Welfare Grants Programme

Be in receipt of one or more of the means-tested benefits listed below:

• Universal Credit
• Pension Credit
• Housing Benefit
• Council Tax Support
• Working Tax Credit
• Child Tax Credit
• Income-based JSA
• Income-related ESA
• Income Support

Have right of residency in the UK.

Applications must be submitted, on-line, by a suitable referring organisation. Suitable referring organisations include: statutory agencies such as social services, NHS professionals, local authorities or the probation service; registered charities and housing associations.

Prior to submitting an application on behalf of an applicant you need to ensure they understand how the data will be used and to obtain their consent to their data being processed by Family Action, for the purposes of making an application for a grant from the Fund.  For full details please refer to the Terms and Conditions attached to the on-line application form.

We are only able to accept applications from referring organisations that:

• are either registered as charities with the Charity Commission of England and Wales, the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator or the the Charity Commission of Northern Ireland or are charitable societies incorporated and registered under the Cooperative and Community Benefits Societies Act 2014, Local Authorities, Housing Associations or Health Authorities (CCGs).
• have knowledge of and are able to assess the needs of the individual or family in need.
• have a bank account in its own name.*

*For all applications regardless of grant payment method we will require appropriate evidence of the organisation’s bank account, e.g. a bank statement, blank cheque or paying in slip before we can award a grant. Satisfactory evidence will only be required once.

1. Those who do not meet the criteria above.
2. Asylum seekers or those with no recourse to public funds.
3. Employees of the referring organisation and members of their family.
4. Employees of Family Action and members of their family.
5. Applicants with savings of over £1,000 OR applicants with savings of over £3,000 who are setting up home in an unfurnished property following homelessness and loss of their belongings.
6. Applicants who have already received a grant from Family Action within the past 2 years (24 months).

Our welfare grants programme primarily provides emergency grants for essential personal and household needs such as cookers, washing machines, fridge/freezers, beds and bedding. We can also provide grants for clothing and basic smartphones. Holidays for women resident in Greater London can be provided for those who meet the criteria above.

Items we will not fund include: day to day living expenses; food; bills; travel; laptops or tablets; televisions; school uniforms; rent payments, deposits or arrears; council tax arrears; debts; fines; moving costs; funeral expenses (including associated expenses, such as headstones); gifts (such as toys for birthdays, Christmas or other festivals); loans; bankruptcy or insolvency costs; items already purchased; driving lessons; citizenship applications; legal fees; passport applications; costs associated with employment or education; sponsorship; general appeals; funding for projects or groups; disability/mobility aids; holidays (except holidays for women living in Greater London that meet the criteria above).

The average grant for essential personal and household needs is likely to be in the region of £200 to a maximum of £300. Grants of up to £1,500 can be made for women’s holidays (depending on the size of the family).

Applications can be submitted when the fund is open, you can check what funds are available on the Welfare Grants page on our website at www.family-action.org.uk. Funds are limited so we may only open for short periods and close suddenly. If funds are not available you can find information about the likely next opening dates on our website. Please check that funds are available before submitting an application. We are not able to alert organisations about when we will be opening or closing so it is important to check our website regularly.

Important information about funding available:

Our Welfare Grants Programme is currently closed but will open for a short time on 16^th July 2025.

Due to the numbers involved, we regret that we are not able to email individuals or organisations when we have more funds. Up to date information on funds available will be provided on our website so please check as and when you want to submit an application.

Dated: 23rd May 2025

Important information about funding available:

Our Welfare Grants Programme is currently closed but will open for a short time on 16^th July 2025.

Due to the numbers involved, we regret that we are not able to email individuals or organisations when we have more funds. Up to date information on funds available will be provided on our website so please check as and when you want to submit an application.

Dated: 23rd May 2025

Yes, we will require a copy of the applicant’s bank statement, showing their name, all balances, and any means-tested benefit(s) received. The bank statement should be for a complete month and be no older than 3 months old. If the applicant is only in receipt of Council Tax Support or Housing Benefit, which may not be detailed on their bank statement, we will also require the most recent documentary evidence that they are in receipt of these benefits.

If you are making an application under the “older people” priority group you will also be required to provide evidence of age, e.g. passport or driving licence.

If you are making an application under the “Women living in Greater London” priority group you will also be required to provide evidence that the applicant is recovering from a long physical or mental illness such as a letter from a NHS professional. Please note that recuperative holidays can only be applied for during a course of treatment OR within 6 months of discharge from hospital/end of treatment.

Email the Grants Service at [email protected] detailing your problem and using screen grabs to illustrate your problem, if appropriate.  The grants service will get back to you as quickly as possible. We review all emails and if our automated response does not answer your questions we will reply individually and telephone if necessary if a contact number is provided.

We are only able to offer limited telephone support so in the first instance please email your enquiry to [email protected]. Our telephone helpline is currently open between 1pm to 3pm from Tuesday to Friday. Calls will not be taken outside these hours however you can always email us. 

1. You will immediately receive an automated email providing you with a unique reference number for the application submitted (please quote this number in any future correspondence) and the date of the meeting at which the application will be considered by the grants panel.
2. You will be informed of the grants panel’s decision, by email, within 2 working days of the meeting date at which the application is considered.
3. If the grant application is deferred then you will have 2 weeks in which to provide the information asked for so that the application can be assessed. If the information has not been received within 2 weeks then the application may be made unsuccessful. If you wish to appeal this decision and can supply the information requested when the application was deferred we will be happy to reconsider our decision providing sufficient funds remain available. See below on how to appeal.

Payment of grants to successful applicants will either be made by BACS to the referring organisation OR by an Argos eGift card which will be sent directly to the beneficiary by Argos. If the payment is to be made by Argos eGift card Family Action will email the beneficiary direct with the pin code with which they can activate their eGift card so a personal email address of the beneficiary must be provided on the application form. Argos eGift cards cannot be sent to the referring organisations email address.

The eGift card may be used at any Argos store, or online at www.argos.co.uk

Payment options for Family Action service users are detailed on the application form.

The referring organisation will make the choice as to which payment method is preferred on the application form.

The majority of unsuccessful applications are because the applicant does not meet our eligibility criteria so it is very important to check these before taking the time to submit an application. The other key reason is because funds are not available – we have allocated all the funds.

Eligibility criteria are published on the website where we also publish updates on funds available at any given time so it is important that you read ALL information available on the website before submitting your application.

If your grant application is unsuccessful and you would like us to review our decision we are happy to do so on receipt of an email detailing the reasons why you feel a review is required. In your email please provide the unique reference number of the application in the subject line of the email and send it to [email protected] We will respond to each review request individually as soon as we can which will usually be within 7 working days.

Please note we will only enter into correspondence with the referring organisation that submitted the application.

Email:              [email protected]

Post:                With regret we are unable to acknowledge or respond to postal enquiries unless an email address is provided.

Phone:            07816 408119 on Tuesday to Friday from 1pm to 3pm. Calls will not be taken outside these hours however you can always email us.

NOTE:  The grants service is open between 9.00 a.m. and 3.00 p.m. from Tuesday to Friday.  The grants service is closed on Mondays