Departments Directions Social Fund GuidePart 8 - The Directions issued by the Department
Crisis Loans
Direction 14 - Crisis Loan eligibility14. A social fund payment under Direction 3 shall only be awarded to an applicant if at the date when the application is determined
(a) he is aged 16 or over, and
(b) he is without sufficient resources to meet the immediate short-term needs of himself or his family, or both himself and his family.
Direction 15 - Crisis Loans, excluded persons15. (1) A crisis loan may not be awarded in respect of a person who is -
(a) a resident in a residential care home, a nursing home or a hospital in-patient, unless it is planned that the person will be discharged within the following two weeks; or
(b) a prisoner or person who is lawfully detained or is on temporary release under rule 27 of the Prisons and Young Offenders Centres Rules (Northern Ireland) 1995; or
(c) a person who is a member of and fully maintained by a religious order; or
(d) a person who is (or would be) treated as -
(i) a person in full time relevant education for the purpose of income support, or
(ii) a person receiving relevant education for the purpose of income-based jobseeker's allowance; or
(iii) a person receiving education for the purpose of income-related employment and support allowance
and, as a result, falls into a category whereby he is not (or would not be) entitled to income support, income-based jobseeker's allowance or income-related employment and support allowance.
(2) For the avoidance of doubt, a person shall not be treated as falling within head (i), (ii) or (iii) of paragraph 1(d) if he is in receipt of state pension credit or payments on account of state pension credit.
Direction 16 - Crisis Loans, students and persons from abroad16. A social fund payment under Direction 3 shall be awarded only in order to alleviate the consequences of a disaster where the applicant is:
(a) a full time student except where he is in receipt of either income support, income-based jobseeker’s allowance, income-related employment and support allowance, state pension credit or payment on account of such benefits, or
(b) a person who is treated (or would be treated if he were to claim one of the benefits below) as:
(i) a person from abroad for the purposes of income support, income-based jobseeker’s allowance, or income-related employment and support allowance: or
(ii) in the case of state pension credit, as a person not in Northern Ireland
and, as a result, falls into a category whereby he is not entitled to income support, income-based jobseeker’s allowance income-related employment and support allowance or state pension credit; or
Direction 17 - Crisis Loans, sanctions and disallowances
17. (1) Subject to paragraph (4), in the circumstances described in paragraph 2, a social fund payment under direction 3 is to be awarded only to meet expenses which are the consequence of a disaster.
(2) The circumstances mentioned in paragraph (1) are that the decision maker finds that the application is wholly or partly because the applicant is (or for the purposes of sub-paragraphs (b), (c) and (d) only, has been) the subject of one or more of the following:
(a) a trade dispute;
(b) a disallowance;
(c) a sanction;
(d) a work-focused interview sanction.
(3) For the purposes of this direction an applicant (“A”) is the subject of:
(a) a trade dispute if:
(i) A is not, or would not be, entitled to a jobseeker’s allowance under article 16 of the Jobseekers (Northern Ireland) Order 1995 (referred to in this direction as the Order) or a joint-claim jobseeker’s allowance under article 17A;
(ii) A’s partner is in receipt of a reduced rate of jobseeker's allowance under article 17 of the Order or a reduced rate of joint-claim jobseeker’s allowance under article 17A because A is, or would be, prevented from being entitled to a jobseeker’s allowance by article 16 of the Order;
(b) a disallowance if;
(i) A’s claim for jobseeker’s allowance has been disallowed because A failed to satisfy one or more of the conditions in article 3(2)(a) to (c) of the Order; or
(ii) A’s claim for jobseeker’s allowance as a member of a joint-claim couple has been disallowed because A failed to satisfy one or more of the conditions in article 3(2)(a) to (c) of the Order.
(c) a sanction if;
(i) A’s jobseeker’s allowance is not payable under article 21 of the Order;
(ii) A’s joint-claim jobseeker’s allowance has been denied or reduced under article 22A(1) of the Order as one or more of the circumstances specified in article 22A(2) of the Order applies to A;
(iii) A’s jobseeker’s allowance, income support, employment and support allowance or state pension credit is not payable or has been reduced under section 5B or 6 of the Social Security Fraud Act (Northern Ireland) 2001 (the Fraud Act);
(iv) A’s joint-claim jobseeker’s allowance is not payable or has been reduced under section 7 of the Fraud Act; or
(v) the payment of A’s employment and support allowance has been reduced under regulation 63 of the Employment and Support Allowance Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2008 for failure to take part in a work-focused health-related assessment or a work-focused interview;
(d) a work-focused interview sanction if payment of A’s income support, incapacity benefit or severe disablement allowance, or that of their partner, is disallowed or reduced due to A’s failure to take part in a work-focused interview as required by regulations made under section 2A or 2AA of the Social Security Administration (Northern Ireland) Act 1992.
4) Paragraph (2)(b), (c) and (d) does not apply where an applicant is:
(a) in receipt of an income-based jobseeker’s allowance because they are a “person in hardship” under regulation 140(1) of the Jobseekers Allowance Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1996 or regulation 5(1) of the Social Security (Loss of Benefit) Regulations 2001;
(b) a member of a joint-claim couple who are in receipt of jobseeker’s allowance because they are a “couple in hardship” under regulation 146A(1) of the Jobseekers Allowance Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1996 or regulation 11(2) of the Loss of Benefit Regulations;
(c) in receipt of reduced income support or income-related employment and support allowance under regulation 3(1)(a) of the Loss of Benefit Regulations;
(d) in receipt of reduced state pension credit under regulation 3A(1)(a) of the Loss of Benefit Regulations; or
(e) a lone parent to whom the provisions of the Social Security (Work-Focused Interviews for Lone Parents) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2001 apply.
Direction 18 - Crisis Loans, amount to be awarded
18.(1) Subject to (2) the maximum amount that may be awarded under Direction 3 as a crisis loan in respect of living expenses for applicants, other than people whose income-based jobseeker's allowance is reduced by virtue of regulation 145 of the Jobseeker's Allowance Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1996 (hardship cases), is the aggregate of -(a) an amount equal to 60% of the appropriate income support personal allowance for the applicant and any partner: and
(b) for each child, an amount equal to the personal allowance applicable to dependent children in respect of income support:
but must not in any case exceed the difference between any sum already repayable to the social fund by the applicant and his partner and £1500.
(2) In the circumstances referred to in paragraph (2A), the maximum amount that may be awarded by way of a crisis loan in respect of living expenses is the amount set out in Paragraph (2B).
(2A) The circumstances are that if an applicant's partner were to apply for a crisis loan, the expenses in respect of which a crisis loan may be awarded would be restricted by Direction 17(1) because one or more of the circumstances in direction 17(2)(b) to (d) applies.
(2B) The amount referred to in paragraph (2) is the aggregate of -.
(a) an amount equal to 60% of the appropriate income support personal allowance for the applicant only, and
(b) for each child, an amount equal to the personal allowance applicable to dependent children, in respect of income support:
but must not in any case exceed the difference between any sum already repayable to the social fund by the applicant and his partner and £1500.
(3) Where any step in the calculation under paragraph (1) or (2B) results in a fraction of a penny, that fraction may be rounded up or down to the nearest penny.
Direction 20 - Crisis Loans, calculations of amounts for living expenses Jobseeker’s Allowance hardship cases20.(1)The maximum amount that may be awarded as a crisis loan in respect of living expenses for applicants whose income-based jobseeker's allowance is reduced by virtue of regulation 145 (hardship cases) of the Jobseeker's Allowance Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1996 is -
(a)the aggregate of -
(i)an amount equal to 60% of the appropriate income-based jobseeker's allowance personal allowance for the applicant and any partner: and
(ii)for each child, an amount equal to the income-based jobseeker’s allowance personal allowance rate applicable to dependent children; or
(b)the income-based jobseeker's allowance applicable amount payable in such circumstances,
whichever is the lower, but must not in any case exceed the difference between any sum already repayable to the social fund by the applicant and his partner and £1500.
(2)Where any step in the calculation under paragraph (1) results in a fraction of a penny, that fraction may be rounded up or down to the nearest penny.
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Direction 21 - Crisis Loans, maximum amounts
21.The maximum amount which may be awarded in respect of any item or service under Direction 3 (crisis loans) is the lesser of -
(a)in the case of an existing item, the cost of repair; or
(b)the reasonable costs of replacing an existing item, or purchasing a new item or service (including delivery and installation),
but the amount must not in any case exceed the difference between any sum already repayable to the social fund by the applicant and his partner and £1500. Back to top
Direction 22 – Crisis Loans, ability to repay22.No crisis loan may be awarded in excess of the amount which the applicant is likely to be able to repay.
Direction 23 – Crisis Loans, exclusions23.(1)A crisis loan may not be awarded in respect of -
(a)any of the following -
(i)any need which occurs outside the United Kingdom;
(ii)an educational or training need including clothing and tools;
(iii)distinctive school uniform or sports clothes of any description for use at school or equipment of any description to be used at school;
(iv)travelling expenses to or from school;
(v)school meals taken during school holidays by children who are entitled to free school meals;
(vi)expenses in connection with court (legal) proceedings (including a community service order) such as legal fees, court fees, fines, costs, damages, subsistence or travelling expenses (other than a crisis loan for emergency travelling expenses where an applicant is stranded away from home);
(vii)removal or storage charges where an applicant is rehoused following the imposition of a compulsory purchase order, or a redevelopment or closing order, or a compulsory exchange of tenancies, or pursuant to the NIHE's statutory duty to the homeless under the Housing (Northern Ireland) Order 1988;
(viii)domestic assistance and respite care;
(ix)any repair to NIHE or registered Housing Association property;
(x)a medical, surgical, optical, aural or dental item or service;
(xi)work related expenses;
(xii)debts to government departments;
(xiii)investments, or
(b)in respect of any expense which is excluded by Direction 17.
(2)ln addition to the expenses excluded by paragraph (1), a crisis loan may not be awarded for any expenses in respect of any of the following items -
(a)costs of purchasing, renting or installing a telephone and of any call charges;
(b)mobility needs;
(c)holidays;
(d)a television or radio, or licence, aerial or rental charges for a television or radio;
(e)garaging, parking, purchase, and running costs of any motor vehicle except where payment is being considered for emergency travelling expenses;
(f)housing costs, including repairs and improvements to the dwelling occupied as the home including any garage, garden and outbuildings, and including deposits to secure accommodation, mortgage payments, rates, water rates, sewerage rates, service charges, rent and analogous charges for accommodation, other than:
(i)payments for intermittent housing costs not met by housing benefit, income support, income-based jobseeker's allowance, state pension credit or income-related employment and support allowance for which direct payments cannot be implemented such as the cost of emptying cess pits or septic tanks: or
(ii)rent in advance which is payable to secure fresh accommodation where the landlord is not the NIHE; or
(iii)charges for board and lodging accommodation and residential charges for hostels, but not deposits, whether included in the total charge or not; or
(iv)minor repairs and improvements;
(g)council tax, council water charges, or community water charges; and
(h)costs associated with home or personal security measures other than locks, bolts, door chains and door viewers for outside doors and windows.
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