Social fund budgeting loans
A budgeting loan is the equivalent of a budgeting advance for people who claim means-tested benefits other than UC. The loan is repayable, usually by deduction from ongoing benefit entitlement. The minimum amount of a loan is £100, and the maximum is £348 if you are single, £464 if you are a couple and £812 if you or your partner claim child benefit. If you have other social fund debts, your total debt cannot exceed £1,500.
You may get a budgeting loan if:1Social Fund Directive •you are getting income support (IS), income-based jobseeker’s allowance (JSA), income-related employment and support allowance (ESA), or pension credit (PC) and have been getting one of these benefits for the past 26 weeks (disregarding one or more breaks of 28 days or less);
•you are not involved in a trade dispute; and
•you do not have too much capital (the limit is £1,000, or £2,000 if you or your partner are aged 63 or over).
The budgeting loan must be for one or more of the following:
•furniture and household equipment;
•clothing and footwear;
•maternity expenses;
•funeral expenses;
•rent in advance and/or removal expenses;
•improvement, maintenance and security of the home;
•travelling expenses;
•expenses associated with seeking or re-entering work;
•hire purchase and other debts for any of the above items.