2. The discretionary social fundThe social fund is a government fund which makes payments to people in need.
The regulated social fund is for maternity costs, funeral costs and to help to cover the cost of winter fuel or severe cold weather.
The discretionary social fund provides grants and loans for urgently needed items, certain necessary journeys and other emergencies.
These payments are non-discretionary and clients are legally entitled to them if they satisfy the eligibility conditions. There are no capital rules (although certain assets and payments can be taken into account when you claim funeral expenses payments) for these payments. They are:
These are paid, during bouts of severe weather.
You get them if:
Payment is automatic (currently £25.00 a week).
For other help with heating see our Factsheet F53 - help with heating.
These are paid if you or your partner take responsibility for the costs of a funeral. To get them the following must apply:
The term "ordinarily resident" is not defined. It is taken to mean the place where you normally live for the time being if there is a degree of continuity about your stay and it can be described as being settled.
These are either child tax credit (if the amount of this is more than the family element), council tax benefit, housing benefit, income-related employment and support allowance, income-based jobseeker's allowance, income support , pension credit or working tax credit (if this includes the disabled worker or severe disability element).
A close relative is a parent, parent-in-law, son, son-in-law, daughter, daughter-in-law, brother, brother-in-law, sister, sister-in-law, stepson, stepson-in-law, stepdaughter, stepdaughter-in-law or step-parent.
The amount you will receive should be the costs of providing a simple funeral. These include the costs of purchasing a new burial plot or the costs of cremation (including any medical fees. Other costs that can be paid are:
Claim on SF200 from your local Department for Work and Pensions or Jobcentre Plus within 3 months of the date of the funeral.
You cannot get a funeral expenses payment if:
This is paid if you or someone in your family has had a baby in the last three months, or is expecting a child within the next 11 weeks, or has adopted a child. You can still claim it if the child is stillborn as long as the pregnancy has lasted 24 weeks.
You must be on either child tax credit (if the amount of this is more than the family element), income-related employment support allowance, income-based jobseeker's allowance, income support , pension credit or working tax credit (if this includes the disabled worker or severe disability element). Payment is £500.
Claim on form SF100 from your local Jobcentre Plus or antenatal clinic. This form must be signed by a health professional who confirms that you have received health and welfare advice about maternal and child health matters.
These are paid to help with heating in your home if you are age 60 or over in the week beginning 21 September 2009. The amount paid depends on your household circumstances during the 'qualifying week'.
If you or your partner do not receive pension credit (PC) income-related employment support allowance or income-based JSA and :
If you are receiving pension credit (PC), income-related employment support allowance or income-based JSA you will get £250 (or £400 if you or your partner, if you have one, are aged 80 or over) regardless of who else is in the household. If you are one of a couple and your partner receives PC, income-related employment support allowance, or income-based JSA, then he or she will receive the payment instead of you.
If you have been living in a care home for 13 weeks or more at the end of the qualifying week and are not getting income-related employment support allowance, income-based JSA or PC, you are entitled to £125 if you are aged 60-79, or £200 if you are aged 80 or over.
There is no need to make a claim if you received a payment last year or you are on a state benefit (not including child benefit, housing benefit or council tax benefit). Otherwise you must have made a claim before 30 March 2010 by ringing the Winter Fuel payment helpline on 08459 151515.
For other help with heating see our Factsheet F53 - help with heating.
2. The discretionary social fundThere are three types of help you can get from the discretionary social fund. These are:
Apart from satisfying the rules for an award from the discretionary social fund you may still be refused, or offered less money, because of budgetary constraints. Payment of budgeting and crisis loans can also be refused on the grounds that you are unable to pay the loan back.
It is always advisable to go for community care grants where possible, as these do not have to be paid back.
Wherever there is a refusal to pay, or less money is offered, you should always ask for the decision to be reviewed and get independent advice.
These are interest free repayable loans. Payment is limited to between £100 and £1500. This is reduced by any capital/savings in excess of £1000 or £2000 for those 60 and over.
To qualify you must have been on income support, income-related employment support allowance or income-based jobseeker's allowance or pension credit for 26 weeks.
You can only claim for:
The amount of loan offered depends on the budget and your personal circumstances - the number of people in your household and the length of time you have been they have been on qualifying benefits.
You claim from your local Department for Work and Pensions or Jobcentre Plus (or you can download the form) on form SF500.
Community care grants are intended to promote community as opposed to residential care. They enable you to buy essential items without having to pay the money back. Essential items include bedding, clothing, cookers, furniture and carpets. There is no limit to what is claimed though some items are excluded from the grant. The minimum payment awarded is usually £30 (but travelling expenses can be lower).
There is no upper limit. The grant is reduced by any capital/savings in excess of £500 or £1000 for those 60 and over.
To qualify you must be getting income support, pension credit, income-related employment support allowance or income-based jobseeker's allowance or be due to leave institutional or residential care within 6 weeks of your application for a community care grant and be likely to get one of these benefits when when you leave. You must also need the grant for one of the following purposes:
You claim from your local Department for Work and Pensions or Jobcentre Plus (or you can download the form) on form SF300.
These are for short-term (usually periods not exceeding 14 days) expenses payable in an emergency. You do not have to be on any other benefit but your "resources" will be considered when deciding whether to make a payment. To get a crisis loan:
Examples of types of emergency include loss of money, hardship due to payment of regular income in arrears, disaster (eg fire or flood) that has caused significant damage, emergency travel expenses (eg if you are stranded away from home), hardship due to compulsory unpaid holiday, fares to hospital for patients, fuel reconnection charges and homelessness. Some items are excluded.
The amount of any crisis loan awarded is the smallest amount needed to tide you over or remove the crisis. There is no minimum amount. The maximum amount that can be paid is £1,500 less any other social fund loan outstanding. You also cannot be awarded more than you can afford to repay.
You claim by ringing the Jobcentre Plus claimline 0800 055 6688 or at your local Jobcentre Plus office. You can also download the form SF401.
In Northern Ireland you can call freephone 0800 028 8822 (Calls from mobile phones are charged at the standard rate).
Note: From the 14 December 2009 those making applications for a crisis loan for living expenses (other than for loans to cover the period before a claimant receives their first payment of benefit or wages) may be required to attend a face to face interview (see SI 2009/3033 and SR 2009/392). It is intended that this will apply when you make a third application.
Claimants will also be limited to no more than three crisis loan awards for living expenses in any 12 month period.
If you are not entitled to income support, income-related employment support allowance, pension credit or income-based jobseeker's allowance, because you are a full-time student, you can only get a crisis loan to alleviate the consequences of a disaster.
If you disagree with a decision you can ask the decision maker to look at his or her decision again (this is known as a revision). You have one month from the date of your decision to do this. You will need to provide additional information to support your case and should get a local advice centre to help you.
If the decision is not changed you can appeal to a tribunal. You have another month from the date of the new decision to do this.
For more information on this see our Factsheet F36 - reconsideration and appeal - the basics.
You can ask for an internal review of any decision made by a decision maker, including the refusal of a payment, or the amount awarded (you can accept the payment pending review of the amount). You must do this in writing within 28 days of the date the decision was issued to you. The time limit can be extended if there are ‘special reasons’.
The review is carried out by a reviewing officer in the office that made the decision. If the decision is not revised in your favour, you will be asked if you want an interview by telephone. If it is difficult or inappropriate for you to use the telephone, you can be interviewed at the local office, and you can take a representative with you to help present your case.
The interview can be held at your home if you cannot attend the office or deal with it by phone.
Due to a backlog in reviews, temporary measures have been introduced where only one attempt will be made to contact you. If it is not successful, the review will be carried out without you.
For reviews concerning budgeting loans, the reviewing officer will only look at your circumstances at the time of the original decision (you can submit new evidence relating to the time of the decision). For other reviews, changes of circumstances since the decision can be taken into account, including changes in the level of the district budget.
If you are not happy with a review decision made by a reviewing officer, you can ask for a further review by a social fund inspector based at the Independent Review Service in Birmingham . The inspectors are independent from the DWP but must take into account the same matters as decision makers when deciding whether to change a decision.
You should apply direct to the Independent Review Service on form IRS1 within 28 days of the day the decision was issued to you. The social fund inspector can accept a late application if there are special reasons.
For more information on this see our Disability Rights Handbook.
You can get help at a local advice centre, such as a citizen's advice bureau. You can get more information about this from our factsheet F15, Finding a local advice centre, which is available at www.disabilityalliance.org/f15.htm.
You can also find out more information about the social fund in Disability Alliance's Disability Rights Handbook, available to buy at www.disabilityalliance.org/drh35.htm.
You can obtain copies of our factsheets by contacting Disability Alliance on 020 7247 8776 (voice and minicom) or by fax on 020 7247 8765.
www.disabilityalliance.org - 2 December 2009
