Successfully Managing your Finances
Financial Support
We will try to help you financially, in a similar way that parents might support their own children. When you turn 18, you are no longer ‘looked after’ and are expected to support yourself financially through claiming benefits, paid work or if in further education, claim grants and loans that you may be entitled to.
However, at certain times, there will be additional financial support available to you. For example, when you move or if you are in further education. We will discuss with you what your financial needs will be to help you achieve your goals and any financial support packages will be clearly laid out in your pathway plan.
The help provided includes:
- For 16 and 17 year olds
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If you are 16 or 17 you may already be living in semi-independent accommodation. Since you will not be entitled to claim benefits your Social Worker or Personal Advisor will provide you with subsistence to cover your day to day living costs. This does not apply if you are living with foster carers or in residential school or accommodation.
- All accommodation costs are met by the local authority
- The subsistence rate as of April 2024 is £71.93 per week (£311.68 monthly) (equivalent to the current rate of universal credit)
- You will receive a clothing allowance of £150 twice a year to coincide with the start of the summer and winter.
If you are in a Young Offenders Institution or in prison, you will be supported with living expenses up to £5 per week.
- Turning 18
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When you turn 18 you will be supported to apply for benefits as soon as possible. There is a specialist benefits advisor that your worker can call on to ensure that you claim everything you are entitled to. If you want more detailed information, please use the Gov.uk benefits calculator or speak to your Social Worker or Personal Advisor.
You should already have a bank account but if you don’t your Social Worker or Personal Advisor will help you to set it up. This will be important so that if you are receiving benefits or subsistence or are working your money can go straight into this account.
- 21 to 25 year olds
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It is hoped that you will have confidently developed the necessary independence skills and to have secured final stage accommodation by the time you reach 21. At this point many young people will feel that they no longer need support.
Unless you are undertaking a significant further education course such as a university degree, it is unlikely that there will be any ongoing financial support available.
However, there may be a one off financial crisis that we can help you with and whether you have ended your formal involvement with us or not, you are able to come back and ask for assistance anytime up until you are 25, and we, where possible, will always try and link you back up with your previous social worker or personal advisor. If we aren’t working with you in a formal way then we will contact you every year usually on or around your birthday.
We will also invite you to join our Care Leavers Alumni Network (Clan) – see section 8 for more details.
- Discounted travel 18 to 25
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If you live in a London borough and receive no other free or discounted travel, you may be eligible for 50% off Transport for London bus and tram fares. You can apply whether you are actively working with us or not. You don’t have to be “open” to a social worker.
How do you apply?
- Register your interest with your social worker, or if you are closed to us contact UMIST.
- We will confirm your care leaver status and London address to TfL. This takes 3 weeks to process.
- After three weeks, you can apply online on the TfL website for the 18-25 Care Leaver Bus & Tram Discount Oyster photocard. There is a £20 administration fee, but we will refund this if you show proof that you have submitted an application.
- Once TfL receive your request, they will match your details with our data. • If all your details are correct, TfL will send out your 18-25 Care Leaver Bus & Tram Discount Oyster photocard
If you are an apprentice or a student other concessions may be more beneficial – so do check this link to make sure this new concession will work best for you as you can only have one at a time.
More information on these concessions can be found at: https://tfl.gov.uk/fares/find-fares/bus-and-tram-fares
- Identification Documents (ID)
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Once you turn 16, you will need formal documents to access things like benefits and employment. Your Social Worker or Personal Advisor will help you to obtain proof of identity such as a passport or driving license, birth certificate and national insurance card as soon as possible. We will meet the costs of these.
- Savings
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When you become looked after, your Social Worker or Personal Advisor will have made arrangements so that money can be saved for you.
You will be able to access these savings when your reach 18. Any savings you have accrued will be discussed as part of the pathway planning process so when you turn 18 you will have thought about how you might wish to spend it.
- Accommodation costs
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Whatever type of accommodation that you are living in or move into at 18 you will be expected to claim benefits to help with accommodation costs. This includes if the plan is for you to Stay Put in your foster placement (see section on accommodation). You will be responsible for your rent and accommodation costs. The decision about what type of accommodation you move into will have been discussed with you earlier on in the pathway planning process, but definitely by the time you are 17 and be laid out clearly in your pathway plan.
Whether or not you are working, in education or on benefits you will need to pay a service charge on your accommodation of up £10 per week from your income.
- Moving costs
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When you move into other accommodation, whether it is a temporary one, such as a semi-independent hostel or to your final stage accommodation your Social Worker or Personal Advisor will help you with the costs of hiring a van for example.
- Setting up Home Grant
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When you move into your long-term accommodation you may receive a setting up home grant (SUHG). The amount is discretionary and will vary depending on what type of tenancy you get, the standard of the property and what essential furniture items you may need. The available grant may be up to £3000 or equivalent in goods already received. Your Social Worker or Personal Advisor will assess with you what you need.
- If you obtain a tenancy from Housing Management (the Council) you will receive and Enhanced Offer which includes full decoration, flooring and white goods as part of the offer. As you will have received some essential items and decoration already you will receive a grant less that the maximum for remaining essential furniture items.
- If you receive a tenancy via a Housing association, you will not receive an Enhanced offer so may receive a grant up to a maximum of £3000. However, please note this is subject to assessment of need.
- If you are moving into semi-independent accommodation, which is temporary and you need some items to furnish it, you may be able to access small amounts from the setting up grant earlier. You are able to access up to £300 for necessary items, but this will come out of your total allowance. You will only be able to buy items once out of this allowance and requests for the same item, cutlery, for example, cannot be covered when you move from one accommodation to another.
- Council Tax
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When you move into your final stage accommodation you will become responsible for all the utility bills such as electricity and gas. Prior to this you may have been living in semi-independent accommodation and paid a small service charge towards the general cost of utilities (approx. £10).
From April 2024, it was agreed that RBKC care leavers who are liable to pay their own council tax directly (rather than as part of a service charge), or cannot access other available discounts, can apply to receive a care leavers’ discount from the Council up until they are 25. The discount does not extend beyond a care leaver’s 25th birthday. Council tax discount will start once a care leaver moves into their final stage accommodation (social housing or privately rented) rather than when they are living in hostel accommodation, unless they are personally liable for the Tax.
This scheme replaces the previous scheme so speak to your social worker or PA if you have any questions.
- Discretionary payments and loans
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But from time to time there may be problems that arise where you are still struggling financially. In these cases, you can ask for Discretionary Leaving Care Payment or loan from your Social Worker or Personal Advisor. If a loan is agreed, you would be expected to pay this back and you must sign an agreement that sets out the repayment arrangements. Whether it is a loan or a discretionary payment the team manager will need to approve it.
Depending on your circumstances you may be able to claim the following so please ask your Social Worker or personal Advisor:
- Discretionary Housing Payments
- Discretionary Leaving Care Payment
- Loan
We do not hold cash in any of the offices, so for emergencies if you run short and need help with food your Social Worker or Personal Advisor may be able to give you supermarket vouchers.
- Life Chances
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As part of Our Pledge to looked after children and care leavers we will support you to access essential equipment you might need to pursue your education, such as a laptop. However, we know that sometimes you may also need financial support to enable you to take up activities that you enjoy. Some support may be accessed from the Life Chances Fund like joining a gym or taking lessons in something you enjoy and which supports your education, training or overall wellbeing.
- Birthday and special day allowances
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To mark your birthday, a small allowance of £35 for gifts or contribution towards your celebrations will be given to you up until the age of 21. If you are 16-18 this allowance only applies if you are living in semi-independent accommodation. If you are living with foster carers your carer will buy you a present instead.
We will also contribute £35 towards Christmas or Eid celebrations once a year until you are 21.