Demand for the Transition Fund continues to grow. We have received a record number of applications so far this year – a 60% increase compared to last year. Due to the pressure of this demand on the Fund, we have had to make the difficult decision to restrict all new grants to first time applicants for the foreseeable future.
This is to ensure that limited financial resources are made available to as many young people as possible. This means that if you have already received a Transition Fund grant from us, we will not be able to consider a further Transition Fund application at this time.
Peter Scott, CEO, said “We understand that many young people across Scotland will be disappointed to hear this news. Please be reassured that this is not a decision that we have taken lightly but it is the fairest and best way to ensure that the Transition Fund continues to benefit young disabled people so that they can be active citizens and participate in their communities.”
We will keep this situation under review and will post any updates on our website. We will introduce this change from 1 January 2024.
If you have already submitted an application, we will evaluate and process this in the normal way. However, we will give priority to first time applicants, which may result in waiting for longer than normal to hear from us.
For all applications, the unprecedented increase in demand means that currently we are taking around 16 weeks to process the majority of grants. Please be patient with us and try not to call us for updates as we are unable to predict how long individual applications will take. We will get to your application as soon as we can.
If you are about to make an application, please bear these timescales in mind and apply well in advance if you need the funding for a specific time.
If you are looking for a basic piece of IT equipment, you can still apply for a Technology Grant even if you have received Transition Funding before.
If you would like some help to decide how the Transition Fund might assist you to achieve your goals, you can access support for this. You can apply for our Person Centred Planning Grant before applying for the full Transition Fund grant. We will direct you to a professional planner to help you to plan for your future, work out what will help you most in your transition, and how the Transition Fund might play a part in helping you to achieve this.
You can also consider using ARC Scotland’s Compass app, designed to assist young people in identifying how to get the most out of their transition and to help them move on in the right direction. Using the Compass tool can also help you plan and identify how an application to the Transition Fund could help you.
ILF Scotland’s Transition Fund aims to help young disabled people in Scotland, aged 16 to 25, with the transition after leaving school or children’s services. Find out more about the Transition Fund.
It helps young disabled people to:
It provides money for up to one year to support young people with a disability or impairment as defined by the Equality Act 2010.
