The system of “local welfare” schemes set up less than five years ago to provide emergency help to England’s poorest families, often to help them cope...

The system of “local welfare” schemes set up less than five years ago to provide emergency help to England’s poorest families, often to help them cope with delays and sanctions to their benefits, is on the (A) of collapse, say poverty campaigners. (B) A survey of more than 150 council-run schemes by Church Action on Poverty found that nearly a quarter had been shutted down since 2013, while a further quarter have reduced spending by 85% or more. More are expected to close in the next few months. (C) The destitution (1) of local welfare would put tens of thousands of vulnerable (2) people at increased risk (3) of hunger, debt and demise (4), the charity said. The system was designed to help people on low incomes deal with unexpected hardship, (D):------------------, or domestic crises such as broken boilers, house fires and flooding. Huge cuts to council budgets have left the system, which replaced the old social fund, struggling to survive. Provision is so uneven that thousands of people cannot access emergency help from the state, Church Action on Poverty said. “Local authority welfare schemes are increasingly (E), leaving families in many areas with nowhere to turn for help,” said the bishop of Manchester, David Walker. “It cannot be right for central and local government to (F) abdicate responsibility for people in crisis when they need our help most.” In many areas, the most common reason for an application for crisis support is delays or sanctions to benefits, with some councils noting that the five-week minimum wait for a first universal credit payment is an emerging factor in rising demand. Universal credit claimants facing hardship who contact Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) helplines for help are routinely directed to local welfare schemes in their areas if they do not qualify for official advance loans or hardship funds. Church leaders and anti-poverty charities called on ministers to make local welfare provision a legal duty for top-tier councils, and to provide ringfenced funding to protect crisis services. The 153 councils that responded to the survey collectively reduced spending on local welfare by an average of 72% between 2013-2014 and 2017- 2018. (G) Local welfare provision replaced the discretionary social fund, which in its final year spent £240m in crisis loans and community care grants. (H) It was going (1) to councils with DWP funding (2) in 2013 but that cash was stopped (3) in 2015, with councils left to decide whether to keep the schemes devolved (4). Huge budget pressures faced by councils mean even authorities that have protected local welfare in the past are proposing drastic cuts. West Sussex county council recently unveiled plans for an 80% reduction in its £800,000 crisis fund from next April. (I) Local welfare has been controversially as most councils refuse to give cash payments to clients in crisis, choosing instead to offer supermarket food vouchers or refer them to food banks. In one case, Isle of Wight council offered a 62-year-old homeless woman a voucher to buy a tent. Only two English councils – Islington in north London and North Tyneside in the north-east – had higher local welfare budget cash totals year compared with 2013, by 12% and 4% respectively. Niall Cooper, the director of Church Action on Poverty, said: “The (J) …………… of the social fund was that people could stay afloat and hopefully ride out a crisis, rather than sinking deeper into poverty. A lifeline in times of emergency is a vital part of a compassionate society, but it has been withdrawn in many places and neglected almost everywhere.”

Which of the following words should be placed at the position marked as (E) in the given paragraph to make it grammatically correct and contextually meaningful? The chosen word should also correctly complete the following sentences:

(i) After living in the woods for a week without supplies, my ____________ clothing was not protecting me from the elements.

(ii) The Defence Department generally defended its existing programs, though the rationale for them was growing __________________.