Financial entitlements

Our goal is to help our young people learn about, understand and manage their finances successfully. This takes time, patience and practice, but we are here to help you in lots of different ways with this area of adult life. If you make mistakes that’s okay too, we all do, because there is so much to learn about money. It’s always important to talk to us about things when you are struggling.  

Care leaver entitlements

There are certain areas in which we can provide you with financial support and help, and you have a right to this support. Below is a link to your entitlements and our finance policy, containing all of the financial support you are entitled to. Your Personal Advisor or someone close to you can help you to understand these in more detail. You don’t need to know everything in these documents, but it is important that you and your Personal Advisor work out which parts of the policy are relevant to you and your circumstances. 

You are entitled to the following: 

• Birth Certificate
• Passport Application or 1 x renewal including passport photographs.
• Provisional Driving Licence

If you change your name or your gender, then the Care Leavers Service will support you to obtain replacement identity documents that represent your identity needs.

Setting up your own home

Once you are in your house, you want to start making it a home. If you are a ‘former relevant’ care leaver the Care Leavers Team provide you with something called a Setting Up Home Allowance (SHA). This is an allowance that is given to you to purchase everything you need for your home. You access this through your Personal Advisor who will also support you with making decisions about what you might need. You only get one Setting up home allowance so it’s important to plan how you will spend this with your Personal Advisor. There are lots of things you need to think about when setting up your home, from beds to washings machines. We have some sheets with everything listed on it we will give to you to start the process. Your advisor will arrange to meet you and start purchasing all the things you need. 

You will be able to access your Setting Up Home Allowance up until the age of 25, even if you no longer have an allocated Personal Adviser. 

You will receive the following allowance: 

• Access to a £2000 grant if you had access to your SHA grant before 1st April 2023 
• Access to £3,000 grant when you access the SHA grant for the first time from 1^st April 2023 onwards

When you move into your own accommodation the service recognise that this can be a crucial step to independence. To support you we will: 

• Support you with removal costs 
• Help you access your SHA. 
• Purchase a TV Licence 
• Rent Advance payment 
• Deposit & Rent in Advance payment will be available if you have been waiting for social housing for a long time (6 months +). The rent deposit and first month’s rent should be a maximum of £650 each.

You are entitled to the following payments if your circumstances require this support: 

• Benefit Gap Payment of £72.90 for 4 weeks when living in your own tenancy/ semi-supported placement/ staying put when you are responsible for your own bills.
• Benefit Gap Payment of £35.00 when in hospital.
• If you are Living with Parents, then you are not entitled to this payment 

If you are undertaking a programme of full-time education or training (minimum of 12 hours direct contact time) then you will be entitled to the following: 

• 16-19 Education Bursary - £1,200 per year. You will receive £30.00 per week for 40 weeks (academic year) directly from your education/training provider. 
• If you are not entitled to the education bursary (due to your age or immigration status) the Care Leavers Service will provide an education top-up. You will receive £30.00 per week for 40 weeks (academic year). 

*If you are studying part-time education or training course, then this will be paid at reduced rate of £15.00 per week.

If you are on an apprenticeship/traineeship

• you will be entitled to receive £20.00 top up (dependant on apprenticeship/traineeship income). 
• if you are living independently an additional £10.00 tenancy top up.

If the course requires you to have a laptop we will contribute up to £250.00 towards the purchase price once you have established regular attendance for 3 months.

If you have a job interview, you will be entitled to: 

Support with interview Clothes from DWP. If DWP support is not available, then based on an assessment of need, you can receive £75.00 for interview clothes/shoes.

Higher Education Bursary payments– higher education is where you are at university or college studying a higher education degree (level 4 or above). 

As a former relevant care leaver, you are entitled to £2000 bursary, over the duration of your course. This will be made out in payments across the duration of your studies of £500 at the end of year 1, £500 at the end of year 2, and £1000 at the end of year 3.   This bursary is based upon successful completion of studies and therefore should you not complete your studies then the bursary would not be supported.  

Going to University?

You can get help with up to 52 weeks of accommodation support (where required) for up to three years

Support can be provided for up to 52 weeks per academic year, for a maximum of three academic years, following an assessment of need. This means support can be offered during term time and holiday periods if you need it, up to a maximum of three years in total. 

This applies to Former Relevant care leavers. (Support for qualifying young people differs and will be considered individually.)

How Much Can I Get? 

Support is based on the Local Housing Allowance (LHA) rate for the area you study in

We will contribute up to the relevant Local Housing Allowance (LHA) rate for the area where you live and study- you can check how much this is here- Search LHA rates

This means:

• You can choose to live in halls of residence, private accommodation, or your own tenancy
• You will receive the same level of support, regardless of the type of accommodation
• You will be responsible for any accommodation costs above the LHA rate, including bills and utilities (you may wish to use your maintenance loan or university bursaries to help cover these.)

While the standard offer is aligned to the LHA rate, we will always consider individual circumstances as part of your Pathway Plan and needs assessment.

Planning for courses longer than three years

Some courses last more than three years. Discretionary accommodation support is available for a maximum of three academic years. For any additional years of study beyond this, you will need to use your student maintenance loan which is available to students to cover accommodation and living expenditure. 

Your Personal Adviser will help you plan ahead if your course is longer than three years. This will include;

• Exploring what financial support your chosen university offers to care leavers
• Look at all available funding (including student maintenance loans and university support)
• Planning ahead to make sure you can manage the costs of any additional years confidently.  

What we ask of you

To help you make the most of your opportunities, we ask that you:

1. In the first instance, explore the support available at each university you are considering, including accommodation discounts or bursaries for care leavers. Many of these can be found via the Care Leaver Covenant or the University’s own webpages.
2. Discuss your plans early with your Social Worker or Personal Advisor, especially if you are thinking about moving away, living in halls, or choosing a course longer than three years.
3. Plan ahead for any costs above the LHA rate, using your student finance, maintenance loans, and any bursaries offered by your chosen university.

Travel Allowance: you are entitled to support to get to their university accommodation at the start of the academic year; provide support to return to vacation accommodation. The allowance will be provided at the following points:

• Start of the academic year /travel to university
• Christmas vacation (return trip)
• Easter vacation (return trip)
• Summer vacation (single trip)

Christmas/Festival Payments are available to all care leavers up to the age of 21, These will be paid if you remain in contact and actively engaged with the Pathways Leaving Care Service. 

Festival allowances: 

• Aged 16-17: £100
• Aged 18-21: £25 or gift equivalent
• Aged 21 £50   

As an eligible, relevant, or former relevant Care Leaver living in semi-independent, independent accommodation or with your family you will receive a festival allowance or gift equivalent as set out above. Festival allowance can be paid in accordance with festival dates of your choosing, i.e. Christmas, Eid or Hanukkah. If serving a remand or custodial sentence you will receive a £20 postal order and the remaining balance will be saved for you on release.

Birthday Allowance are available to all care leavers up to the age of 21 and the payment will be made directly to you. 

• Aged 16-17: £80
• Aged 18: £100
• Aged 19-21: £25 

If you are serving a remand or custodial sentence you will receive a £20 postal order and the remaining balance will be saved for you on release.

Bus Pass: 

As a Care Leaver you are entitled to free bus travel across Greater Manchester, talk to your Personal Adviser to find out more.

Clothing Allowance

If you are an eligible or relevant Care Leaver living in a semi-independent provision you may be entitled to claim up to £75 every 3 months whilst living in this provision. Your Personal Adviser will need to seek approval prior to any allowance being paid.

College Equipment 

If for any reason you are unable to access the Care Leaver’s bursary (see education section), as an eligible, relevant or former relevant Care Leaver you may be able to access up to £200 towards college equipment. This will be based on a needs led assessment and agreement from the Head of Service will need to be sought as this is a discretionary payment.  

Laptop

If you are a Care Leaver who is accessing Education or Training you may be entitled to a laptop. Talk to your Social Worker or Personal Adviser if you need one. They will need to evidence the reason for your request either within your PEP or Pathway Plan.

Pregnancy and support for you and your child - you can access parenting grant when you are parent/carer/ guardian of a child. 

You will be entitled to the following support: 

• £200.00 grant to purchase furniture, carpets etc to prepare a room for the birth of your baby. 
• Your Personal Adviser will also support you to apply for a ‘maternity grant’ so you can purchase items such as cot/pram and other baby items.
• Your Personal Adviser will provide you with a small gift to celebrate the arrival of your child.

Applications for additional finance support can be made to the care leaver finance panel. 

Learning to drive

The Care Leavers Service can support you to pass your driving test. To achieve this, you are entitled to the following: 

• one provisional driving licence (see Key Documents above)
• one theory test
• one practical test
• cost of 10 x 1-hour car driving lessons

You must evidence the funds to book 10 lessons or have evidence that you have already paid for 10 lessons. Then the service will fund 10 lessons to the value of £350.00. If you wish to book an intensive driving course and you can provide evidence of the funds to cover the remainder of the costs, you will be entitled a lump sum of £350.00 to be paid to the approved driving instructor.

You are entitled to receive support when experiencing hardship. This is broken down as follows:

• Food: £15.00
• Gas/Electric: £20
• Travel: Issue bus or train ticket
• Utility allowance can be provided, this will be paid in instalments of £20.00 between December-March

If you are waiting for an asylum decision and have no recourse to public funds, you will be provided with a Living Allowance. You will receive the following payments:

Weekly Living Allowance up to £72.90 if you are living in semi-independent accommodation. 

Translation/Interpreting costs: If you need support in making asylum applications, we provide funds or a service for translators/interpreters.

Council Tax: if you reach your 18^th birthday and have no recourse to public funds, council tax bills will be met by the Care Leavers Service.

Travel document: If you are required to travel outside of the UK then the Care Leavers Service will provide funds up to £280.00 for a certificate of travel.

Digital Inclusion:

As a Care Leaver you can apply for support to access digital technology. The level of support you will receive will depend on your circumstances. Greater Manchester has an offer for Care Leavers, if you click on the following link https://contactus.salford.gov.uk/?formtype=DISAF it will take you to a form to complete. 

The libraries within Tameside also have access to the internet, you will just need a library card to access this. For more support around digital inclusion speak to your Personal Adviser who can provide you with more support.  

Bank Account: When you reach the age of 18 your Personal Adviser will ensure that you have an appropriate bank account in place.

Personal Allowance: 

All Eligible and Relevant Care Leavers living in semi-independent accommodation will receive a Personal Allowance. Wherever possible this will be paid directly into your bank account, however if you are not in education, training, or employment and when it is accessible you will be required to attend the Leaving Care office for your payments as scheduled by your Personal Adviser.

If you are detained in custody, you will receive £10 weekly personal allowance by way of postal order.

Whilst under 18 and as an Eligible or Relevant Care Leaver you cannot claim Universal Credit.

Benefit Claim at 18

If you are not in employment your Personal Adviser can support you to make an initial benefit claim prior to your 18^th birthday. The DWP has implemented a commitment to supporting Care Leavers, this allows your benefit claim to be made 28 days prior to your 18^th birthday. For more information, please visit the following website: Department for Work and Pensions: Care Leaver Covenant offer - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Your Social Worker or Personal Adviser will support you with this initial claim, you will be expected to attend this appointment. Once you turn 18 you will be supported with a personal allowance until your Universal Credit is in place, providing you are maintaining your claim requirements.

• First 5 weeks – payments made will be in line with Universal Credit.

Following 5 weeks:

• Semi Independent- £15 food voucher and £10 utilities
• Own tenancy – £15 food voucher and £15 utilities
• Supported Lodgings or extended family (not parents) – £25
• Supported Living Accommodation – £15 food voucher

Thereafter an assessment of need will be completed and discussed with the Head of Service.

If you are experiencing hardship, then please contact your Personal Adviser at the earliest opportunity. Your Personal Adviser will be able to support you to complete a budget plan and can advise on accessing support from the Job Centre Plus and the Citizens Advice Bureau.