Scottish Welfare Fund - Crisis Grants and Community Care Grants

provide a safety net in an emergency when there is an immediate threat to health and safety through the provision of Crisis Grants.
enable independent living or continued independent living, preventing the need for institutional care through the provision of Community Care Grants.

How to apply

Apply online for a Crisis Grant or phone 01738 476900 (Option 2).

Apply online for a Community Care Grant or phone 01738 476900 (Option 1), alternatively we can send a paper application to you.

Please note that all inbound and outbound calls to our teams are recorded for quality and monitoring purposes.

Crisis Grants and Community Care Grants are given in cash or goods and do not need to be paid back.

Who can apply?

In order to be considered for a Crisis Grant or Community Care Grant, you must be aged 16 years or over. You cannot be considered for a payment if you are from abroad and your residence permit states "no recourse to public funds".

Crisis Grants - how to qualify

Crisis Grants are payable :

To help people experiencing a disaster such as a fire or a flood.
To help people who need help in an emergency such as having no money left due to an unexpected expense.

Crisis Grants are cash awards and do not need to be paid back. Any household can apply as often as required and 3 awards (single household) or 6 awards (couple household) are normally paid in any 12 month rolling period however further awards can be paid if the household is experiencing exceptional circumstances that can be evidenced and are no fault of the household e.g. an unexpected expense.

What can I apply for?

You can get a Crisis Grant for day to day living expenses for essential items such as food, heating costs, nappies, toiletries and help with the cost of travelling home if you are stranded. Household goods may also be considered in the event of a disaster.

Community Care Grants - how to qualify

Community Care Grants are payable in the following circumstances:

To enable qualifying individuals who are leaving care or imprisonment to establish or maintain a settled home, where without a grant there is a risk that the individual will not be able to do so.
To enable qualifying individuals to establish or maintain a settled home after being homeless, or otherwise living an unsettled way of life.
To enable qualifying individuals to maintain a settled home, where without a grant there is a risk of the individual needing to go into a care institution.
To enable qualifying individuals to maintain a settled home in a situation where that individual, or another individual in the same household, is facing exceptional pressure.
To assist a person to care for a qualifying individual who has been released from prison or a young offenders' institution on temporary release.

What can I apply for?

Applications can be made for essential items such as household goods, travel costs, removal expenses and connection charges for gas and electricity.

Please note that if you are moving out with the Perth & Kinross Council Local Authority area, then applications should be made to the Local Authority whose area you intend to reside in. You can find details of all Scottish Local Authorities on the mygov.scot website.

What about savings?

A Crisis Grant will not be awarded if you have any resources available (there is some discretion in limited circumstances).

A Community Care Grant will not be awarded if you, or your partner, have savings over £700 (£1,200 if you are above State Pension Credit age).

Providing evidence

Whether you are applying for a Crisis Grant or a Community Care Grant, you will normally be asked to provide evidence to support your application. This helps to make sure that the right decision is made. Evidence that may be required includes:

Screenshots from UC Journal
Tenancy agreement
Bank, building society, Post Office or credit union statement
Wage slips
Lost property or crime reference number (contact Police Scotland by dialling 101)
Receipts

Processing timescales

The target processing time for Crisis Grants is as soon as possible with a maximum of 24 hours (within the scope of working days). Applications received after 16.45 on any working day is treated as received the next working day. Please note that Public Holidays and weekends are not working days. If required evidence is not received then a decision will be made by the end of the next working day.

We also aim to process Community Care Grants within 15 working days from receipt of all required evidence. Please note that working days do not include weekends or public holidays.

Will I definitely get a grant if I meet the qualifying conditions?

The amount of funding each council gets to spend each year on the Scottish Welfare Fund is limited and, unfortunately, there is not enough money to help everyone who applies. Your application will therefore be given a high, medium or low "priority rating" according to your individual circumstances and needs. There is also statutory guidance published by the Scottish Government which needs to be followed when applications are decided.

Grants will be awarded according to your priority rating and whether you have no alternative means of paying for what you need.

The budget priority ratings for Perth & Kinross Council are decided at the start of each month and can vary on a month to month basis depending on the money available.

Priority Ratings for 2023 - 2024

Month	Community Care Grants	Crisis Grants
April	High	High
May	High	High
June	High	High
July	High	High

Priority ratings for 2022 - 2023

Month	Community Care Grants	Crisis Grants
November	High	High
December	High	High
January	High	High
February	High	High
March	High	High

How will the grant be paid?

Community Care Grants

Community Care Grants are usually paid in kind.

This means that if you make an application for domestic items, it is likely that you will receive goods rather than getting a cash payment or money paid into an account.

Crisis Grants

Crisis Grants for living expenses in an emergency can be paid by the following methods:

PayIt - by electronic bank transfer direct into your bank account. You can use Payit to receive money in five simple steps:
- Receive a claim funds request - look out for an email from NoReply@services.natwest.com
- Click the 'claim funds' secure link and complete a two-step verification process
- Select which bank you would like to get your funds paid into
- Securely log in to your Online or Mobile banking following your normal Bank's security procedure
- Select which account you wish to be paid into and receive payment confirmation
- You can also enter your bank details manually, if you would prefer to do this instead of steps 3-5, though you will need to have these details to hand. You must enter your details exactly as they are shown on your bank card/account.
PayPoint text service - We can text a code to your mobile phone to take to any PayPoint store where you will be able to redeem your cash award. You can search for your nearest PayPoint store.