The fund may be able to help when you've had a sudden event or change in your circumstances, to support you if you're setting up home, or if you're facing particular pressures.
The fund may support you to resolve your immediate difficulties. It also puts you in touch with other support and services, so it's less likely to happen again.
Types of awards
There are 3 types of awards potentially available from the Derbyshire Discretionary Fund:
- Resettlement Grant
- Essential Items Grant
- Crisis Payment
Resettlement Grant
Resettlement Grants are to support an individual or family to set up home and establish a settled way of life following a period without a settled way of life.
Applications for Resettlement Grants must be made by a professional supporting the individual or family.
Applicants must be in receipt of a qualifying benefit or be likely to qualify for one of those benefits when establishing themselves in the community.
The grants are limited to one award in a rolling 12-month period. Grants will usually only consist of essential items, though other items and services may be available for people supported by Derbyshire adult or children's social care.
Essential Items Grant
Essential Items Grants can help individuals or families who are unable to provide themselves with basic household items and who are under pressure, for example, moving property due to financial reasons or to move closer for family members for support.
Applications can be made by the applicant themselves or by someone supporting them.
Applicants must be in receipt of a qualifying benefit.
Essential item grants are limited to one award within a rolling 12-month period. Only essential items can be awarded, such as a cooker, fridge-freezer, washing machine (in some circumstances), bed and bedding and a second-hand sofa. If a grant is awarded it will be delivered as items to the applicant directly.
Qualifying benefits
A Resettlement Grant or Essential Items Grant can only help people who are on one of the following benefits:
- Income Support
- Income-related Employment and Support Allowance
- New style Jobseekers' Allowance (where the household income is the same amount as that for income-based Jobseekers' Allowance)
- New style or contributory based Employment and Support Allowance (where the household income is the same amount as that for income related Employment and Support Allowance)
- Pension Credit
- Universal Credit (UC) where the applicant
- is a single person with earnings of less than £393 per month in any of the preceding 3 months
- is a couple with earnings of less than £618 per month in any of the preceding 3 months
- is a single person or couple with limited capacity for work or work related activity, with earnings of less than £795 per month in any of the preceding 3 months
- is a single person or couple with either a carer's element to their UC or in receipt of carer's allowance, with earnings of less than £795 per month in any of the preceding 3 months
- be likely to qualify for one of those benefits when establishing themselves in the community
- have been on one of these benefits within the last 3 months before making the application, and the reason they are no longer on benefit is that they have started employment
Crisis Payments
A Crisis Payment may help people when they can't pay for food or energy costs which could lead to an immediate and serious risk to the health and safety of the person or their family. This could be because there has been a sudden event or a change of circumstances. Payments can also be made for clothing in an emergency situation.
If a Crisis Payment is awarded it will be given in voucher form which can be taken to a post office.
Crisis Payment awards are limited to 2 within a rolling 12-month period
Apply for a grant or cash payment
The assessor will need to know:
- the national insurance number (NINO) of the applicant
- details of any household members
- the type of payment being applied for
- for all types of application, the assessor will ask about what money and savings might be available
The online application will be temporarily unavailable between 6pm to 8pm on Tuesday 19 August 2025.
- You can also apply using our online portal
Apply for the Derbyshire Discretionary Fund
When you access the portal you will need to provide the same information as taken during a telephone application above so you may find it useful to have this information to hand.
Other things to consider
The DDF only make a payment to someone who is over 16, and who lives in Derbyshire for at least 3 months.
We can only make payments to those who can demonstrate how and why they are facing financial hardship.
We have a limited amount of money and all applications will be assessed on the basis of need, urgency and risk.
We'll seek to share information with applicants about other forms of help and support that are available, which could improve their situation further.