What's available?

Community Care Grants – If you are leaving residential or institutional accommodation. (This means a place where you get a lot of help or supervision, like hospital or residential care). Or if you need help to stay in your own home, or you have had an unsettled way of life or are facing exceptional pressure.

Budgeting Loans – if you need things for your home or other things that you can’t pay for all at once and you get Income Support or Job-Seekers Allowance.

Crisis Loans – if you need immediate help with day-to-day living costs or something else in an emergency.

Sure Start Maternity Grants – If you need help to pay for things for a new baby and you or your partner get a low income or tax credit.

Funeral Payments – if you get a low-income benefit or tax credit and need help paying for a funeral.

Cold Weather Payments – if you or your partner are getting Income Support or income-based Job Seekers Allowance, and have a child under the age of 5, or you are disabled, or aged 60 or over.

Winter Fuel Payments – Aged 60 or over.

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Community Care Grants

If you are leaving residential or institutional accommodation. (This means a place where you get a lot of help or supervision, like hospital or residential care). Or if you need help to stay in your own home, or you have had an unsettled way of life or are facing exceptional pressure (e.g. family breakdown, someone in the family has a long-term illness).

Also may be available if you need help to stay in your own home or move home because of a disaster, need to move home because of a serious illness or disability, or need to move because of another urgent reason e.g. for your safety. Or you look after someone who is disabled or released from custody on temporary licence. Grants may also be available if you need help with expenses for something like visiting someone who is ill or to attend a relative’s funeral. Other similar serious situations are also considered.

Whether you can get a Community Care Grant will depend on your particular circumstances. Savings of over £500 will usually affect how much you can get.

Budgeting Loans

If you need things for your home or other things that you can’t pay for all at once and you have been getting Income Support or Job-Seekers Allowance for at least 26 weeks. These loans can help to spread the cost of things other than your regular expenses. The loans are interest free, but you have to pay them back.

They can be used for things such as buying furniture or household equipment, clothing, paying rent in advance, removal expenses for moving house, paying travel expenses, paying for things to help you look for or start work. Also can be used to spread the cost of improving, maintaining or securing your home, repaying hire purchase (HP) or other debts you took out to pay for any of the above. You can’t get a budgeting loan for anything else.

You can’t get a budgeting loan for >£1000, and total that you owe the Social Fund can’t be more than this. Whether you get a Budgeting Loan will depend on your personal circumstances and how much money is available for Budgeting Loans. You can’t get a Budgeting Loan for <£30. Before you get the money you will have to agree how you will pay it back. The money is usually taken off your Income Support or Income-based JSA.


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Crisis Loans

If you need immediate help with day-to-day living costs or something else in an emergency. You don’t need to be on benefits. This is an interest-free loan that you have to pay back. If you are unable to pay for basic living costs or something else that will be a serious risk to the health and safety of you or your family and you can’t get help any other way, then you could apply for a Crisis Loan.

Whether you can get a Crisis Loan will depend on your personal circumstances. If you have already borrowed money from the Social Fund and still owe money, it will affect how much you get. As with other Loans from the Social Fund, before you get any money you will have to agree how you will pay it back.

Sure Start Maternity Grants

If you need help to pay for things for a new baby and you or your partner get a low income or tax credit. This is a one-off payment and does not have to be paid back. You can claim from 11 weeks before the baby is due, until 3 months after the baby is born. The amount you get may be affected by savings over £500. If you are adopting, your baby must be aged under 12 months. You should claim within 3 months of adopting. If your baby is born by surrogacy, you or your partner must have a parental order. You should claim within 3 months of the order being made.


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Funeral Payments

If you get a low-income benefit or tax credit and need help paying for a funeral. This is a one-off payment and depends on your circumstances, not those of the person who has died. You can claim any time after the date the person died, and up to 3 months after the date of the funeral. It must have been reasonable for you to take responsibility for the costs. The funeral must usually be in the UK. The Payment may be affected by any other means of paying for the funeral. It will need to be paid back from the estate of the person who has died if they have left one.


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Cold Weather Payments

If you or your partner are getting Income Support or income-based Job Seekers Allowance, and have a child under the age of 5, or you are long-term sick or disabled, or aged 60 or over. This is paid during periods of very cold weather and there is no need to claim as it is paid automatically to those who are eligible. Periods of very cold weather means an average temperature at a specified weather station is recorded as, or forecast to be, 0oC or below over 7 consecutive days.


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Claiming

For more information, get in touch with your Social Security Office or see the Benefits Agency web site: www.dss.gov.uk