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The Welfare Fund in Edinburgh will provide grants in as little as 2 days to help pay certain bills for families that are in a crisis. The city council will only allow certain costs to be paid using the scheme, such as for food or heating bills, and any assistance is provided at their discretion.

Not only do residents have the ability to apply for help in an emergency, but there are also the Community Care Grants. These take up to 15 working days to approve and are aimed at helping with household needs so that someone can continue to live in the city of Edinburgh or surrounding region. More information on these welfare schemes are below as well as the phone number to call to apply.

Emergency funds from welfare

The Crisis Grant is available. It was created to help families on a low income that are threatened by a disaster or that are under exceptional financial pressure. It can pay for costs such as energy bills to keep a family warm or provide them with basic needs such as toiletries. Any assistance provided from the grant is tax free and does not need to be paid back to the authorities. This provides families a large advantage so they do not need to turn to other forms of short term cash, such as a loan.

Financial assistance is offered at the discretion of the Edinburgh council. It is one time aid only, and there are no guarantees to receiving help. The authorizes will try to make a decision on whether someone is given a grant within 2 working days.

The types of expenses that can be paid include for a parcel of food to feed a family in an emergency. There are also key households expenses, such as nappies for a baby. The Edinburgh welfare scheme also wants to keep people warm during the winter, so a grant can pay for heating bills as well. Requests for other expenses will be assessed by the council.

The applicant normally needs to be on a low income or benefits. They also can’t have any other friends, family, or even charities such as food banks to help them. So the crisis grant is for residents that can’t get assistance from any other source.

While many of the applicants are on benefits, but this is not required. The team at the council office will make a assessment based on merit. As long as someone is aged 16 or older and facing a health or safety crisis, they can apply. To apply for this emergency scheme, ring the council at 0131 529 5299.

Community assistance in Edinburgh

The Welfare fund will also help people either remain in the community or resettle to it. So if there is a family on a low income that is threatened with going into care, then the grant may help them remain in their current home. Or another use of the community care grants is to assist those individuals that need help to return to Edinburgh, such as ex-offenders or people leaving a hospital that need to resettle.

Any assistance provided will be for household goods, such as bedding, a fridge, clothing, and more. The grant given to them is also tax free, which will save the family money in the short and long term. Note that it can take as long as 15 days for the claim to be assessed and any support is given.

Community Care grants are aimed at those who need help to continue to have a settled way of life in the area. This will be the deciding factor assessed by the council. While they will also generally support those on benefits, such as Income Support, that is not a requirement. The application will also ask for savings, and aid is generally for people with £700 to £1200 in their accounts.

The Edinburgh welfare fund will pay for some or all of the following household items or expenses. There may be grants to pay for utility connection charges. If the person needs furniture for their new home or flat, then items such as fridges, white goods, beds, and even cookers are offered, but these are usually given directly to the applicant. Or a grant can even pay for travel costs if that may lad to the family leaving the community.

As with the crisis grant, each application will be assessed on merit. All money that is available from the welfare fund is limited, and ring 0131 529 5299 to apply or for more information.