Data from 86 local authorities reveals that they awarded money to 13,734 under-25s to help them through a financial crisis, between April 2013 and January 2014.
However, in 2012/13 - the final year of crisis support being managed through the Social Fund - the same local authorities provided 116,410 crisis loans and community care grants to under-25s.
The dramatic fall in the number of young people being supported by local welfare schemes - under-25s account for just 21 per cent of the total funding awarded by the 86 councils - was described as "extremely concerning" by housing charity Centrepoint, which obtained the figures through a Freedom of Information (FOI) request to all upper-tier councils in England.
Centrepoint said one explanation for the drop in awards in 2013/14 is that local authorities have restrained the amount they spent because of concerns future cuts in government funding will leave them unable to provide emergency support beyond 2015.
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