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Information on The Social
Fund at Focus on Disability
This benefit is dealt with by Jobcentre Plus. The Social Fund provides
lump sum payments, grants and loans. Loans and Community Care Grants from
the Social Fund are discretionary and not for a standard amount. Savings
of £500 or more (£1,000 for those aged 60 or over) may affect
how much you get. You may be able to get help from the Social Fund for
important costs that are hard to pay for out of your regular income.
If you are leaving
residential or institutional accommodation, need help to stay in your
own home, have had an unsettled way of life, or are facing exceptional
pressure, you may be able to get a Community
Care Grant.
(Residential or institutional
accommodation means a place where you get a lot of care or supervision,
like hospital, prison or residential care and nursing homes.)
If you need things
for your home or other things that you cannot pay for in a lump sum, and
you get Income
Support, income-based Jobseeker's
Allowance or Pension Credit, or payment on account of one of these
benefits, you may be able to get a Budgeting
Loan.
If you need immediate
help with day-to-day living costs or something else in an emergency, you
may be able to get a Crisis
Loan.
If you need help to
buy things for a new baby and you or your partner get a low-income benefit
or tax credit, you may be able to get a Sure
Start Maternity Grant.
(We use partner to
mean a person you are married to or a person you are living with as if
you are married to them).
If you get a low-income
benefit or tax credit and need help towards paying for a funeral, you
may be able to get a Funeral
Payment - see below.
If you or your partner
are getting Income Support, income-based Jobseeker's Allowance or Pension
Credit, and have a child aged under 5, or you are disabled or aged 60
or over, you may be able to get a Cold
Weather Payment.
Winter
Fuel Payments are paid to eligible households that include someone
aged 60 or over to help with their winter fuel bills.
Definitions
The European Economic Area (EEA) is made up of all European Union (EU)
countries: Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece,
Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal, Republic of Ireland, Spain,
Sweden and the United Kingdom (UK), plus Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway.
Switzerland is not a member of the EEA, but as a result of an agreement
with the EU that came into force on 1 June 2002, the EU rules on social
security also apply to Switzerland.
UK means England, Scotland,
Wales and Northern Ireland but not the Channel Islands or the Isle of
Man.
Great
Britain means England, Scotland and Wales
Information
taken from Department of Work and Pensions under Crown Copyright
Funeral payments:
You are entitled to a funeral payment if:
You, or your partner,
have been awarded a qualifying benefit at the time of your claim (income
support, income-based JSA, working families tax credit, disabled person’s
tax credit, housing benefit or council tax benefit); and
You, or your partner,
accept responsibility for the costs of a funeral (ie you have paid
or are liable to pay for them), which takes place in the UK ( or other
European Economic Areas where agreements have been made); and
The deceased was ordinarily
resident in the UK when she/he died; and
You claim within the
time limits; and
You do not have to much
capital; and
You fall into one of
the groups of people who are eligible to claim.
You can only claim if you fall into one of the following
groups;
You were the partner of the deceased
when he/she died, or before either of you entered residential or nursing
care (ie you were married, or unmarried and of the opposite sex and
living together as husband and wife).The deceased was a child you were
responsible for and there is no ‘absent parent’ (unless
he/she is getting a qualifying benefit), or the deceased was a stillborn
child.You were a ‘close relative’
or a close friend of the deceased. Close relative means parent (or
parent-in-law), son (-in-law), daughter (in-law), brother (in-law),
sister (in-law), stepson/daughter (in-law) or step parent. You can
only get a payment as close relative or friend if it is reasonable
for you to accept responsibility for the funeral costs, given the
nature and extent of your contact with the deceased. You
cannot get a payment , however, if; The deceased had a partner; orThere is a parent, son or daughter
of the deceased who is not either getting a qualifying benefit; or
in prison or hospital immediately following a period on a qualifying
benefit; or under 18; or aged 18 and in full time education; or a
fully maintained member of a religious order; or someone who was estranged
from the deceased; or
There is a ‘close relative’
(see above) of the deceased aged 18 or over who was in closer contact
with him or her than you were ( or had equally close contact and is
not getting a qualifying benefit, or has over £500 capital ( and more
capital than you have £1000 if h/she is aged 60 or over)
How much:
The following costs can be met:
In the case of burial, the necessary
cost of purchasing a new burial plot with exclusive rights plus necessary
burial fees or, in the case of cremation, necessary cremation fess,
including medical certificates and fees.The cost of documentation required
to release the deceased’s assets.The reasonable cost of transport
for the portion of the journey in excess of 50 miles, undertaken to
transport the body within the UK to a funeral directors premises or
to a place of rest and to transport the coffin, bearers and mourners
in two vehicles to the funeral.The necessary costs of one
return journey from your home, for you or your partner to arrange
or attend the funeral, if you are responsible for the funeral costs.
Up to £700 for other funeral expenses
(£120 if you have a pre-paid funeral plan which does not cover these
expenses).
The following amounts are deducted
from an award of a funeral payment (you should also note that a funeral
payment is recoverable from the deceased’s estate):
Any capital you , or your partner,
have above £500 (£1000 if either of you is aged 60 or over). Capital
is worked out as for income support, except that a widows payment
(£1000) is ignored for 12 months after your husbands deathAny of the deceased’s assets
which are available to you without probate or letters of administration;Any lump sum due to you on the
death of the deceased from an insurance policy, occupational pension,
war pension, burial club or similar scheme;Any contribution towards the funeral
costs from a charity or relative of your’s or the deceased’s;
Any amount from a prepaid funeral
plan or similar scheme.
Note that any payment from the MacFarlane
or Eileen Trusts or the Fund are ignored.
How to claim: Claim on form
SF200 (available from Jobcentre Plus) You must claim at any time from the date
of death up to 3 months after the date of the funeral. If you are waiting
for a decision on a qualifying benefit, you should still claim within
the time limits and then re-claim within 3 months of being awarded a qualifying
benefit.
See also: Cold Weather Payment - Help with Heating Costs and Winter Fuel Payment - Help with Heating Costs and Bill
Appeals:
If you disagree with any decision
relating to ‘grants available by right’, you can appeal to a
tribunal.
Further help with the Social Fund can be found from The Independent Review
Service (IRS) at:
http://www.irs-review.org.uk - useful information about the social fund, as well as details of how
to apply for an independent review.
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