The Welfare Support Scheme provides BANES residents with short-term, emergency help with living costs. We cannot provide cash or loans, but may offer you vouchers to get essential items, refer you to charity support, or temporarily contribute towards travel or housing costs.
Eligibility
To qualify, you must be on a low income, and will need to provide evidence that you are experiencing financial hardship. We have very limited funds, and will offer help based on your personal and financial situation.
If you are a migrant to the UK
Before you apply
Before you apply for Welfare Support, please prepare by taking note of the types of help available and how you will need to demonstrate your need for this support.
If you cannot afford to feed yourself or your family, there are two levels of support available:
- A basic level of support, for example food bank vouchers. These are available from council One Stop Shops in Bath, Keynsham and Midsomer Norton. In Bath, we may offer you a hot meal voucher for Julian House or Genesis Trust Lunch Box.
- A higher level of support, for example household items and food vouchers. To qualify, you need to provide evidence that one of the following applies:
- You have a child under 5 years old living in your household.
- You have recently claimed income-based benefits and are waiting for your first payment.
- You have been released from prison and are waiting for your first benefits payment.
Where you can demonstrate your level of need, we may be able to help with providing some other living needs, such as the following:
- Removal costs for house moves
- Essential clothing for interviews (unless they are at your local Jobcentre)
- Essential household items (such as basic kitchen utensils or cleaning equipment)
You will need to provide evidence of the need, such as showing that you are moving house, or have job interviews to attend.
We may pay some of your Council Tax as an emergency, short-term measure. We can help you from the start of your financial hardship to the time when you are able to manage your finances again. We will consider all requests, but funding is limited, and you may not receive the total amount you request.
You must demonstrate extreme financial hardship. This means you are willing but unable to meet your debt or living costs, because of unexpected events or unforeseen changes. To qualify for help, you may need to provide evidence of one of the following:
- A change in employment status for the main earner in your household (for example, losing a job or having hours significantly reduced)
- A relationship breakdown (for example, where the main earner has left the household)
- A death in your household
- The imprisonment of your partner
- A long-term injury or illness, resulting in loss of earnings
Where you can demonstrate that you cannot afford to buy essential household items yourself, we may be able to help by issuing vouchers which you can use at the Genesis Trust or People charity to exchange for household items. For example:
- Tables
- Chairs
- Sofas
- White goods (cookers, fridges, freezers)
We work with The Genesis Trust, who can deliver items, but cannot install them for you.
We can also pay for new carpets to be fitted, if we feel that the floor coverings in your home are not adequate to help you to stay warm and clean.
We can buy bus tickets from Wheels to Work for essential travel, where the costs are reasonable. You must demonstrate that the journeys are for work, interviews or training courses.
Where you have moved into a new home and can demonstrate that you cannot pay rent in advance at the start of a tenancy, we may pay the landlord or letting agent directly. We must assess the tenancy as suitable and affordable. This means the rent should be at, or below, the Local Housing Allowance rates for the size of the property. You will need to show evidence of your move and tenancy agreement.
How to apply
By phone
Call us on on 01225 477277 (available Monday to Thursday from 9am to 4.30pm, and Friday from 9am to 4pm). If we are unable to answer your call, we will aim to ring you back by the end of the next working day.
By email
Email us at welfare_support@bathnes.gov.uk
Find out more about benefits by following the links in the panel on the right.