Delivering a seamless transition to the Crisis & Resilience Fund at Oxfordshire

Oxfordshire trusted us to adjust their existing programme to access the government’s new three-year fund. We’re now up and running delivering their Crisis Support Scheme.

Longer-term funding

The Crisis & Resilience Fund (CRF) offers councils a three-year settlement to support residents in financial difficulty. Replacing the Household Support Fund, the CRF retains an application-based scheme for emergency payments while allowing funds to be directed to services that build resilience.

Having delivered Oxfordshire’s local hardship fund since 2023, we advised them on reshaping the service to meet the needs of the CRF – including the best way to introduce new forms of support – so they could be ready for 1 April 2026. Paul Wilding is the council’s Cost of Living Programme Manager:

NEC had been delivering our Resident Support Scheme successfully since 2023. It made sense for us to seek their advice on introducing the CRF and ask them to deliver our new Crisis Support Scheme going forward.

Paul Wilding, Cost of Living Programme Manager

End to end service and strategic advice

Our fully managed service for Oxfordshire starts with an accessible application process. Residents can apply online or by calling a local number, with all queries managed by our experienced team.

We then ensure quick decisions on eligibility and fast fulfillment of goods or vouchers. For the last three years, we have delivered support for food and energy costs within 24 hours of a successful application. This remains the case under the CRF, exceeding the guidance for a two-day turnaround.

We also manage complaints and appeals, keeping detailed notes and a full audit trail. And with information on call answering times, application processing times and case outcomes readily available, we help the council keep on top of standard reporting and ad hoc Freedom of Information requests.

Fast delivery of new oil payment scheme

In March 2026, the government announced support for residents in financial difficulty who relied on oil for energy. Our experience running other schemes enabled Oxfordshire to accept applications within two weeks, as Paul explains:

NEC developed a quick solution for oil payments based on its experience of delivering similar programmes elsewhere. With as many as 15% of Oxfordshire’s residents relying on oil as their fuel source, their knowledge was critical to getting us up and running quickly.

Paul Wilding, Cost of Living Programme Manager

Building local resilience

The CRF is also helping Oxfordshire to strengthen its relationship with voluntary and community sector organisations. These partners already play a vital role in our service delivery and support residents with applications. The certainty of the three-year funding settlement is now enabling closer alignment with other local programmes such as family hubs and holiday food schemes.

NEC helped us make a seamless transition to our new Crisis Support Scheme. Their expertise in all aspects of welfare assistance has been invaluable since 2023, and we look forward to continuing this successful partnership.

Paul Wilding, Cost Of Living Programme Manager