Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will amend the Heating Oil/LPG element of the Crisis and Resilience Fund support scheme announced on 16 March 2026, by broadening the eligibility criteria to include low and middle income households, advertising the scheme better and making it easier to apply for.

The Crisis and Resilience Fund (CRF), including the additional £27 million of heating oil support, is delivered by local authorities in England. As with the wider CRF, heating oil support is targeted at low-income households.

Within this and the broad scope of DWP’s national CRF guidance, local authorities have discretion over scheme design, eligibility criteria, and publicity of the available support. Crisis Payments can also be used to support energy costs for any form of fuel used for domestic heating, cooking, or lighting, including oil and LPG.

The CRF guidance includes clear requirements on accessibility and application routes for local authority schemes, to ensure support is available to those who may face barriers to applying and receiving support.