A to Z
Glossary
Every scheme in this working catalogue, then the government grants still open on the official lists. A grant leaves this page when its close date has passed or it disappears from the public list. Nothing here is an application, and a grant for a business is not a benefit.
Benefits
53 in the catalogue. Open one for the official page and the fixed fee.
1
16 to 19 bursary
UK benefit · School or college
Help with education costs for 16 to 19-year-olds in England. A vulnerable bursary has set groups. A discretionary bursary is decided by the school or college.
A
Adoption allowance
Council · Your council
A means-tested payment some councils make after an adoption, on top of Child Benefit and any other benefit. It is not Statutory Adoption Pay, which comes from an employer.
Adult Disability Payment
Devolved · Social Security Scotland
Replaces new PIP claims in Scotland. Rates follow the PIP components. Social Security Scotland decides. This check does not score the activities.
Attendance Allowance
UK benefit · Department for Work and Pensions
State Pension age. Not means-tested. No mobility component. Lower rate £76.70 a week. Higher rate £114.60 a week. 2026/27 figures.
B
Bereavement Support Payment
UK benefit · Department for Work and Pensions
For a surviving partner under State Pension age after a death, if National Insurance conditions are met. It is not a public fund. It is time-limited. A higher rate can apply if you get Child Benefit.
Best Start Foods
Devolved · Social Security Scotland
Scotland’s replacement for Healthy Start. Pregnancy or a young child, plus a qualifying benefit.
Best Start Grant
Devolved · Social Security Scotland
Pregnancy and Baby, Early Learning, and School Age payments. Qualifying benefit required. More than one child can qualify, unlike Sure Start.
Budgeting advance
UK benefit · Department for Work and Pensions
An interest-free loan from Universal Credit for an emergency or one-off cost. It is repaid from later Universal Credit. Savings usually have to be under £1,000, and there is a minimum time on Universal Credit. It is a public fund.
C
Care Act assessment
Status route · Your council’s adult social care
Adult social care is not a public fund. A needs assessment is not a benefit and not a set weekly amount. It is relevant where a disabled adult has no recourse to public funds.
Carer Support Payment
Devolved · Social Security Scotland
Replaces new Carer’s Allowance claims in Scotland. Same style of hours and earnings tests. Confirm the weekly earnings limit.
Carer’s Allowance
UK benefit · Department for Work and Pensions
£86.45 a week in 2026/27. The person you care for must get a qualifying disability benefit. The earnings limit used here is £196 a week, the 2025/26 published figure. Confirm the current limit.
Child Benefit
UK benefit · HM Revenue and Customs
Not means-tested, but a High Income Child Benefit Charge can apply. The weekly rates below are the published April 2026 uprating. Confirm them on GOV.UK.
Child Disability Payment
Devolved · Social Security Scotland
Replaces new DLA for children claims in Scotland.
Child Winter Heating Payment
Devolved · Social Security Scotland
An annual payment in Scotland for a child or young person who gets the highest rate of the care component of Child Disability Payment or Disability Living Allowance. It is usually paid automatically.
Children Act section 17 support
Status route · Your council’s social services
A social-services assessment for a child in need. Not a benefit. Not a public fund. Not a fixed amount. Often the practical route for a family with no recourse to public funds.
Cold Weather Payment
UK benefit · Department for Work and Pensions
£25 for each 7-day period of very cold weather in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, if a qualifying benefit is in payment. It is paid automatically. Scotland uses Winter Heating Payment instead.
Council Tax Reduction
Council · Your council
A local scheme in England. A national scheme, run by councils, in Scotland and Wales. The percentage of the bill that is covered is not the same everywhere.
D
Disability Living Allowance for children
UK benefit · Department for Work and Pensions
For a child under 16 in England, Wales or Northern Ireland. Care and mobility are separate. This check does not score them.
Discretionary housing payment
Council · Your council
A top-up when Housing Benefit or the Universal Credit housing element does not cover the rent. Discretionary. The budget can run out.
E
Education Maintenance Allowance
Devolved · The nation’s student agency
A weekly payment for some 16 to 19-year-olds in education in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. It was closed to new claims in England. Household income is tested.
F
Free school meals
UK benefit · School, under national rules
England uses a benefits and earnings test. Scotland pays for P1 to P5 without that test. Wales and Northern Ireland have their own qualifying lists.
Funded childcare hours
UK benefit · Your council, under national rules
Free early-education hours. The age and the number of hours depend on the nation, and some hours depend on work. This is not a cash benefit.
Funeral Expenses Payment
UK benefit · Department for Work and Pensions
Help with a funeral in England, Wales and Northern Ireland if you get a qualifying benefit and you are responsible for the funeral. It may be recovered from the estate. Scotland uses Funeral Support Payment.
Funeral Support Payment
Devolved · Social Security Scotland
Scotland’s replacement for the Funeral Expenses Payment. A qualifying benefit is required. Part of it can be recovered from the estate.
G
Guardian’s Allowance
UK benefit · HM Revenue and Customs
A weekly payment on top of Child Benefit if you are bringing up a child whose parents have died. It is a public fund. One parent’s death can be enough in some cases. Confirm the rule.
H
Healthy Start
UK benefit · NHS
A prepaid card for fruit, vegetables, milk and vitamins in England, Wales and Northern Ireland if you are pregnant or have a child under 4 and you get a qualifying benefit. Scotland uses Best Start Foods.
Help with health costs
UK benefit · NHS
Free prescriptions, dentistry and sight tests if you get a qualifying benefit, are over 60 in some nations, or qualify through the NHS Low Income Scheme. Prescriptions are already free in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Housing Benefit
UK benefit · Local council, rules set nationally
For most people of working age, rent help is inside Universal Credit. Housing Benefit remains for State Pension age and for some temporary or specified accommodation.
I
Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit
UK benefit · Department for Work and Pensions
For a disablement caused by an accident at work or a prescribed disease. It is not means-tested and it is not a public fund. The assessment decides the percentage. That percentage is of disablement, not of a benefit award taken as a fee.
K
Kinship care allowance
Council · Your council
A council payment for a family or friend bringing up a child who cannot live with their parents. It is not Child Benefit and not Universal Credit. The amount is local. Scotland has a national kinship allowance alongside the council.
L
Local welfare assistance
Council · Your council
Crisis and community-care style help. Discretionary. A public fund when paid under a council’s local welfare scheme. Not an entitlement.
M
Maternity Allowance
UK benefit · Department for Work and Pensions
For people who are pregnant or have recently had a baby and do not get Statutory Maternity Pay. It is based on recent work and National Insurance. It is not a public fund.
N
New Style Employment and Support Allowance
UK benefit · Department for Work and Pensions
Contribution-based. Not a public fund. 2026/27 assessment rate is £75.65 a week under 25 and £95.55 a week at 25 or over, before any work-capability component.
New Style Jobseeker’s Allowance
UK benefit · Department for Work and Pensions
Contribution-based. Not a public fund. 2026/27 rate £75.65 a week under 25 and £95.55 at 25 or over. Usually paid for up to 182 days.
NHS care while seeking asylum
Status route · NHS
Asylum seekers and people with refugee status or humanitarian protection can use the NHS without charge. This is not a benefit payment.
P
Pension Age Disability Payment
Devolved · Social Security Scotland
The Scottish replacement for Attendance Allowance. Confirm whether new claims in your area go here or still to DWP.
Pension Age Winter Heating Payment
Devolved · Social Security Scotland
Scotland’s payment for people of State Pension age. Confirm the income rule for this winter on mygov.scot.
Pension Credit
UK benefit · Department for Work and Pensions
Guarantee Credit tops weekly income up to £238.00 for a single person or £363.25 for a couple in 2026/27. There is no upper savings limit. £1 a week is counted for every £500 over £10,000.
Personal Independence Payment
UK benefit · Department for Work and Pensions
Not means-tested. Awarded on daily living and mobility activities. This check cannot score those activities.
R
Rate Rebate
Council · Land & Property Services, nidirect
Northern Ireland help with rates. It sits where Council Tax Reduction sits in Great Britain. Confirm the current rate-rebate rules on nidirect.
S
School clothing grant
Council · Your council
Help with school uniform. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have national or widely run grants, usually if you get a qualifying benefit. In England it is down to the council, and many do not pay one.
Scottish Child Payment
Devolved · Social Security Scotland
For children under 16 in Scotland if you receive a qualifying benefit. The 2025/26 rate was £27.15 a week per child. Confirm the current rate. It is paid as well as Child Benefit, not instead of it.
Section 4 support
Status route · Home Office
For some refused asylum seekers who are destitute and meet an extra test, such as having a barrier to return. It is not a mainstream benefit and it is not automatic.
Section 95 asylum support
Status route · Home Office
For people with an open asylum claim who are destitute. Accommodation and/or a small weekly subsistence payment on an ASPEN card. Not Universal Credit. Not a set of mainstream benefits.
State Pension
UK benefit · Department for Work and Pensions
The new State Pension, for people who reach State Pension age on or after 6 April 2016. It is based on National Insurance, not on a means test, and it is not a public fund. The full rate needs enough qualifying years.
Sure Start Maternity Grant
UK benefit · Department for Work and Pensions
A one-off £500 grant in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, usually only if there is no other child under 16 in the family, and a qualifying benefit is in payment. Scotland uses the Best Start Grant.
T
Tax-Free Childcare
UK benefit · HM Revenue and Customs
The government adds £2 for every £8 you pay a registered childcare provider, up to a cap. You and a partner usually both have to be working. You cannot use it at the same time as the Universal Credit childcare element.
U
Universal Credit
UK benefit · Department for Work and Pensions
Working-age means-tested benefit. Housing element depends on the Local Housing Allowance, which this check does not look up.
Universal Credit childcare element
UK benefit · Department for Work and Pensions
Help with registered childcare costs inside a Universal Credit claim, not a separate benefit. It cannot be claimed at the same time as Tax-Free Childcare.
W
Warm Home Discount
UK benefit · Energy supplier, under a government scheme
A one-off electricity-bill rebate in England and Wales if you get a qualifying benefit, and in some cases if you are on a low income. Scotland runs the scheme differently. Northern Ireland has its own affordability schemes.
Winter Fuel Payment
UK benefit · Department for Work and Pensions
State Pension age. Recent rules brought the payment back for people over pension age with an income under £35,000, with a tax charge above that. Confirm this winter’s rule before you rely on the band.
Winter Heating Payment
Devolved · Social Security Scotland
Scotland’s low-income winter payment. It does not depend on the temperature. It is not the pension-age payment and not the child payment.
Y
Young Carer Grant
Devolved · Social Security Scotland
A yearly payment in Scotland for a carer aged 16, 17 or 18 who is not getting Carer Support Payment. Hours of care are tested.
Live grants
12 shown of 128. Finder checked 19 October 2026. Household help that is not on Find a Grant is kept at the top when its official page still describes it as current.
Crisis and Resilience Fund
Department for Work and Pensions, through your council · England · closes 31 March 2029
In England, councils use this fund to help people who are vulnerable or cannot pay for essentials. You do not have to be on benefits, and a payment does not affect benefits. Each council decides whether applications are open.
Access to Elected Office Fund
Cabinet Office · National · closes 4 November 2026
The Access to Elected Office Fund (The Fund) is a vital initiative to address disability-related financial barriers that prevent disabled people from contesting elected office. While disabled people make up approximately 25% of the UK population, this diversity is not reflected in our local councils or Parliament. The fund will operate across specific geographic areas to complement existing devolved frameworks, cove…
Published award £1 to £500,000. Confirm the figure on the official page.
ADOPT Facilitator Support Grant: Round 12
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) · National · closes 11 November 2026
Farming, growing or forestry businesses based in England can apply for a grant of £2,500, to engage an external Project Facilitator to support the development of a Full ADOPT Grant application.
Published award £2,499 to £2,500. Confirm the figure on the official page.
Advancing atmospheric and aerial autonomy (Grant)
UK Research and Innovation, Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) · National · closes 21 October 2026
Apply for proof-of-concept funding to develop and deploy innovative autonomous solutions for atmospheric science research or autonomous aerial systems for environmental science. You must be based at a UK research organisation eligible for NERC funding.
Published award £300,000 to £1 million. Confirm the figure on the official page.
Advancing innovation in accelerated cancer diagnosis
Innovate UK, on behalf of the Office for Life Sciences’ (OLS) · National · closes 28 October 2026
Innovate UK, on behalf of the Office for Life Sciences’ (OLS) Cancer Healthcare Goals programme, will invest up to £25.4 million, to support the clinical validation and evaluation of early cancer diagnostic technologies and devices.
Published award £1.5 million to £4 million. Confirm the figure on the official page.
Advancing solutions for critical mineral production and recycling (Grant)
UK Research and Innovation, NERC, Innovate UK, AHRC, BBSRC, EPSRC, ESRC · National · closes 7 January 2027
Apply for funding for pump-priming research to explore, test and validate disruptive and transformative solutions for critical mineral extraction, processing, recovery, reprocessing, recycling or re-mining. You must be based at a UK research organisation eligible for UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) funding.
Published award £1 to £305,000. Confirm the figure on the official page.
AHRC Catalyst Awards: applicant-led mode (Grant)
UK Research and Innovation, Arts and Humanities Research Council · National · closes 21 September 2028
Apply for funding to support researchers without prior experience of leading a significant research project to accelerate their trajectory as independent researchers, to unlock their potential and build leadership and convenor experience. You must be based at a UK research organisation eligible for AHRC funding. There is no limit on the value of the grant, the value specified within the summary page is an example.
Published award £100,000 to £300,000. Confirm the figure on the official page.
AHRC Collaborate with researchers in Luxembourg: applicant-led mode (Grant)
UK Research and Innovation, Arts and Humanities Research Council · National · closes 21 September 2028
Apply for funding to work with overseas researchers in Luxembourg. Submit a collaborative research grant application within the remit of AHRC and Fonds National de la Recherche (FNR). You must be based at a UK research organisation eligible for AHRC funding. There is no limit on the value of the grant, the value specified within the summary page is an example.
Published award £300,000 to £1.5 million. Confirm the figure on the official page.
AHRC Curiosity Award: applicant-led mode (Grant)
UK Research and Innovation, Arts and Humanities Research Council · National · closes 21 September 2028
Apply for funding for flexible awards to fund fundamental research that leads to new research agendas, networking activity and idea generation, which enables the development of further research opportunities and new research agendas. You must be based at a UK research organisation eligible for AHRC funding. There is no limit on the value of the grant, the value specified within the summary page is an example.
Published award £1 to £100,000. Confirm the figure on the official page.
AHRC Standard research grant: applicant-led mode (Grant)
UK Research and Innovation, Arts and Humanities Research Council · National · closes 21 September 2028
Apply for AHRC standard research grant funding to support well-defined collaborative projects across the arts and humanities, in areas covered by our remit. You must be based at a UK research organisation eligible for AHRC funding. There is no limit on the value of the grant, the value specified within the summary page is an example.
Published award £300,000 to £1.5 million. Confirm the figure on the official page.
AHRC Working with Brazilian researchers: Applicant-led mode (Grant)
UK Research and Innovation, Arts and Humanities Research Council, State of São Paulo Research Foundation · National · closes 21 September 2028
Apply for funding to work with overseas researchers in the State of São Paulo, Brazil. Submit a collaborative research grant application within the remit of Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) and State of São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP). You must be based at a UK research organisation eligible for AHRC funding. There is no limit on the value of the grant, the value specified within the summary page i…
Published award £300,000 to £1.5 million. Confirm the figure on the official page.
Ambition North Wales 4G+ Industry Grant Scheme - Full Application
Ambition North Wales · Wales · closes 3 November 2026
The Ambition North Wales 4G+ Industry Grant Scheme provides subsidies to mobile network operators and infrastructure providers to support the deployment and upgrade of 4G and 5G infrastructure in underserved Total Not Spot and Partial Not Spot areas across North Wales, helping to improve mobile coverage and capacity where commercial investment alone is not viable.
Published award £1 to £1 million. Confirm the figure on the official page.