UK Bill Help

A scheme is provided in Kent that can help residents threatened with a crisis. Emergency support will assist with needs such as food or fuel bill arrears. The county council provides this assistance to people facing short term difficulties, if they meet the eligibility conditions in place.

Any aid from the Kent Council is temporary and can help address the emergency that the applicant has. The aim of the authorities is to help people pay their bills and also manage their income to solve the crisis. So any assistance is short term in nature only, but it is combined with advice and ongoing support.

The scheme can help people stay in their home, or move back to the community. So to meet this goal, the council may offer people seeking tenancy with referrals to charity deposit schemes. Also, to prevent homelessness when it comes to fuel costs, grants can be provided to pay a portion of any utility bill arrears, but note the funds are usually issued on a pre-paid card and only help with up to seven days of expenses.

Many other essential items are provided. They include bedding, groceries, furniture, food parcels with up to seven days of groceries, milk, or free nappies for infants and mothers. Applicants that have requests for other needs may also be found eligible. People that have an illness or death in the family can receive help from the scheme for travel expenses.

To apply to the Kent Support and Advice Service, ring the council at 0300 333 5700. Or, stop by a Citizen’s Advice Bureau, and the counsellors at your local office can either provide an application, or give the individual a referral to national programmes or the council.

Other options for help in Kent

The scheme is limited in funding, the awards are few, and many applications are refused. Due to this, the Citizen’s Advice Bureau partners with the council and will provide other support and applications to programmes such as welfare or other national benefits.

In addition to that, other resources include Short Term Benefits Advance, Hardship payments, or Budgeting Advance Loans. There may also be local charity grants or funds from credit unions for some residents, and in fact these services need to be applied to before any assistance is offered from the Support and Advice Service.

Other programmes to try for emergency financial aid in the county includes income support as well as national loans. Also, many district councils have information on schemes for residents that are local to the town or area, or they can provide information on food banks. So families with a local connection to Kent that are facing a hardship, such as job loss or maybe an illness, have options available to them for assisting with bills and other debts.

After an application has been done for the support scheme, the Kent County council or CAB will notify the applicant of a decision. If it was refused, then a reason for this will be given to the person who sought help, and in most cases a referral is given to an alternative resource above. Any awards will be paid out as quickly as possible.