Money and benefits
Benefits and help with costs
Help with money, cost of living, and other support that you can access.
Families who have children with complex needs and disabilities can now apply for funding from a £37million pot announced by the government to help during the lockdown period.
The grants can be used to buy equipment designed to make social distancing measures easier to live with. Most grants range from £400-500 and can be put towards anything from washing machines and computers to specialist equipment and educational toys. This is to help parents educate and look after disabled or critically ill children who are staying at home more than usual.
To find out more and apply for the funding please visit: Family Fund: Apply for a grant.
Family Fund help families across the UK who are raising a disabled or seriously ill child or young person aged 17 or under. You can apply to Family Fund if:
- You live in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland or Wales
- You are the parent or carer of a disabled or seriously ill child or young person aged 0-17 who lives with you
- You are currently living in the UK and done so for at least six months, or three months if your child is less than six months old. You are eligible to work and apply for public funds
- Your child is not in Local Authority care
- You have evidence of entitlement to any one of the following:
- Universal Credit
- Child Tax Credit
- Working Tax Credit
- Income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance
- Income Related Employment Support Allowance
- Income Support
- Housing Benefit
- Pension Credit
- Your child or young person has a high level of additional support needs arising from a long term disability or disabling condition or a serious or life limiting illness. By long term we mean lasting or likely to last 12 months or more. Please read our child and young person eligibility criteria.
For information about the Grant Fund ideas take a look at Using your grant.
GOV.UK – Carers allowance is £61.35 a week to help you look after someone with substantial caring needs. You don’t have to be related to, or live with, the person you care for.
You must be 16 or over and spend at least 35 hours a week caring for them. For each week you get Carer’s Allowance you’ll automatically get National Insurance credits.
The Carers Support Center is a charity that has been supporting Carers for nearly 30 years. We are here to work with Carers to ensure they receive the right support and information at the right time, enabling them to continue looking after members of their family, friends and neighbours.
There is information tailored to every type of carer, training and events, emotional and practical support and more.
Carers can register with the Carers’ Support Service by calling 01472 242277
or email info.nel@carerssupportcentre.com with your contact telephone number and we will call you back.
Centre4 (formerly Second Avenue Resource Centre) was established in 1995 and exists to support the regeneration of North East Lincolnshire. It is a vibrant Hub that offers services and activities to the local community.
Community Kitchen – Currently Operates a Takeaway Service
At the heart of Centre4 is the Community Kitchen which is run by Community Shop. It is a bright and friendly place where you can sit and chat with friends, find a quiet corner to get a drink and sandwich or somewhere to come and get a great home cooked meal.
They offer a variety of food and drinks, from a freshly prepared bacon roll or filling full breakfast, a range of toasties and sandwiches, jacket potatoes served with a side salad and daily specials, all home cooked and exceptionally good value.
The aim is to make the cafe affordable so that there should never be a barrier to coming in, relaxing and enjoying yourself. Members of the Community Shop receive subsidised meals.
Opening times:
Monday – Friday; 9.00am – 2.00pm
Saturday; 9.00am – 12noon – CLOSED TEMPORARILY
GOV.UK – How to claim carers allowance
Looking after someone can be tough, but you’re not on your own. Carers UK is here to listen, to give you expert information and advice that’s tailored to your situation, to champion your rights and support you in finding new ways to manage at home, at work, or wherever you are.
Turn 2 us is a national charity that helps people in financial hardship to gain access to welfare benefits, charitable grants and support services.
On their website you will find a benefits calculator, grants search, details about Turn2us’ direct grant-giving funds and links to other sources of information and help.
NHS healthcare travel costs scheme HTCS
You can claim travel costs for your children if you’re eligible for any of the benefits described on the website above.
If your child is aged 16 or over, they may make their own claim under the Low Income Scheme.
Carers and escortscan claim travel costs for an escort if your health professional says it’s medically necessary for someone to travel with you.
Some Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs) may accept claims for help with travel costs if you’re the parent or guardian of a child under the age of 16 who you have to bring to your appointment with you.
These payments are made on the basis of the patient’s eligibility for the scheme, irrespective of the escort’s eligibility.
GOV.UK – Personal Independence Payment is a benefit for people who have problems getting around outdoors, or who need personal care, supervision or support, due to a disability.
Personal Independence Payment replaced Disability Living Allowance for people of working age. The website explains who qualifies, how and when to claim, and what to do if you are not happy with a decision. When you claim Personal Independence Payment, the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) send you a ‘How your disability affects you’ form (also known as PIP2 form).
Free school meals are available to all children in reception, year 1 and year 2. They are also available to primary and secondary children whose parents/carers receive certain benefits.
GOV.UK financial help children
Includes help when you have a baby or adopting, child benefit and tax credits and support for childcare.
Our officers can advise what benefits you are entitled to and how to apply.
Contact our Benefits team.
If you live in North East Lincolnshire and are of eligible age, you can apply for a Bus pass (Concessionary travel pass).
Your age of eligibility will depend on when you were born. The bus pass gives you free bus travel, Monday to Friday from 9:30am to 11pm, and free travel all day during weekends and bank holidays.
The Travel Pass also allows discounted rail travel after 9:30am between any two stations within North East Lincolnshire (any two train stations between Cleethorpes and Habrough).
DLA for children may help with the extra costs of looking after a child.
Watch this playlist from the Department for Work & Pensions to explain DLA for children.
There are four videos including:
- An overview of the benefit
- How to make a claim
- After you have claimed
- When a child turns 16
You can also watch the playlist in British Sign Language (BSL).
Disability Living Allowance for Children – An Overview – YouTube
Tips on completing the Disability Living Allowance form
On this page we offer some general top tips on completing the DLA1 child (ALT) form, along with brief explanations of some of the more difficult parts of the form and the kind of information to include.
Tips on completing the Disability Living Allowance form (contact.org.uk)
Contact a family guide to DLA for children with learning disabilities and AS
The Disabled persons railcard is for people with a disability that makes travelling by train difficult.
You will qualify if you:
- receive Personal Independence Payments (PIP)
- receive Disability Living Allowance (DLA) at either: the higher or lower rate for the mobility component, or the higher or middle rate for the care component
- have a visual impairment
- have a hearing impairment
- have epilepsy
- receive Attendance Allowance or Severe Disablement Allowance
- receive War Pensioner’s Mobility Supplement
- receive War or Service Disablement Pension for 80% or more disability
- buy or lease a vehicle through the Motability scheme
As a higher education student living in England, you can apply for GOV.UK disabled students allowance if you have a disability, long-term health condition, mental health condition, specific learning difficulty (like dyslexia).
Personal Independence Payments Guide – GOV.UK introducing personal independence payment
Personal Independence Payments Rates – GOV.UK – PIP
Personal Independence Payments helps towards some of the extra costs arising from a long term ill-health condition or disability and is based on how a person’s condition affects them, not the condition they have. It is not means-tested or subject to tax and it is payable to people who are both in and out of work.
The Blue Badge scheme helps you park closer to your destination if you or your child have major difficulty walking because of permanent or serious condition, or if you are terminally ill and have been issued with a DS1500 form.
An organisation can apply for a Blue Badge if it’s involved in the care of physically disabled people and uses a company vehicle to carry clients.
Find out what support you might be able to get to help with your living costs. You can get benefits or financial support if you’re eligible.
Check benefits and financial support you can get – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
Other financial support
At the moment, this tool does not include all the ways you can get help with living costs. It will be updated with more types of support including:
- free school meals
- extra help for housing costs
- travel costs
Find out more information about other ways to get help with the cost of living.
If you are on a low income, whether you are working or not, and need financial help to pay all or part of your rent, you may be able to get Housing benefit.
The CEA card is a national card scheme developed for UK cinemas by the UK Cinema Association (UKCA).
It allows the cardholder to get a complimentary ticket for a person to provide assistance required as a result of the cardholders disability.
The Rock Foundation UK Ltd | Supporting people in Grimsby
We support young people and adults with learning disabilities and those who are disadvantaged.
Foodbank users are usually referred to us from places like social services, police, probation, and Salvation Army.
To register; a new user needs to attend in person, and needs to bring proof of ID, proof of address, and to show the benefits they are receiving.
They may attend once per week only. All users need to attend in person.
If they are homeless / rough sleeping, then they may attend daily.
Fuelbank
Emergency fuel vouchers can be facilitated through The Rock Foundation.
Prepayment meter users only, not cash.
We collect all the data needed and submit the claims to Auriga. Auriga screens the entrants, and they issue the vouchers direct to user.
Money advice and support
Places to go for help and support with money.
It’s important to make sure that you get all the help that you’re entitled to. Citizens Advice pages give you information on benefits and tax credits if you are working or unemployed, sick or disabled, a parent, a young person, an older person or a veteran. There is also information about council tax and housing costs, national insurance, payment of benefits and problems with benefits.
The Money Advice Service offers free and impartial money advice and guides to help improve your finances, tools and calculators to help keep track and plan ahead and support over the phone and online.
Contact them by phone on 0800 138 7777 for free and impartial money advice or typetalk 18001 0800 915 4622 (Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm).
Cerebra is the national charity helping children with brain conditions and their families discover a better life together. Their website offers parent guides from physical and mental health, dealing with social services, financial and legal affairs and education, all our guides offer expert advice on issues you may be facing.
This includes a step-by-step guide to filling it in DLA forms.
GOV.UK – Access to work grant can pay for practical support if you have a disability, health or mental health condition to help you start working, stay in work or move into self-employment or start a business.
Contact can provide information on benefits and other sources of financial help. You can call the free Contact a Family helpline and the staff can carry out a full-benefits check for you.
Telephone: 0808 808 3555
Opening hours: 9.30am to 5pm, Monday to Friday
The charity CONTACT for families with disabled children have updated their advice and guidance to explain what happens to DLA and PIP renewals during the coronavirus pandemic and what parents should do if they’re not sure what’s happening with their child’s claim. Both guides will help parent carers make sense of the rules for claiming these essential benefits – they are there to help with the extra costs of caring for a disabled child – and include hints, tips and suggestions on how to make the best application and answer the questions on the forms. In addition, CONTACT have also updated its factsheet on claiming Universal Credit (UC) for a young disabled person. All of Contact’s guides are free to download from their website, or you can call Contact’s free helpline Tel: 0808 808 3555 and ask them to send you a copy.
Contact – Updated benefits information from contact DLA, PIP and Universal Credit
Do you have a question?
If there is anything you would like to ask us, about our services, our work or how we can help you, then Contact us.