Social workers left to plug the gaps in a “broken system” with their own money

Hundreds of social workers are continuing to use their own money to support people in crisis, despite the introduction of a new government hardship fund, according to research by the Social Workers Union.

The findings raise questions about whether the forthcoming Crisis and Resilience Fund—set to launch on 1 April—will be sufficient to address gaps in emergency support that frontline practitioners say are forcing them to step in personally.

More than 380 social workers took part in the union’s survey, conducted last summer, with many reporting they had felt compelled to cover the cost of basic essentials for people they support.

The vast majority (87%) said they had paid for food, while others reported covering public transport (36%), clothing (26%), cleaning supplies (24%) and topping up energy prepayment meters (19%) to keep households warm.

Three quarters (75%) said they were unable to claim back the money they spent.

While over half (58%) described these situations as rare, more than a quarter (27%) said they were using their own money every month, and nearly one in ten (9%) said this was happening even more frequently. Although most reported spending under £25 at a time, one in twenty said they had spent more than £100.

The Crisis and Resilience Fund, introduced by the UK Government, is intended to provide faster emergency financial support to households facing hardship.

However, the union warned that unless access to support becomes significantly quicker and less bureaucratic, social workers may still be left responding to urgent need themselves.

According to the research, 86% of respondents had attempted to access existing support such as foodbanks, local authority household funds and charities. But in 70% of cases, they said the situation was too urgent to wait for systems they described as complex or slow.

John McGowan, General Secretary of the Social Workers Union, said the findings point to systemic failings.

“It cannot be right that social workers are left to plug the gaps in a broken support system with their own money. While the new Crisis and Resilience Fund is a welcome step, it will not solve the problem on its own if support remains slow, complex or hard to access in an emergency.”

“The data paints a stark picture of a safety net riddled with delays and gaps. The true test of the new Fund moving forward will be to see if it means that local and national governments act urgently to ensure help is there when it is needed.”

More than a third (36%) of respondents said helping people in this way had put their own finances at risk, underlining the wider impact of the cost-of-living crisis on the workforce.

Nearly 600 social workers took part in the research last year, with 380 saying they had provided direct financial support to service users. They described a system in which delays, restrictions and digital barriers left them with little choice but to act.

One practitioner said they had paid for items themselves to avoid lengthy application processes that were often unsuccessful, while another reported strict limits on food bank vouchers in their area. Others highlighted difficulties faced by people unable to access online systems or navigate complex forms.

Some respondents suggested that, in certain cases, there was no longer any meaningful support available to apply for.

The findings highlight the tension between policy intentions and frontline realities, with practitioners continuing to respond to immediate need in the absence of timely statutory support.

For the social work sector, the research raises concerns not only about the adequacy of crisis provision, but also about the ethical and financial pressures placed on practitioners when formal systems fail to respond quickly enough.

With the new fund due to come into force, attention is likely to focus on whether it can reduce reliance on informal, personal interventions—or whether social workers will continue to act as a last financial safety net for the people they support.