Crisis and Resilience Fund supporting residents in Wiltshire

Wiltshire Council is continuing to support residents facing financial hardship through its local delivery of the Government’s Crisis and Resilience Fund, working in partnership with key organisations, including Wiltshire Citizens Advice and the Centre for Sustainable Energy (CSE), to provide targeted help. 

The council has been allocated £13.4m through the Government’s Crisis and Resilience Fund (CRF) over the three-year programme, including £4.4m in 2026/27, £4.4m in 2027/28 and £4.6m in 2028/29. In addition, the council received £783,725 in extra funding specifically to support households that rely on oil heating.  

The council’s Crisis and Resilience Fund is designed to provide immediate assistance to households in urgent financial difficulty, while also helping residents build longer-term resilience.  

Recognising the particular challenges faced by rural communities, the council has strengthened its partnership with the CSE to deliver specialist support for households that rely on oil heating. With many homes across Wiltshire not connected to the gas grid, fluctuations in oil prices can have a significant impact on household budgets. Through this collaboration, residents can access tailored advice, practical energy-saving measures and targeted financial support to help manage heating costs and improve energy efficiency.  

Through the Crisis and Resilience oil heating support, the CSE has supported more than 70 residents up to mid-May, with further applications pending. Alongside this, the council continues to work closely with Wiltshire Citizens Advice to ensure residents receive comprehensive, independent guidance on managing financial pressures. Citizens Advice provides expert support on debt, benefits, budgeting and energy costs, helping residents maximise their income and navigate available assistance schemes. It has been providing advice and support to families who receive free school meals and has had contact with more than 190 residents up to mid-May. The application form for oil support can be found at Wiltshire CRF Oil Support.  

The council has also been providing crisis payments through the fund to those who need them. These have been used to support people facing difficult circumstances in a number of areas, including food, energy utilities, transport and essential household goods.  

Up to mid-May, more than 300 residents had been supported.  

The council’s Wiltshire Wellbeing Hub continues to act as the front door for those who may need support through the Crisis and Resilience Fund, providing advice, assessing residents’ needs, and connecting people to financial support and partner services. It ensures residents can access both immediate help in a crisis and longer-term support to improve their financial resilience. The hub is open Monday to Thursday, 9 am to 5 pm, and Friday, 9 am to 4 pm. It can be contacted on 0300 003 4576 or at wellbeinghub@wiltshire.gov.uk.  

Cllr Mel Jacob, Wiltshire Council Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Organisational Strategy, Digital and Leisure, Libraries & Culture, said: “It’s heartening to know that the Crisis and Resilience Fund is already supporting those who need it most, providing that vital safety net when people are facing incredibly difficult circumstances. We remain fully committed to supporting those in crisis, while also strengthening the foundations for long-term, preventative support to help stop people getting into difficulty in the future.”  
 
Shareen Elnagy, Project Manager at the Centre for Sustainable Energy (CSE), said: “This fund has arrived at a tough time for hundreds of residents who rely on heating oil, with rising prices making it harder to pay bills or buy essentials like food. Working with Wiltshire Council, CSE has been able to respond to these pressures quickly and have helped a significant number of households already. 

“With the oil market remaining extremely volatile and prices unpredictable, we continue to see its impact first-hand on the residents most at risk. Through this funding, we are helping to ease immediate financial pressures by providing grants towards fuel costs, while also offering personalised energy advice to help households better manage their energy use and costs longer term.”  

Suzanne Wigmore, CEO at Wiltshire Citizens Advice, said: “At Wiltshire Citizens Advice we know how important it is to provide the right advice and support at the right time. We also know that for many people in Wiltshire life continues to be tough and the Crisis and Resilience Fund will help us help people before they slip into crisis. It will also make sure that those who are facing a crisis have a real route to becoming more resilient. 

 “We can help with money management, reducing outstanding debt and household costs and increasing income in the longer term. We will also have a special focus on those in rural communities who often face additional costs and challenges with access to utilities, transport and other services.”  

The council has set up an advisory board to review applications from organisations requesting funding to support a variety of projects. Some of the projects currently in the pipeline to help build resilience and provide wrap-around support include support for older people, financial health initiatives, and healthy eating and cooking programmes.   

More information on the Crisis and Resilience Fund and emerging projects can be found at www.wiltshire.gov.uk/Crisisandresiliencefund.