Emergency support - Local Welfare Provision

You may be eligible for Local Welfare Provision to help you:

  • Meet short-term emergency/immediate support needs
  • Establish or maintain a home in the community

Apply

You need to apply online. You can do it yourself or someone else can do it for you.

If you need help, you can call 0161 770 5468 (9am - 5pm Monday to Friday), go to the Customer Service Centre in the Spindles or to any library in the borough.

You’ll need to provide proof of things like your income and savings. The information you give might be checked with other council departments, government agencies, or other organisations or people.

When your application is looked at, the financial situation of everyone in your household will be taken into account.

The Local Welfare Provision is only there as a last option when no other help is available. Any help given is up to the council’s discretion, and you are not guaranteed to get it.

Apply for help from the Local Welfare Provision Scheme

Who is it for?

These are some examples of the types of people and circumstances that may be considered for support:

  • Care Leavers under the age of 25
  • People who have suffered a disaster/crisis such as fire or flood
  • Families under exceptional financial pressure
  • Vulnerable people
  • People fleeing domestic violence
  • People moving out of institutional or residential care
  • People moving from supported accommodation to independent living
  • People who are leaving prison or detention centres
  • People who are chronically or terminally ill
  • People with alcohol or drug issues who are receiving addiction support

Eligibility

To be eligible for Local Welfare Provision you must be:

  1. Aged 16 or over.
  2. Be a resident of the borough or be able to demonstrate that you are about to become a resident of the borough.
  3. in receipt of benefits such as, Universal Credit, Personal Independence Payment, Housing Benefit, Council Tax Reduction

Awards may be given in exceptional circumstances to applicants who are not in receipt of one of the above benefits but who are experiencing financial crisis.

You would not be able to get Local Welfare Provision if:

  • Help is available from other funds or schemes
  • You have other ways to cover the costs (such as savings)
  • You own a property other than the one in which you live
  • The need for Local Welfare Provision has been self-imposed (for example, benefit sanction enforced, loss of employment due to misconduct)
  • You have received an award under the Local Welfare Provision scheme within the last six months
  • You have no recourse to public funds. Please contact us for advice about other crisis support that may be available.

Support

Here are some examples of how you could receive help via the Local Welfare Provision:

Order and payment by Oldham Council to suppliers of suitable goods or services

  • Essential domestic appliances
  • Beds

Oldham Council has the discretion to determine which goods and services are essential and will consider the circumstances of each claim individually.

The council is committed to reduce it’s carbon footprint and as part of this initiative, items awarded via the LWP scheme may be pre-loved.

All pre-loved goods are fully reconditioned, checked and cleaned prior to being offered. Any electrical goods provided come with a 12 month warranty.

Awards would not be given for:

  • A television or satellite cost or repair
  • Installation of a telephone or telephone line
  • Housing costs or arrears of rent
  • Costs that can be met from other sources
  • Debts
  • Motor vehicles expenses
  • TV licence
  • Costs associated with care provision

Appeals

If you (or someone helping you) don’t agree with a decision, you can ask for an explanation about why your application was refused or why you didn’t get the full support you asked for.

You must ask for this explanation in writing, either by email or post, within 14 days of the decision date.

If you’re still not satisfied with the explanation, you can ask for the decision to be reviewed. You need to do this within one month of the original decision.

A different officer who wasn’t involved in the first decision will look at your case. You might be asked to provide more evidence during the review.

For more details, please read the current policy for the scheme.