Departments Directions Social Fund Guide

Part 3 - Crisis Loans

Direction 14 - Eligibility
Direction 14

Treatment of resources

4100Generally have regard to all income and capital resources of the family, without any disregard, subject to para 4120 below.

4101Any resources which are actually available to the applicant or could be obtained in time to meet the need if application were made should, subject to para 4180, be taken into account. Resources include:

Job Grant
capital assets
earnings
any other income
cash in hand
funds in bank or building society accounts which may be obtained by means of a cash card or a cheque and cheque guarantee card
credit facilities but see para 4102
money available through any existing loan or overdraft facility but see para 4102

4102Resources available on credit should only be taken into account if the applicant is not in receipt of Income Support(IS), income-related Employment and Support Allowance(ESA)(IR), income-based Job Seekers Allowance (JSA)(IB) or State Pension Credit(SPC) and is likely to be able to afford the required repayments.

4103-4119

Disregards

4120Disregard any resources if you consider it reasonable to do so in the circumstances of the case. You should not routinely disregard any resource; you should establish that the resource has been specifically earmarked for a purpose.

Such disregards will normally be applied to:

housing benefit
other Social Fund (SF) payments
the value of the applicant's home or premises acquired for occupation by the applicant within 6 months
the value of any premises occupied by a relative or former partner of the applicant
the value of any reversionary interest
the assets of any business owned by the applicant
any sum paid to the applicant in consequence of damage to or loss of the home or any personal possessions and intended for its repair or replacement
any sum acquired on the express condition that it is used for effecting essential repairs or improvements to the home
any personal possessions, except those acquired for the purpose of securing eligibility for a crisis loan
any payment made under Part IV of the Children (NI) Order 1995 unless the payment was made for the same need as the crisis loan application
any run-on payment of council tax or housing benefit
any compensation award set aside for the replacement of lost livelihood
any integration loan granted under The Integration Loans for Refugees and Others Regulations 2007

4121Section 73(14) of the Social Security Contributions and Benefits (NI) Act 1992 requires that the mobility component of Disability Living Allowance should be disregarded in full when considering the resources of a person who has applied for a Crisis Loan.

4122-4139

Payments from the Independent Living Fund 2006

4140Fully disregard payments from the Independent Living (Extension) Fund/Independent Living (1993) Fund. These are discretionary trust funds which will make payments to enable a severely disabled person to continue to live in the community.

4141Primarily payments will be made to enable the disabled person to employ domestic assistance or personal care. However, trustees are able, exceptionally, to make lump sum payments for items which will prevent the applicant from entering residential care.

4142-4159

Payments from the MacFarlane Trust

4160Fully disregard payments made from the MacFarlane Trust. This is a charitable trust established partly out of funds provided by the Department to the Haemophilia Society for the relief of poverty or distress amongst those suffering from haemophilia.

4161Payments made from the trust do not have to be disclosed by SF applicants or social security claimants.

Payments from variant Creutzfeldt Jakob Disease (vCJD) trusts

4162The vCJD trusts make payments to people who have contracted vCJD and their immediate families. The payments are made in recognition of the pain and suffering of victims and their families.

4163Fully disregard vCJD trust payments.

Payments from the Skipton Fund

4164The Skipton Fund makes payments to those people infected with Hepatitis C from NHS blood or blood products. These payments are made on compassionate grounds and will help alleviate some of the problems people, affected in this way, are experiencing.

4165You should fully disregard Skipton Fund payments.

4166-4179

Other disregards

4180Temporarily disregard any other resources if it is considered reasonable to do so in the circumstances, e.g. you may consider it reasonable to disregard capital assets such as savings certificates for a few days provided the applicant is urgently arranging to cash them.

4181If the crisis loan application is for an item or service, some of the applicant's resources may be required for immediate day to day living expenses.

4182-4199

Help from another person or body

4200Take into account any help which might be available from any other source to meet or partly meet the need, if there is a realistic expectation that help would be available in time. Possible sources of help might be charities and benevolent funds which are known to be likely to provide the required assistance.

4201Do not routinely refer applicants to employers, relatives or close friends unless there is reason to believe that an offer of help will be forthcoming.

4202-4219

Health and Social Services Boards/Trusts

4220The Social Services Department (SSD) do not normally meet financial needs. If there is an indication that help may have been sought or provided by them, check with the SSD to avoid duplication of help.

4221-4249