Lump Sum Grants And Loans For People On Low Incomes

The Social Fund is a system for making lump sum payments to some benefit claimants. It has two parts:

The Regulatory Social Fund provides Cold Weather Payments, Winter Fuel Payments, Sure Start Maternity Grants and Funeral Expenses Payments.

The Discretionary Social Fund provides Community Care Grants, Budgeting Loans and Crisis Loans. Each of these has its own set of conditions of entitlement and is intended to meet different needs.

Throughout the day we look at common difficulties and the best means of overcoming these. The aim is to promote understanding in a practical context - not to fill participants with detailed technical knowledge.

Course Content

The Regulatory Social Fund - briefly looking at the rules of entitlement for each type of payment

The Fundamental Principles Of The Discretionary Social Fund - looking at where the rules that govern this discretionary scheme come from. Examining the role of law and DSS guidance in the decision making process and the way the cash limited budget affects payments.

Budgeting Loans - we examine different costs that can be met, and the way in which the DSS use a scoring system to assign priority to applications.

Community Care Grants - covering all the eligibility conditions and focussing on Direction 4; the law, that allows some people to get grants. DSS officers interpret this rule very literally and applicants must meet strict conditions if they are to receive a grant.

Crisis Loans - discretionary payments that can be paid to help prevent serious risk to the health and safety of the applicant. We look at who can qualify and who is likely to be refused.

Social Fund Reviews - challenging decisions through the two-stage review process.