Welfare provision scheme

The welfare provision scheme can give you short term financial help in a crisis. The amount of help that can be given will depend on your circumstances.

The scheme is designed to help if you are unable to meet your short-term needs in a crisis, or where you need help to maintain your independence within the community.

You will only be able to apply twice in any 12-month period. Loans will be repayable, but grants will not be.

The welfare provision scheme could give you financial help for:

• moving out of institutional care
• furniture, white goods, beds and household equipment
• a disaster such as a serious flood or fire in your home
• gas and electricity
• minor repairs to white goods
• food
• clothing and footwear
• travel

These are only examples. If your situation is not mentioned it doesn’t mean you won’t get help.

You can make a claim if all of these apply:

• you are aged at least 16 years of age
• you are a resident of North Somerset
• you are in receipt of a qualifying benefit or waiting to hear about a claim for a qualifying benefit – Income Support, income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance, income-based Employment Support Allowance, Housing Benefit, Pension Credit, Universal Credit and Child Benefit (Child Benefit has been added to the qualifying benefit list in response to the COVID-19 crisis, and has been added for the purpose of crisis loans only)
• you do not have access to money that could be used to meet your needs
• any outstanding welfare provision scheme loan you have received in the last year has been repaid or a repayment plan has been setup
• you are without support, which could result in serious risk to your own or your family’s health and safety
• you have not have received – or are not eligible for – help from other public funds for the same needs

If you want to make a claim, you’ll need to call our welfare provision scheme team and you may need to provide evidence to support your application.

We will contact you once a decision has been made. We normally make awards in goods, services or vouchers which you will need to collect from us.

Funding for the welfare provision scheme is given every April, so the fund is limited. If the funds in the scheme have been used up, we won’t be able to help you – even if you are eligible for an award – until new funding is provided.

You can ask us to reconsider our decision if you’re not happy with the outcome. Your request must be made within five working days of the date we issued our decision.

To ask us to look at the decision again, call our welfare provision scheme team