Lambeth will spend £5.2m on hardship help this year and crisis payments stay. The £10 a week holiday payment no longer goes to every free school meals family.
Lambeth Council has £5.2 million this year to help residents in a money crisis, and it has now decided how to spend it. Cash crisis payments for food, fuel, clothing and household essentials carry on. The £10 a week school holiday payment for every family on income-based free school meals does not.
The council announced the plan on Friday (Love Lambeth). The decision itself was signed off on 27 October (Lambeth Council decision).
Where the money comes from
The money is the government’s new Crisis and Resilience Fund, paid through the Department for Work and Pensions. It replaced two older pots, the Household Support Fund and Discretionary Housing Payments, on 1 April. This year’s allocation runs to 31 March 2027.
Lambeth’s share is about £500,000 smaller than what it received from the two old funds in 2025/26. The council’s report warns that the fund “is likely” to keep shrinking in future years (decision report, PDF).
How the £5.2m is split
About £1.1 million had already been committed to free school meal holiday payments for the May half-term and the summer. The new decision shares out the remaining £4.1 million. The report’s table sets the full year out like this:
| What it pays for | Planned spend |
|---|---|
| Housing payments (rent shortfalls, deposits, rent in advance) | £1,150,000 |
| Free school meal holiday payments, May half-term and summer | £1,085,000 |
| Tackling Poverty action plan, including Financial Link Workers | £966,000 |
| Advice services and an advice line | £787,000 |
| Crisis Payments Scheme | £500,000 |
| Contingency | £218,000 |
| Coordination with voluntary groups | £197,000 |
| Support for families once holiday payments end | £100,000 |
| A local energy payment scheme | £100,000 |
| Small grants for advice in community settings | £100,000 |
The Tackling Poverty line includes free period products in libraries, leisure centres and children’s centres, and the Green Doctor home energy service.
The holiday payments change
Until this summer, Lambeth paid families £10 per child for each week of the school holidays if they received income-based free school meals. The report puts the number of residents it supported at 15,500.
The government’s grant rules now bar councils from making that payment to every free school meals family after the 2026 summer holidays. The report says the summer payments “are the last blanket holiday provision payments that can be provided”.
The council says support will carry on “like-for-like” for two groups:
- families on free school meals who also get Council Tax Support
- lone parents whose children get free school meals
That support comes from the £100,000 line. The report says who exactly it covers is still being worked out, and will need its own decision. The council has not yet said when payments will be made, or whether they will cover the Christmas holidays. Its fund page says eligible families “will be contacted directly” (Lambeth Council).
The £100,000 energy scheme is at the same stage: agreed in principle, with the rules to follow.
Councillor Michael Chessum, the cabinet member for cost of living, said the cuts were “damaging the Council’s ability to respond”. He called on the government “to reverse austerity and invest in local government”.
Who can get a crisis payment
The Crisis Payments Scheme is the old Emergency Support Scheme under a new name. The council’s own pages now call it the Crisis and Resettlement Payment Scheme. It pays out in cash, and the report expects it to help about 7,000 residents this year.
You can apply if you are facing a crisis, emergency or disaster, and you (Lambeth Council):
- live in Lambeth and are 16 or over
- have lived in the borough for at least six weeks, unless you have just left prison, are fleeing domestic or gang violence, or live in temporary council accommodation
- have savings under £6,000
- have an income under £30,000 a year, or get a qualifying benefit such as Universal Credit, Housing Benefit, Council Tax Support or Pension Credit
You can only get one award in any 12 months. The scheme can pay for food, fuel, clothing, furniture, white goods, emergency travel and other household items (Lambeth Council).
You cannot apply if you are eligible for a short-term benefit advance or hardship payment from the DWP.
What it means for you
- In a crisis now? Apply online through the council’s Crisis and Resettlement Payment Scheme form. You need a mobile number and your National Insurance number. If you cannot fill in the form, email ESSTeam@lambeth.onmicrosoft.com with a phone number and the team will call you back.
- Behind on rent? Housing payments are the biggest single line in the fund. They are for people who get Housing Benefit or the housing part of Universal Credit.
- Struggling with energy bills? Email costofliving@lambeth.gov.uk. The council says energy advice is part of the fund.
- On free school meals? Do not count on a Christmas holiday payment unless you also get Council Tax Support or are a lone parent. Even then, wait for the council to contact you. We will update this story when it publishes the details.
- Not sure what you are owed? Council Tax Support is one of the qualifying benefits. Our Clapham council tax bands page explains how the bills are set.
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