Eligibility
To claim an ELF grant the applicant must be aged 16 or over and a 'resident' in the Essex County Council area. See Appendix B for a full list of district, borough and city councils covered by Essex County Council. Applicants also need to be on a low income or with little or no resources. Where 'resident' means someone who lives in a property in the Essex County Council area or are accessing services such as the Job Centre as if a resident of the area.
When assessing an applicant's entitlement to an ELF grant the amount of resources the applicant has available to them should be taken into account.
Resources include
- capital assets
- earnings
- any other income
- cash in hand
- funds in banks, building societies, post office or credit union accounts
- any sources of credit such as cash cards, store cards, credit cards, overdraft facilities or loan schemes (unless they are receiving Income Based Jobseekers Allowance, Income related Employment and Support Allowance, Income Support or Pension Credit)
- help which might be available from any other source to meet or partly meet the need if there is a realistic expectation that help would be available in time such as charities and benevolent funds, friends and family
The decision maker can disregard certain resources where it would be reasonable to do, for example, Housing Benefit and Localised Council Tax Support could be disregarded as they are intended for use in covering rent and council tax charges. This can also include resources such as payments for community care services and Disability Living Allowance.
The list is not exhaustive.
The following people are ineligible from claiming for an ELF grant:
- people in care homes, hospital or prison - unless they are due to be released within the next 6 weeks and are applying for an ELF grant to help them set up in the Community.
- people who are members of and fully maintained by a religious order
- people in education - except those that receive Income Support, Income Based Jobseekers Allowance or Income Related Employment and Support Allowance or Pension Credit or Universal Credit OR those who do not have access to the Student Loans and Grants intentioned to help with living costs whilst a student.
- people who fail the Habitual Residency Test / Subject to Immigration Control ie those that have no recourse to public funds
Help people establish in the community following a stay in an institution, care home, local authority care, hostel, prison, or similar
Examples of accommodation this refers to are:
- hospitals
- care homes
- hostels for homeless people, alcohol misusers or drug misusers
- prisons and youth offender institutions
- foster care
- staffed group homes
- supported lodgings
- staff intensive sheltered housing providing a substantial level of personal care
This list is not exhaustive.
There must have been a substantial element of care or supervision involved with their stay. Each case must be looked at as an individual case as even residents within the same hostel may receive a different level of care.
In considering the level of care, the decision maker will take into account the length of time, frequency and type of care provided. The length of time the applicant had received care for should normally be a period of 3 months or more OR a pattern of frequent or regular admission clearly linked to the nature of the applicant's disability or circumstances.
For this rule to apply the living arrangement of the applicant must be a permanent one. For example if staying in a 'halfway house' or some form of board and lodging establishment prior to eventual permanent resettlement it will not normally be appropriate to award an ELF grant for furniture, furnishing, other household equipment or fuel connection charges.
This could include people who have been without a settled way of life and have been placed in accommodation as part of a planned resettlement programme.
Ease exceptional pressures on people and their families
All families, especially those on low incomes, face pressures at various times so that in itself is not a reason to award an ELF grant. However, they may be awarded to ease exceptional pressures on a family, ie circumstances which put a family under greater pressure than might normally be associated with low income.
Examples of exceptional pressure could be:
- the breakdown of a relationship (especially where domestic violence is involved) - this is for when a relationship has recently ended, however, the decision maker should give consideration to what happened since the relationship broke down for example if the applicant had spent time in a refuge or other temporary accommodation until permanent accommodation could be found it could still be considered despite the fact the relationship had not recently ended. It will not normally be appropriate to make an ELF grant more than once for the breakdown of the same relationship
- the onset of, or deterioration in, a disability of a member of the family - this could include repair or replacement of items damaged by the behavioural problems within the family or where new or better items are needed since the deterioration occurred
- sudden domestic upheaval imposed by an unforeseen calamity such as a house fire, natural disaster such as flooding
Help people who are unable to meet their immediate short term needs either in an emergency in relation to some expenses or as a consequence of a disaster
This is referred to as help with 'general living expenses'. Any need that would be expected to last more than 14 days is not 'short term'.
Examples of when this would apply include:
- an unexpected disaster. A disaster is an event of great or sudden misfortune or sudden calamitous event. Examples being flooding, gas explosion, chemical leak or fire.
- had an emergency which is defined as a situation which caused them to have a pressing need or unforeseen circumstance either of which requires immediate remedy or action, and the expense of that has left them with no funds to live on.
There is no provision within the scheme to assist people:
- in the situation where their money has been lost or stolen. The applicant must accept some personal responsibility for taking care with their monies
- affected by the Governments Welfare Reform Programme, unless the Decision Maker feels they meet an exception and fit the other eligibility criteria
- affected by delays with the Department for Work and Pensions processing benefit applications, unless a short term benefit advance has been applied for and refused and they meet the other eligibility criteria
The Decision Maker must give consideration to the resources the applicant still has available to them.