Budgeting Loans are available through the DWP to those who meet the criteria.
The lowest amount you can borrow is £100. You could get up to:
To get a Budgeting Loan you must have been getting one or more of these benefits for the past 6 months:
For more information about Budgeting Loans and how to apply for one, go to www.gov.uk/budgeting-help-benefits
If you are on Universal Credit you cannot apply for a Budgeting Loan, but you can apply for a Budgeting Advance instead, see the Benefit Changes appendix for more information.
There are over 125 different Local Welfare Assistance schemes, with different names and criteria – ask your local Citizens Advice whether there is a welfare assistance scheme in your area and how you apply. Here again is the link to an easy-to-use tool that will help you find whether your council runs a local welfare scheme and if it doesn’t who else locally may be able to help endfurniturepoverty.org/local-welfare-provision-lwp/
By way of example, here is information relating to one particular scheme that covers Birmingham: www.birmingham.gov.uk/lwp
The Welsh government has set up a national scheme called the Discretionary Assistance Fund, here is the link: gov.wales/discretionary-assistance-fund-daf
The purpose of the fund is to offer payments or in-kind support to provide urgent assistance to people where there is an identified need to safeguard health and wellbeing. The fund can also be accessed to enable or maintain independent living.
These payments will be made available to people who have no other means of meeting the immediate cost of living and are not intended to meet the cost of ongoing expenses. Within the scheme there are two types of non-repayable grant support, Emergency Assistance Payments and Individual Assistance Payments.
Emergency Assistance Payments provide assistance in an emergency or when there is an immediate threat to health or wellbeing. Anyone over the age of 16 can be considered eligible for these payments to help meet expenses due to an emergency or because of a disaster. Generally a small payment of around £30 that can be accessed within 24 hours of a discharge grant running out. It is possible to apply for EAP a maximum of three times in a year and there must be at least 28 days between applications. EAP take around 24 hours to process, Monday to Friday.
Individual Assistance Payments meet an urgent identified need that enables or supports vulnerable citizens to establish themselves, or remain living independently in the community. If, for example, unfurnished living accommodation has been found for someone about to leave a bail hostel, it is possible to apply for IAP in order to buy a bed or various essential white goods. An application for IAP takes 10 days to process.
Payments are made as a PayPoint voucher, BACS payment or other specific vouchers, for example, for clothing. To be eligible applicants must be:
To see if you are eligible for support under the scheme and would like to make an application, please:
The Scottish Welfare Fund provides financial assistance through Community Care Grants and Crisis Grants. It is a national scheme run on behalf of the Scottish Government by local councils.
Community Care Grants aim to help vulnerable people set up home or continue to live independently, and also to help meet additional costs associated with looking after someone on temporary release from prison or a young offenders’ institution.
Crisis Grants are made to assist those facing a disaster or emergency like a fire or flood, losing your money or your job.
You may be eligible for assistance if you are aged 16 or over and on a low income or receiving benefits. Applications are submitted directly to the relevant local authority.
Further information and a link to local authorities details can be found online at www.mygov.scot/scottish-welfare-fund/