Grants and financial help

We can assist customers who receive Housing Benefit or Universal Credit to apply for a Discretionary Housing Payment (DHP) from Salford City Council. A DHP is an extra amount of money to help pay your rent. A DHP is awarded at the council’s discretion so is not a benefit, and no-one has an automatic right to payment.

If you are in a crisis situation and are having difficulty paying your rent, we can assist you to apply for a Hardship Fund payment of up to £250. This would be to help towards paying rent arrears or towards removal costs, if it will be financially beneficial for you to downsize to a smaller property. Eligibility criteria apply.

We can refer customers who are struggling with the expense of buying furniture or white goods to our furniture recycling scheme. Furniture items or appliances are provided free of charge to customers who need them, subject to availability.

For customers who are struggling to pay for food, we can raise food bank vouchers.

If you have more complex needs, we can refer customers to specialist support agencies such as Citizens Advice or Welfare Rights.

Our team can help you check you are claiming all the benefits you may be entitled to.

If you think an error has been made with your benefits, we can support customer to challenge the decision.

If you are struggling with your gas or electric bills, we can refer you to the HACT scheme for help.

United Utilities has a range of support schemes to help make water bills more affordable, especially if you’re receiving benefits such as Universal Credit. You can find out more by calling 0800 072 6765.

Citizens Advice

Citizens Advice has lots of information about the different help available, with things  such as food, health and children’s school costs.

GOV.UK

Visit the gov.uk website to find out what support is available in addition to any benefits you may already receive, and whether you could apply.

Turn2us

Turn2us is an organisation that helps people access welfare benefits, charitable grants and other financial help through their partner organisations. Find out more on their website.