Local Welfare Provision

• ​​​ Find out how to apply

What is the Local Welfare Provision?

The Local Welfare Provision scheme is designed to help vulnerable people in our district in times of emergency or crisis.

No cash payments will be given and awards will only be made to people who live in the Wakefield District.

Local Welfare Provision is a limited fund of money and aims to:

• Meet short term emergency or immediate support needs of vulnerable people in the Wakefield district
• Assist vulnerable people to establish or maintain a home in the community 

To be eligible for Local Welfare Provision you must: 

• Live in the Wakefield area
• Be eligible for or receive Council Tax Support
• Require immediate support to meet an urgent need that poses a serious risk to your health and safety or an immediate household member
• Be in a vulnerable situation and need help to live independently in the community
• Be able to demonstrate that they have no other resources or alternative way of meeting this need. 
  

How to apply

A member of the team will call you, usually within 1 working day, however, due to the coronavirus outbreak it may take a little longer to contact you.

Alternatively, call 0345 8 506 506

Our office is open Monday to Friday 8.30am to 5.00pm. Outside these hours you can leave a message with the Council's Contact Centre who will take all your details and pass them on to us.

What will I need to send you?

We will ask you to provide your last month's bank statement to show what your balance is, and we will ask you questions about how you are spending your money and take into account expenditure that you have a choice about. We will also ask you to provide current meter readings for fuel assistance.

How soon will you make a decision?

Wherever possible, we expect to make a decision within 5 working days or sooner if very urgent.

What if my application is refused?

If your application is refused and you disagree with the decision we can look at it again but Local Welfare Provision is discretionary and there is no right of appeal.

If Local Welfare Provision is unable to help you, we will provide you with details of other organisations that may be able to help.

If you live in the Wakefield District and receive Housing Benefit and need further help meeting housing costs, or require one-off help with moving costs, please see Discretionary Housing Payments