community care grants how much can you claim for furniture and other household stuff?

craftynutters

my son and his partner are on jobseekers and have just got a place of their own only had to wait over 3 years since my grandson was born but now they have onthing to furnish it with and i was wondering what can they get and how much sould they put for the value of thing

mandij30

Not meaning to sound harsh here, but in them 3 yrs did they not think to start saving or purchasing things for there eventual home ???

When I was living at my mums and whilst waiting to be housed I already started putting a little by out of my salary every month so that when I moved I could furnish my home.

I'm not too sure about community care grants, but I think you can claim for important household items, and they will only pay second hand prices I do believe

elsien

When I was helping someone put in a claim for moving out of residential care, we used the Argos catalogue for a guide, choosing the cheaper basic items - bed, pots and pans, cheap fridge etc. As far as I can remember we got about half of what we asked for, after itemising the furniture and prices - about £300 in all. I don't think there's a set amount, maybe it depends how much money there is left in the fund at the time.
If they get really stuck, have a look on freecycle, there's quite a lot of furniture and basic household items that get put on there.

elsien

Just found this, and it is discretionary, so even if you qualify you may not get anything if the money has run out.

• You should always apply for a Community Care Grant if you are eligible, rather than a budgeting loan or Crisis Loan which have to be repaid from your benefit. You can apply for help with anything other than an excluded item.
• When completing the application form (SF300), you should give full details of the items you need. Try to be as specific as possible (eg, list each item of furniture or clothing you need, rather than just asking for 'furniture' or 'clothes') and include the actual cost or a reasonable estimate of the cost of each item. You cannot get a Community Care Grant for an excluded item. Ask a Welfare Rights Worker for advice on this point if necessary.
• Your application must establish that you need a Community Care Grant for one of the circumstances mentioned above. You should, for example, explain how the payment you are requesting will help the relevant person to become established or remain in the community, or will help ease exceptional pressures on your and your family.
• You should also show why your application should be given high priority, bearing in mind the SF guidance on priorities and what constitutes a high priority application. You can obtain a copy of the local guidance from your local office and refer to it if appropriate. You could also submit supporting evidence - eg, from a doctor or social worker.

Here's the full link http://www.covlaw.org.uk/welfare/leaflets/leaflet3.html

elsien

Community Care Grants are intended to help people to obtain essential items. Items that the Social Fund class as of the highest priority are - beds and mattresses, a cooker and something to sit on like a sofa, and cutlery and crockery. Fridges, freezers and washing machines are not normally classed as having as a high priority. Below I?ll look at a variety of items in more detail and discuss how an applicant might argue their need for the item.

Cookers ? These need fitting professionally by someone Corgi registered in the case of gas cookers, or a qualified electrician in the case of electric cookers. For this reason, ask for the cost of fitting the cooker as a separate item on the list.

Beds ? Ask for a bedbase, mattress and bedding as three separate items for each ?bed? that is required. If the applicant is single, there is no reason for them to request only a single-size bed. Decision makers will often try to argue that a single person only requires a single bed, however this is wrong and would effectively mean that the decision maker is making judgements about the applicant?s lifestyle, which they shouldn?t do. Therefore request a double bed.

Curtains ? Curtains are not generally seen as ?high priority? items. However they are often awarded particularly to women living alone, or young families with children. It is possible to argue the importance of privacy, especially if the applicant?s home is overlooked, or If the applicant or a member of their family experiences problems with anxiety. An applicant or family member who experiences difficulty sleeping would also usually benefit from having curtains in their bedroom. Specify on the application which windows require curtains and include the sizes of the windows if possible. Most homes rented as ?unfurnished? will be without curtain poles, which can often be as expensive as the curtains themselves, especially as it is very difficult to get curtain poles second hand. For this reason also request curtain poles on the application, as a separate item.

Carpet ? I have been successful in applying for carpet for single parents with children who are learning to crawl, at least in the child?s bedroom, the front room and the parent?s bedroom. I have also been successful in applying for carpet for a man who was addicted to alcohol and often collapsed- i argued that if he collapsed on carpet this would be better than concrete. The risk of collapse could also be relevant to a person who is epileptic and experiences seizures, or is unsteady on their feet perhaps due to being frail or elderly. It can sometimes help when applying for carpet if the flooring is particularly bad in its present state ? perhaps the floorboards could cause splinters or an uneven floor could cause a trip hazard for applicants with poor mobility.

Washing Machine ? washing machines are rarely awarded, decision makers usually argue that an applicant can use a laundrette, or hand-wash instead. I have been successful in the case of an applicant who had severe allergies and who could become ill if their clothes picked up traces of certain kinds of washing powder that may be present in a communal washing machine. Apart from this, a person who has a large family of young children who would need to do a great deal of washing may also be eligible. If an applicant or a member of the applicant?s family are incontinent, therefore necessitating regular washing of bedding, again a washing machine may be awarded. Also, if the applicant lives a long way from a laundrette, or experiences anxiety in public places, this could also be argued.

Fridges / Freezers ? Again these are not usually classed as priority items. Possible arguments for a fridge and freezer are if a person relies on carers for preparing meals ? the carer would probably be unable to prepare suitable meals regularly without at least a fridge. Fridges and freezers can also help with developing budgeting skills. An applicant with young children could argue how impractical it is to be visiting the shops every day. Again, mental health and anxiety issues could also make it difficult for someone to visit the shops daily. An applicant may use medication that requires refrigeration.

Televisions - These are rarely awarded but it is possible to be successful in the right circumstances. I have known TV?s to be awarded to people undertaking drug-related programmes (i understand the argument was that the TV would provide something for the applicant to do in their home and help them avoid socialising outside of the flat with people who were involved in using drugs) I understand TVs have also been awarded for families with young children who have behavioural problems, where this problem impacts on the rest of a family. Perhaps a person suffering severe anxiety problems or perhaps agraphobia might also benefit from a TV. A further point relating to Tv?s is that to legally use one, the applicant will require a TV licence. Ask for this as a separate item.

It is very important to clearly state on the application why an item is required. It isn?t enough to say that the item is needed because the applicant doesn?t have one; the reason why the applicant doesn?t have the item needs to be argued. It is important to relate the need to the applicant?s circumstances, and also if possible their support plan, detailing how the need for the item ties in with the applicant?s planned programme of resettlement

cattie

Freecyle is a wonderful resource for most household items such as furniture & appliances. You may have to wait for some of the things you are after to be offered, but patience wins in the end.

Also, most local authorities have a furniture store for people who have been homeless or need to be resettled into new accomodation. Items include everything from furniture, appliances, pots, pans etc. Most items are used but in excellent condition.

Perr

Priority for the CCgrants is always givento Teens leaving care and people leaving homeless accommodation. People who are already in a property are expected to make there own provision or apply for a loan.

craftynutters

thanks for the advice they have been living in a box roon in bunk beds at her dads house and only have a few bits

wobblers

I recently helped a friend get a CC grant for £770. This was after he had submitted his own application which was rejected out of hand. The need for explicit detail is paramount to make your application stand out as being in need. We appealed and was again turned down so went to the independent review panel and again detailed in extreme the circumstances surrounding this case and used the guidelines available on the decision making process to highlight why it was a wrong decision to reject it previously. We quoted support of local MP and included copies of any and all correspondence to highlight the efforts my friend had gone to improve his lot. They will try at every stage to offer a crisis loan as an alternative. Do not accept this until all the appeals are exhausted.
As a general rule as already mentioned ask for twice as much as reasonable and let them knock you down, and again Argos is a good guideline for basic provision.

Hope this helps. I am just about to do another one so will see how this goes.

seven-day-weekend

elsien wrote: »

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If they get really stuck, have a look on freecycle, there's quite a lot of furniture and basic household items that get put on there.

Freecycle/donations from friends and family/second hand is a good way to go . All they need initially is a something to sit on, something to sleep on and something to cook on (we had a camping stove when we first started).

I think freecycle should be a first resort, not a last one.

Wishing them well in their new home.