Grants and loans

You could get a grant from your council if you’re disabled and need to make changes to your home, for example to:

• widen doors and install ramps
• improve access to rooms and facilities, eg stairlifts or a downstairs bathroom
• provide a heating system suitable for your needs
• adapt heating or lighting controls to make them easier to use.

To find out more about what's available in your area, check with your council or visit the gov.uk page on Disabled Facilities Grants.

This is payable if you've been sanctioned (your benefits have been stopped or reduced) while claiming Universal Credit, Employment and Support Allowance or Jobseeker’s Allowance and as a result face hardship. 

You'll have to make an initial ‘Hardship Statement’ that will be repeated each month if on Universal Credit. 

Payment is either 60% or 80% of your normal applicable amount or standard allowance depending on your circumstances.

Payment starts after 15 days unless you have a long-term health issue, are pregnant, homeless or a lone parent.

For Jobseeker's Allowance and Employment and Support Allowance, this payment is a grant, but for Universal Credit it must be repaid by you in future months. 

If you're entitled to certain means-tested benefits then a Cold Weather Payment of £25 will be allowed for each period of cold weather. This means a period of 7 consecutive days where the average temperature is 0°C or below.

You don't need to claim this payment as it is paid automatically.

Cold Weather Payment isn't available in Scotland. Instead, people on certain means-tested benefits in Scotland automatically get a Winter Heating Payment of £58.75. 

Previously, everyone over pension age was entitled to an annual Winter Fuel Payment. This changed in July 2024. Now, only people over pension age who receive the following benefits are entitled to this:

• Pension Credit
• Universal Credit
• Income Support
• Income-related Employment and Support Allowance
• Income-based Jobseeker's Allowance
• Child Tax Credit
• Working Tax Credit

If you receive any of these benefits, in 2024 you'll automatically receive a one-off payment of £200 if you were born between 23 September 1944 and 22 September 1958. It will be £300 if you were born before this.

Only 1 payment is made for each household. The payment will be split between the qualifying residents.

You can contact the Winter Fuel Payment helpline on 0800 731 0160.

You can get a grant or an interest-free loan (depending on the estate of the person who has died) to help with the costs of a funeral.

To get a Funeral Expenses Payment, you or your partner must be getting one of the means-tested benefits. You must claim within 3 months of the funeral and be ‘eligible to be treated by the DWP as responsible for the costs of the funeral’.

You will usually be seen as eligible if you are the partner or parent of the deceased, or a close relative or close friend.

The grant will cover the funeral expenses up to £1,000 plus costs of purchasing a plot or cremation fees, hearse and some travel costs.

Since September 2019, the Funeral Support Payment replaced the expenses payment for those resident in Scotland. The rules are very similar, but a claim can be made up to 6 months after the funeral.

Charitable funds are run by grant-giving charities to give help to people in financial need. Different funds have different aims and eligibility criteria, such as specific locations or particular illnesses or disabilities. 

To find out more about what grants might be available for your situation or where you live, visit the Turn2us grants search tool