Scottish Welfare Fund: Crisis Grants and Community Care Grants explained

The two grants, and how they differ

A Crisis Grant is for a short-term emergency — something has gone wrong and you need help right now. A Community Care Grant is longer-term and about a home: helping you move into one, stay in one, or avoid needing residential care.

• you need help to get food or with heating costs
• there is a fire or flood at home
• you are a victim of domestic abuse and need help with things like moving away from an abuser
• you are a grandparent or other relative who has taken over caring for a child, and you are waiting on a transfer of benefits
• you are facing a gap in your normal income because of redundancy or a change at work

A Community Care Grant works differently. According to mygov.scot’s guidance, you may be able to get one if you are leaving care, hospital or prison and need help to start a settled home, if you need support to stay out of care, if you are escaping domestic abuse, or if a child’s health is at risk without the help. Crisis Grants and Community Care Grants are both paid from the same fund, but a council will assess each against different criteria, so it matters which one you actually apply for.

Who can apply, and the low-income test

To apply for either grant, mygov.scot says you must be 16 or older and on a low income or getting certain benefits. You apply through your local council — never through the Scottish Government directly.

There is no fixed income figure that decides this. As a guide, mygov.scot says you are more likely to qualify if you already get, or your income is about the same as someone who gets, Income Support, Pension Credit, income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance, income-based Employment and Support Allowance, or Universal Credit.

How to apply, and how long it takes

Every Scottish council runs its own version of the fund, so the exact application method — online, by paper form, by email or by phone — depends on where you live. If you cannot apply online or need help with your application, contact your council directly; most offer other ways to apply.

Both of those are typical timescales, not guarantees. mygov.scot notes that some councils are taking longer than usual because of a rise in applications, and your own council will tell you how long your particular application is likely to take once you have submitted it.

How often you can apply

Crisis Grants are meant to be one-off payments for a specific emergency, not ongoing income, so repeated applications for the same underlying problem are unlikely to succeed. mygov.scot’s “Community Care Grant - how to apply” page sets out who can apply, and the income and savings tests, but — unlike the Crisis Grant page — does not list a fixed number-of-grants limit; if you need more than one, ask your council directly how often you can reapply.

If you live outside Scotland

The Scottish Welfare Fund is a Scottish Government scheme administered through Scotland’s local councils — mygov.scot is explicit that you apply through your local council, never through the Scottish Government directly. If you live elsewhere in the UK, the equivalent scheme has a different name and different rules:

• England: the Crisis and Resilience Fund, run by your local council.
• Wales: the Discretionary Assistance Fund, made up of an Emergency Assistance Payment and an Individual Assistance Payment.
• Northern Ireland: Discretionary Support, which can be a grant or an interest-free loan depending on your circumstances.

Related guides

• The Crisis and Resilience Fund: help from your council in England
• Household Support Fund: it has ended — here is what replaced it
• Discretionary Assistance Fund (DAF): emergency grants in Wales
• Discretionary Support in Northern Ireland: grant or interest-free loan?
• Council Tax Reduction: how much you could get off your bill