Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment his Department has made of the impact of the £27 million supplement to the Crisis and Resilience Fund in England, announced on 16 March 2026, on levels of financial hardship among rural households.

The Department worked closely with local authorities to support the early stages of delivery of the £27 million supplement, including through regular checkpoint meetings, deep-dive interviews and ongoing monitoring of implementation. Evidence from this work indicated that the heating oil support was established across all 54 local authorities that received additional funding. Local authorities reported strong initial demand following the announcement which has since moderated. Many are now planning activity ahead of winter, including reviewing delivery approaches and raising awareness of available support. Local authorities will continue to use this funding to support low-income households during the winter and, where necessary, may draw on their wider Crisis and Resilience Fund (CRF) allocation.

The Department is also in the process of commissioning an independent national evaluation of the CRF, which will assess the delivery, impact, and value for money of the scheme as a whole.