Fillable Printable Bugeting Loans from the Social Fund - UK
Fillable Printable Bugeting Loans from the Social Fund - UK
Bugeting Loans from the Social Fund - UK
Budgeting Loans
from the Social Fund
Part of the Department for
Work and Pensions
Please read these notes carefully. They explain the
circumstances when a loan can be paid. Different circumstances
apply to payments of Community Care Grants and Crisis Loans.
If you think you may be eligible for either of these types of
payments, read the section on the other side of this page.
You will need to fill in the right application form for the type of
payment you need. These are:
● form SF300 for a Community Care Grant
● form SF500 for a Budgeting Loan
● form SF401 for a Crisis Loan
● form SF100 (Sure Start) for a Sure Start Maternity Grant
● form SF200 for a Funeral Payment
You must fill in a separate form for each one.
SF500 04/08
We cannot help with any other types of items or services.
Budgeting Loans have to be paid back but they are interest free.
You can have one of three rates of Budgeting Loan. The amount depends on whether you
are single, a couple without children or qualifying young persons or a one or two parent
family with children or qualifying young persons.
The amount of Budgeting Loan you can have also depends on whether you have any other
budgeting loans from the Social Fund. The amount of any Budgeting Loan we may pay
together with the amount you still owe the Social Fund cannot be more than £1,500.
Savings
● If you and your partner are aged under 60, savings of more than £1,000 may affect the
amount of money you can get.
● If you or your partner are aged 60 or over, savings of more than £2,000 may affect the
amount of money you can get.
We cannot make a payment for a loan if you already owe £1,500 or more to the
Social Fund.
We cannot pay a Budgeting Loan for expenses of less than £100.
Notes sheet
Budgeting Loans
● You may be able to get a Budgeting Loan if:
you have been getting Income Support, income-based
Jobseeker’s Allowance, Pension Credit or payment on account
of one of these benefits or entitlements for at least 26 weeks
and
● You need help
– to buy furniture or household equipment
– to buy clothing and footwear
– to pay rent in advance and/or removal expenses to secure
fresh accommodation
– to pay for home improvements, maintenance or security
– with travelling expenses within the UK
– to pay for things to help you look for or start work
– to repay HP or other debts that have been taken out.
How we decide what we can pay you
The decision maker will look at the relevant circumstances and decide the maximum size
of Budgeting Loan you can have, if you have no existing Social Fund debt. Whether or
not you can have a loan of up to that amount will depend on if you already have a
budgeting loan debt.
● We use partner to mean
– a person you are married to or a person you live with as if you are married to them, or
– a civil partner or a person you live with as if you are civil partners.
● We use child to mean a person aged under 16 who you are getting Child Benefit for.
● We use qualifying young person to mean a person aged 16, 17, 18 or 19 who you are
getting Child Benefit for.
Page number 1 of 14 of this pdf
Notes
How you pay back a loan
● We will look at what you can afford before we decide on the
arrangements for repayments.
● If we can pay you a Budgeting Loan, we may make you up to
three different offers. It will be up to you which of these offers
you can afford to pay back. We may not be able to lower the
repayment rate if you later feel you cannot afford the rate you
originally agree to.
● If we can pay you a Budgeting Loan, we will ask you to agree to
repay it and also to agree the way you will repay it before we
make the payment.
● We will take the money back in weekly repayments from your
benefit. If you or your partner do not get any benefit, we will
arrange for the loan to be repaid in another way.
● If you have problems later on making the repayments as
originally agreed, we may be able to help, for example reducing
your payments by extending the repayment period. Your
Jobcentre Plus office can give you advice.
About your application
● you are moving because you have had an unsettled way of life and an
organisation like a council or charity are resettling you, or
● you need help to travel for special reasons, or you need help because a
prisoner or young offender is going to be living with you while they are on
release on a temporary license.
Community Care grants do not have to be paid back.
Savings
● If you and your partner are aged under 60, savings of more than £500 may
affect the amount of money you can get.
● If you or your partner are aged 60 or over, savings of more than £1,000 may
affect the amount of money you can get.
These notes give general guidance only and should not be
treated as a complete and authoritative statement of the law.
Community Care Grants
You may be able to get a Community Care Grant if
● you are already getting Income Support, income-based
Jobseeker’s Allowance or Pension Credit.
or
● you are likely to be getting Income Support, income-based
Jobseeker’s Allowance, Pension Credit or payment on account
of one of these benefits or entitlements, in the next six weeks
because you are leaving institutional care or residential care.
and
● you are moving out of institutional care or residential care, or
● you need help to stay in your own home, or
● your family is having very difficult problems, or
Crisis Loans
You may be able to get a Crisis Loan if
● you are aged 16 or over
and
● in an emergency or because of a disaster, you do not have enough money
to meet the immediate needs of yourself and your family, if you have one
and
● there is no other way to prevent serious damage or serious risk to the
health, or safety, of yourself or a member of your family.
You also may be able to get a Crisis Loan if you need help with paying rent
in advance
● either in an emergency or as a consequence of a disaster, or
● to a non-local authority landlord because you are moving out of a care
home or institutional care and a Community Care Grant is being paid to
establish you in the community.
Crisis Loans have to be paid back but they are interest free.
Help and advice
If you want more information
● Get in touch with Jobcentre Plus. You can find the phone number and address in
the business section of the phone book. Look under
Jobcentre Plus. You can
also get more information from our website. The address is
www.dwp.gov.uk
or
● Get in touch with an advice centre like the Citizens Advice Bureau.
Tear off this page to keep for your information
▲
Page number 2 of 14 of this pdf
About you and your partner
Part 1
For office use only
Application number
Date of SFCS input
/ /
Date decision made
/ /
Initials
Signature
1
SF500 04/08
● Before you complete this form, please read the notes sheet which
tells you about all types of help you can get from the Social Fund.
● Use this form to apply for a Budgeting Loan. Complete this form in
ink, sign and date any alterations you make.
● If you are getting Income Support, income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance
or Pension Credit, the person who both claims and gets paid that benefit
or entitlement should fill in this form.
You Your partner
Surname or family
name
Other surnames you
have been known by
National Insurance (NI)
number
Letters Numbers Letter Letters Numbers Letter
Mr / Mrs / Miss / Ms
All other names in full
Mr / Mrs / Miss / Ms
You can find the number on your National Insurance
(NI) numbercard, letters about your benefit or payslips
You can find the number on their National Insurance
(NI) numbercard, letters about their benefit or payslips
Address where you
live now
Tell us your partner’s
address, if different
Postcode Postcode
// //
What is this number?
Please tick
Code Number Code Number
workHome mobile fax faxworkHome mobile
Are you or your partner
involved in a trade dispute?
We use trade dispute to mean
a strike, walk-out, lock-out or
any other dispute about work.
No
Yes
No
Yes
● Tell us about yourself and your partner, if you have one.
We use
partner to mean
– a person you are married to or a person you live with as if you are
married to them, or
– a civil partner or a person you live with as if you are civil partners.
● Fill in the form fully by answering all the questions and requests for
information.
Your application may be delayed if we do not have all
the information we need.
Date of birth
Daytime phone number
Budgeting
Loans
from the
Social Fund
Page number 3 of 14 of this pdf
2
Part 2
About your children or qualifying young persons
Are you getting Income Support or
income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance for
your children or qualifying young persons?
No
Yes
How much do you receive weekly?
Are you getting Child Tax Credit for your
children or qualifying young persons?
No
Yes
How much do you receive weekly?
Are you getting Child Benefit for your children
or qualifying young persons?
No
Yes
How much do you receive weekly?
About what you need
Part 3
//
Please tell us about any children or qualifying
young persons you are getting a benefit or
entitlement for.
Date of birthName
//
// //
// //
Name Date of birth
£
£
£
Furniture and household
equipment
Rent in advance or removal
expenses to secure fresh
accommodation
Travelling expenses
within the UK
Improvement, maintenance and
security of the home
Expenses associated with
seeking or re-entering work
Repaying HP and other debts –
for any items or expenses
which are associated with the
categories above
Clothing and footwear
Budgeting loans can only be given for the
types of items or services listed in this part.
Please enter the total amount you need in the
Total amount applied for box for what you
need. Also tick the other category boxes that
apply to you.
We do not need any more information for this
part.
Total amount applied for
£
● We use child to mean a person aged under 16 who you are
getting Child Benefit for.
● We use qualifying young person to mean a person aged 16,
17, 18 or 19 who you are getting Child Benefit for.
● If you have more than 6 children or qualifying young persons, tell us about them in Part 8
More information
.
Page number 4 of 14 of this pdf
3
About benefits and entitlements
Part 4
Are you or your partner currently getting
Income Support, income-based
Jobseeker’s Allowance, Pension Credit or
payment on account of one of these
benefits or entitlements?
No
Go to Part 8.
Yes Tell us the date you have
been getting any of these
benefits or entitlements in
the last 26 weeks.
Has a partner or an ex-partner received
Income Support, income-based
Jobseeker’s Allowance, Pension Credit or
payment on account of one of these
benefits or entitlements for you, in the last
26 weeks?
No
Yes
Tell us about this person.
Their name
Their National Insurance (NI)
number
Their address
Postcode
//
Date of birth
/ /
Date of separation
//
//
From To
//
//
From To
Have you made this claim because you
have separated from someone?
No
Yes
Tell us about the person you have separated from.
Their name
Their date of birth
/ /
Page number 5 of 14 of this pdf
4
Part 5
About money you have to pay out
Do you or your partner have any savings?
If you or your partner are aged under 60, savings
of more than £1,000 may affect the amount of
money you can get.
If you or your partner are aged 60 or over, savings
of more than £2,000 may affect the amount of
money that you can get.
Savings means any capital you and your partner
have, including
● any money you have at home, in the bank or in
the building society
● premium bonds
● investments, such as shares or unit trusts.
● the value of any property you or your partner
own that you do not live in. For example, a
house you let out, a holiday home, or
somewhere another member of your family lives.
No
Yes
How much do you have?
£
Who do you pay the money to? How much are you paying and how often ? How much is owed ?
About savings
Part 6
Please tell us about any money that you or
your partner have to pay out regularly, but do
not include normal living expenses like gas
and electric charges or food bills.
Include things like catalogue money, hire
purchase, loan payments and fines.
● If you need more space, use the box in Part 8.
£
£ every
£
£ every
£
£ every
Page number 6 of 14 of this pdf
5
Making payments to you
Part 7
We normally pay your money direct into an account.
You can use a bank, building society or other account provider. Many banks and
building societies will let you collect cash at the post office.
How we will pay you
We will tell you when your Social Fund payment will be made and how much it is for.
Finding out how much we have paid into the account
You can check your payment on the account statement. The statements may show
your National Insurance (NI) number next to payments that are from us. If you think
your payment is wrong, get in touch with the office that pays you straight away.
If we pay you too much money
We have the right to recover any money paid to you, which you are not entitled to.
This may be because of the way the Direct Payment system works. For example, you
may give us information which means you are entitled to less money, but we may
not be able to change the amount we have already sent out. If this happens, we will
contact you before we recover any money.
What to do now
● Tell us about the account you want to use on the next page. By giving us your
account details you are agreeing to be paid by Direct Payment and understand
the information above about being overpaid.
● If you intend to open an account, please give us your account details as soon as
you have them.
● If you do not have an account, and do not intend to open one, please tick the box
and we will contact you.
Payment direct into an account
Please continue to fill in the claim form and send it to us now.
Page number 7 of 14 of this pdf
6
Part 7
Making payments to you
continued
About the account you want to use
Name of the account holder
Please write the name of the account holder exactly as it is shown
on the chequebook or statement.
Full name of bank, building society or other account provider
Sort Code
Please tell us all six numbers, for example: 12-34-56.
Account number
Most account numbers are 8 numbers long. If your account number has
fewer than 10 numbers, please fill in the numbers from the left.
Building society roll or reference number
If you are using a building society account you may need to tell us a roll
or reference number. This may be made up of letters and numbers, and
may be up to 18 characters long. If you are not sure if the account has a
roll or reference number, ask the building society.
Please tell us your account details below. It is very important you
complete ALL boxes correctly including the building society roll
or reference number if you have one. If you tell us the wrong
account details your payment may be delayed or you may lose
money.
You can find the account details on your chequebook or
bank statements. If you are not sure about the details, ask the bank,
building society or other account provider.
You may be getting other benefits and entitlements that are not paid direct into
an account. To have them paid into the above account, please tick the box.
About the account you want to use
You can use
● an account in your name
● a joint account, or
● someone else’s account,
– subject to the terms and conditions of the account, and
– as long as you have the other person’s permission and authorise them
to use the money in the way you tell them.
● If you are an Appointee or a legal representative acting on behalf of the
customer, the account should be in your name only.
● To be paid into a credit union account you must provide the credit union’s
account details. Your credit union will be able to help you with this.
Page number 8 of 14 of this pdf
7
Other information
Part 8
Please provide details of your local
post office
Postcode
Post office details
Please use this space to tell us anything else you think we might need to know. If there is not
enough space, use a separate sheet of paper.
Make sure that you put your full name and National Insurance (NI) number on any separate sheets.
If you have any other documents that you think will help us to decide your application, send a copy
of these documents.
Page number 9 of 14 of this pdf
8
For people filling in and signing this form for someone else
Part 9
Have you filled this form in for someone else?
No
Go to Part 10.
Yes Please tell us about yourself
Please tell us why you are filling in and
signing this form for someone else.
I am sending a letter signed by
the customer with this form.
The letter tells you that they
agree to me making the claim
for them.
I am their appointee
I have power of attorney
Now sign this form in
Part 10.
Full name
Mr / Mrs / Miss / Ms
Address
Postcode
Date of birth
//
Phone number
Code Number
workHome mobile fax
What is this number?
Please tick
Now sign this form in Part 10.
Page number 10 of 14 of this pdf
9
Declaration
Part 10
/ /
Signature
Date
/ /
Appointee’s signature
Date
I declare
that the information I have given on this form is
correct and complete as far as I know and believe.
I understand that if I knowingly give information that is
incorrect or incomplete, I may be liable to prosecution or other
action.
I understand that I must promptly tell the office that pays my
benefit of anything that may affect my entitlement to, or the
amount of, any award.
This is my application for a Budgeting Loan.
The person who made the claim for Income Support,
income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance or Pension Credit
and who gets paid that benefit or entitlement should sign
and date this form.
I have read back to the customer the entries I made on this
form based on the information given by them.
The customer has agreed they are correct.
/ /
Interviewing officer’s
signature
Date
/ /
Customer’s signature
Date
Page number 11 of 14 of this pdf
