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The Social Fund helps people one certain benefits or a low income to pay for one-off expenses. The Social Fund offers two types of payments:
Regulated payments - these are payments made in specific circumstances and they must be paid if you meet all the eligibility criteria. The regulated payments are:
- Funeral payments - help for people getting certain benefits (including Income Support, Pension Credit, income-based Jobseeker's Allowance) who are responsible for paying for the funeral of a close friend or relative
- Winter fuel payments - lump sum payment to help people over 60 to meet extra heating costs each winter
- Cold weather payments - weekly payment for people in receipt of specific benefits during periods of extremely cold weather
- Sure Start Maternity Grant - lump sum payment for families in receipt of specific benefits around the time of the birth or adoption of their child
Discretionary payments - these are loans and grants that can be applied for to help meet larger expenses that can't be met through weekly benefits, or for help in an emergency. Each payment has eligibility criteria that must be met (e.g. which benefits you must be getting and how long you have been getting them for) but once they are met, whether money is awarded and how much is at the discretion of the DWP. The discretionary payments are:
- Community Care Grants - these are grants (i.e. do not have to be paid back) for people getting Pension Credit, Income Support or income-based Jobseeker's Allowance. The purpose of the grant is to help people to stay in the community rather than move to residential care, to set up home after being homeless, to ease pressures on their family or to visit someone who is ill or in prison
- Budgeting Loans - these are interest-free loans for people getting Pension Credit, Income Support or income-based Jobseeker's Allowance. The purpose of these loans is to help people to be able to meet larger expenses e.g. furniture, that they would otherwise find it hard to save up for
- Crisis Loans - these can be paid to anyone who has no resources to meet their immediate needs in an emergency e.g. if your weekly benefit money is stolen
How to claim
Contact your local Jobcentre Plus office for more information about Social Fund payments and how to claim them.