As part of the Social Fund reform proposals, a 2 changes to the Crisis Loans process have been decided. The changes are as follows:

1. When a person makes a third application for a Crisis Loan for living expenses in a rolling 12 month period, they will now be asked to attend an interview in person.

2. Crisis Loans will be limited to 3 per 12 month rolling period, unless the need arises due to a disaster or circumstances beyond the claimant's control.

Crisis Loans for alignment to benefit are not included (for example, if you have requested a crisis loan to "tide you over" until you receive a decision on a new benefit claim, you will not be asked to attend an interview in person, and you will not be counted towards the limit of 3 per 12 month rolling period)

A wider consultation for a reform of the Social Fund is planned for late 2009. Dates not yet known.

**Please note that the new process still only applies in the Pathfinder areas (South West Region, the East Midlands Region and the Glasgow District). Info regarding this, and more about benefits in this month's issue of "Touchbase": http://www.dwp.gov.uk/docs/touchbase-56.pdf

Social Fund Guide: http://www.dwp.gov.uk/docs/social-fund-guide.pdf

thats if you can get through to them on the phone

Is there a limit to the amount you can get in crisis loans?

I've heard you can go up to £1500 in total, but don't have it on good authority.

thats if you can get through to them on the phone

Indeed.

However, although the preferred manner to claim is by phone, you are still entitled to complete a paper application and either post or fax it to them. The form is SF401:

http://www.dwp.gov.uk/advisers/claimforms/sf401_print.pdf

Regardless, the DWP must deal with a claim for living expenses on the day that claim is received. Other Crisis Loan applications (for example, for furniture) should be decided in two working days.

Is there a limit to the amount you can get in crisis loans?

 

I've heard you can go up to £1500 in total, but don't have it on good authority.

£1500.00 is the total Social Fund debt a person can have. The limit is the same for an individual and for couples.

Bugeting loans have individual limits per application but are still incorporated into the overall figure of £1500.00 maximum social fund debt.

and how long do they have to deal with a claim, be it by fax, letter or otherwise?, i imagine a fax be more or less instantainably, and if so how long must it be before they answer,

sorry that is a roundabout question but interestingly to know as i may go to the library tommorow, (providing they have fax facilitys).

As above - the answer for living expenses should be given on the same day of the claim's receipt, all other crisis loans within two working days.

Most CAB offices have fax machines, if your local library doesn't.

Conatct numbers for JCP: http://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/18174/response/46680/attach/html/2/FoI%201905%2002.10.09.doc.html

£1500.00 is the total Social Fund debt a person can have. The limit is the same for an individual and for couples.

 

Bugeting loans have individual limits per application but are still incorporated into the overall figure of £1500.00 maximum social fund debt.

Thanks Erika.

No problem, Fitz

Hi, Im trying to get a crisis loan at the moment to furnish a new house for myself, partner and two children, I got there reply today and it says that they dont consider an unfurnished house as a safety risk, my children are 3 years and 15 months of age. I asked for funding to get a carpet as the house isnt carpeted, your help and advice would be very much appreciated.

As part of the Social Fund reform proposals, a 2 changes to the Crisis Loans process have been decided. The changes are as follows:

 

1. When a person makes a third application for a Crisis Loan for living expenses in a rolling 12 month period, they will now be asked to attend an interview in person.

 

2. Crisis Loans will be limited to 3 per 12 month rolling period, unless the need arises due to a disaster or circumstances beyond the claimant's control.

 

Crisis Loans for alignment to benefit are not included (for example, if you have requested a crisis loan to "tide you over" until you receive a decision on a new benefit claim, you will not be asked to attend an interview in person, and you will not be counted towards the limit of 3 per 12 month rolling period)

 

A wider consultation for a reform of the Social Fund is planned for late 2009. Dates not yet known.

 

**Please note that the new process still only applies in the Pathfinder areas (South West Region, the East Midlands Region and the Glasgow District). Info regarding this, and more about benefits in this month's issue of "Touchbase": http://www.dwp.gov.uk/docs/touchbase-56.pdf

 

Social Fund Guide: http://www.dwp.gov.uk/docs/social-fund-guide.pdf

Isnt it a budgeting loan you should be going for?

Crisis not normally for furniture but more urgent needs, food etc.....

ps. Have you tried freecycle in your area, you could put in search engine with town etc and it should come up. Fantastic site that links people who want or dont want goods and its free. Furniture etc could help you out xx

It should be but Im up 2 my limit currently and the application is in my partners name, hes never applied

for any social fund loans and isnt able to because of my previous loans, so according to the relevant people involved my two young children running around and crawling on bare floorboards isnt classed as a health and safety risk under the current legislation, this is why we hve been refused a crisis loan. Would I have got it if we were foreign or assylum seekers, under the current legislation they would be a priority as would recently released convicts from prison.

Isnt it a budgeting loan you should be going for?

 

Crisis not normally for furniture but more urgent needs, food etc.....

 

ps. Have you tried freecycle in your area, you could put in search engine with town etc and it should come up. Fantastic site that links people who want or dont want goods and its free. Furniture etc could help you out xx

crisis loans are a joke anyway, you have to collect the money in person which would cost me £7 to do so if I needed one as you have to collect the money from the jobcentre. thats great if you haven't any money, which is the only time you'd be eligible for one in the first place. Government are idiots.

Would I have got it if we were foreign or assylum seekers, under the current legislation they would be a priority as would recently released convicts from prison.

Please don't blame other people in difficult circumstances for the failings of the DWP. It's not the fault of asylum seekers, immigrants or whatever other group the media lies about that they do or don't get help.

I'm sick to death of hearing this kind of prejudice, it's just not true.

Im not being prejudice towards any group, just stating the facts as advertised on the DWP website relating to this, it does open a deeper side to this issue because how can a crisis loan be offered to any random individual, irrelevant to there place of birth or background??? It is just illogical to give these to any random person, surely the crisis loan procedure was implemented to help the british working class people who needed it??? From what I have read into the whole crisis loan thing, the worst part of the procedures is that if I was a convicted criminal recently released from prison I would be a priority above anybody else, how can this be of benefit to a civilised society, also when the average working man/woman who has continually worked for 16 years is refused upon there first application, well that just stinks to me, it is supposed to help people collectively, not just ex-convicts or assylum seekers, what about helping the families whoose generations before helped our country become GREAT, the generations that built our country, with there skills and expertise, also there tax payments at the time would have helped fund our growth.

Im after equality for each applicant not just the favoured minority as the trend is nowadays in our over hyped, PC/nanny state enviroments.

Please don't blame other people in difficult circumstances for the failings of the DWP. It's not the fault of asylum seekers, immigrants or whatever other group the media lies about that they do or don't get help.

 

I'm sick to death of hearing this kind of prejudice, it's just not true.

I understand your frustrated but I dont see any issues with crisis or budgeting loans. I think anyone in similar situation would find that crisis loan is not for furniture and if the amount of budgeting loan was used up for family, well thats not the dwps fault and its nowt to do with race of if just out of prison.

I have two kids and have never had carpets even when they were toddlers, the ammount of splinters weve had is a pain to recall, but we just got on with it.

I just managed to get second hand rugs and still have a sort of patchwork quilt of a floor of secondhand and sales item rugs, looks not great, but hey its a home and warm. Seriously untill you budgeting loans are paid off, see what you can get for free as in not wanted by others. Sometimes things are new like because househlolder just wants a change. Have you looked at freecycle?

It will cost about 1500.00 to 2000.00 to nicely carpet my three bed three storey and as I am not in the position to do it, I wont expect it. I could I suppose with cheapy cheapy carpet do it for about 1000.00 but its a lot of money adn whenever I raise it, I tend to spend it on the kids, last time my jewlery was sold my son had a fest in the game shop

So you'll get there eventually but just have to learn we cant all have what we want when we want it. To be honest expecting a crisis loan for such a thing wont help you, what if you needed a real emergency cash help who would help then.

Age concern run a lot of furniture charity shops also, I got some great stuff from there when first got my house.

Have no idea when this thread was first started as I cannot see the dates or times on the left hand side any more.

Erika: A wider consultation for a reform of the Social Fund is planned for late 2009. Dates not yet known.

Did you mean late 2010???

ooh it was started sep 2009 so old thread, only just noticed xx