A Budgeting Loan can help pay for:

• furniture or household items (for example, washing machines or other ‘white goods’)

• clothes or footwear

• rent in advance

• costs linked to moving house

• maintenance, improvements or security for your home

• travelling costs within the UK

• costs linked to getting a new job

• maternity costs

• funeral costs

• repaying hire purchase loans

• repaying loans taken for the above items

To get a Budgeting Loan you must have been getting one or more of these benefits for the past 6 months (26 weeks (breaks of up to 28 days are ignored):

• • Income Support

  • income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance

  • income-related Employment and Support Allowance

  • Pension Credit

If you moved from Universal Credit to Pension Credit, any time spent claiming Universal Credit will count towards the 6 months.

You cannot get a Budgeting Loan if:

• • you are currently claiming Universal Credit - apply for a an Advance instead

  • you’re involved in industrial action (for example, a strike, walkout or lockout)

  • you owe more than £1,500 in total for Crisis Loans and Budgeting Loans

Savings Limit

You cannot get a full Budgeting Loan if you (or your partner) have more than £1,000 in savings.

This amount is £2,000 if you (or your partner) are over 62 year's old.

There are three rates of Budgeting Loan, depending on whether you are single, a couple without children or a one or two parent family with children. You can get up to the following maximum amounts:

• £348 if you’re single

• £464 if you’re part of a couple

• £812 if you have children

The minimum amount of Budgeting Loan that you can get is £100.

How much you could get depends on whether you:

• can pay the loan back

• have savings of more than £1,000 (£2,000 if you or your partner are 63 or over)

• are paying back an existing Budgeting Loan or Crisis Loan.

The repayments will be taken automatically from your benefits and the amount you repay is based on your income , including any benefits you receive and what you can afford.

After you apply for a Budgeting Loan, you will get a letter telling you if you have been offered a loan. The letter explains how much your weekly repayments would be if you accept the loan.

You normally have to repay the loan within 2 years (104 weeks). If you stop getting benefits, you will need to arrange another way to pay it back.

You can either apply online or by a paper application:

• Apply online

• You will need to fill in form SF500.

• Pick up a form from your local Jobcentre Plus.

Social Fund

T: 0800 169 0140 

Welsh language: 0800 169 0240 

NGT text relay (if you cannot hear or speak on the phone): 18001 then 0800 169 0140 

Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm