continuation. Government should commit to long-term funding for an improved HSF, drawing on lived experiences of disability poverty and the work of the distributing TPOs.
On 15 August, the Local Government Association (LGA) reported that six in 10 local councils will be unable to provide extrawelfare support when the Household Support Fund ends in September, adding that it needs to be extended for at least six months to avoid an impending “cliff-edge” drop-in support.
Some 94% of the councils that responded to the LGA’s survey said the fund should continue, while nearly 60% said they would not be able to provide any additional funding for local welfare assistance if the fund closes in September. Only 1% said they would be able to match the lost funding.
Over four-fifths of those respondents (84%) expected demand for welfare assistance to increase over the coming winter months, while just over two-thirds (67%) reported that local welfare funding administered by councils would decrease if the HSF is withdrawn.
The DPCG wants the government to clarify the measures being planned by the Treasury to offset the ending of cost-of-living support payments and the planned means-testing of the winter fuel allowance.
The cost-of-living crisis has not ended for Disabled people in poverty.
We urge you to continue the HSF from 30 September, Chancellor.