Social Fund

In the UK, fund that supplies part of the benefits provided by the Benefits Agency of the Department of Social Security to help people with expenses that are difficult to pay out of regular income. Help is given in the form of grants, payments, or interest-free loans; grants and payments do not usually have to be paid back. Payments and loans come out of an annual budget which is allocated to each district. During 1997–98 the Social Fund budget comprised £97 million for grants and £370.5 million for loans, with £0.5 million set aside as a contingency reserve.

The Social Fund provides maternity allowances and funeral payments to those who are eligible, and cold weather payments to eligible citizens when the average temperature is, or is forecast to be, 0°C or below over seven consecutive days. Discretionary, nonrepayable community care grants are decided by Social Fund officers and are budget-limited. Crisis and budgeting loans, which are discretionary, repayable, and interest-free, are adjudicated by Social Fund officers and come out of the loans budget. The maximum overall loan limit is £1,000, less any outstanding debt of the applicant or partner. Cash-limited loans were introduced in 1985.