Your ILF Scotland Transition Grant
Before your grant was made, you submitted a plan telling ILF Scotland what you wanted to achieve and how you will use your grant to accomplish this.
As your ILF Transition grant is provided using public funds, ILF Scotland has a responsibility to make sure your grant is used for the purpose agreed.
Although your grant will help you with the things you want to achieve and has been endorsed by ILF Scotland, you have some responsibilities as a recipient of a grant. This booklet explains these responsibilities.
What you, or someone ILF Scotland has agreed can manage the grant on your behalf, must do
Using the ILF Transition Fund grant
Your grant can only be used to achieve the independent living goals agreed by ILF Scotland, which were confirmed in the plan you submitted with your application. When approving your application, ILF Scotland will have confirmed the things you can and cannot use your grant for.
If you are unclear about this you must speak to ILF Scotland to clarify before committing to any expenditure. This requirement also applies to anyone who ILF Scotland has agreed will manage the grant on behalf of the recipient.
Records and receipts for what you spend
You must keep records and receipts which show clearly how you have used your grant and confirm payments made covering the things ILF Scotland has agreed to fund. If you are unclear about this you should contact ILF Scotland by emailing enquiries@ILF.scot or by phoning 0300 200 2022 for advice.
ILF Scotland will require records and receipts to be available to them for the duration of your grant so you should keep these safe. If you are unable to provide ILF Scotland with appropriate records and receipts, you may have to pay back the grant.
Using your grant to employ someone
If you use your award to employ someone to support you, you need to keep records covering payments made to the individual/s you employ, such as timesheets and payslips. These records should show all payments made, including employer costs like income tax, holiday pay and travel costs.
You can get advice by contacting ILF Scotland or by checking the ILF Scotland Transition Fund policies on our website.
Recipients, or someone managing the grant on a recipient’s behalf, are the legal employer where they engage support, but ILF Scotland expects recipients to demonstrate good employer practice. This could mean providing a contract confirming employment conditions, hours, etc.
If you are unsure what this involves you should contact ILF Scotland or check the Employment Support policy on our website.
ILF Scotland can provide you with a list of agencies who can provide advice.
Using someone who is self-employed
If you decide to recruit a self-employed individual, it is your responsibility to be satisfied that the individual has agreement for self-employed status from HMRC. You can contact ILF Scotland for advice or find more information on ILF Scotland’s website.
Using your grant for support from a relative or family member
As a general rule, you cannot use an ILF grant to employ someone living in the same household as you. In very exceptional circumstances, ILF Scotland may agree to this, but only following an assessor visit, and only after we are satisfied that there is no realistic alternative available.
Using your grant for support from an agency
If you intend to use all or part of your grant to purchase support or services that are regulated, you must ensure that any agency, company or provider of services is registered with the appropriate regulatory body. For example, this includes approved driving instructors and care providers. If you are
unsure, please contact ILF Scotland.
If you feel you need help to manage your grant
ILF Scotland can provide you with a list of agencies who will support you to manage your grant, including offering payroll services. However, we cannot recommend a particular agency – you must decide this for yourself. Contact ILF Scotland for more information.
Purchasing equipment with your grant
ILF Scotland may agree that your grant can be used for a specific piece of equipment that would not ordinarily be provided by any other agency, for example NHS or Social Work. There are some things you should consider as ILF Scotland is not responsible in any way for the use of the item purchased. It is your responsibility to ensure that:
1) you understand how to use this equipment or arrange a risk assessment
2) check if training before use is recommended and to organise this, and
3) arrange for appropriate maintenance and insurance for this equipment
Changing how you want to use your grant
If there are changes or amendments to the things you want to use your grant to fund, you need to contact ILF Scotland beforehand to check if the grant can be used for the changes. If you do not do this, ILF Scotland may not meet the costs involved and you may have to return the monies to ILF Scotland.
You must notify ILF Scotland immediately if you:
- are admitted to hospital for a period that impacts on your ability to use your grant in the agreed timescale
- intend to leave or are no longer living in Scotland
- are subject to Leave to Remain approval and this is to be reviewed
- the amount of capital you have is more than £35,000
Returning money that is not used
At the end of the grant period, or sooner if your circumstances change, if you have not used all of your ILF grant, any unspent funds should be returned to ILF Scotland.
You must comply with all of your obligations when using the ILF Scotland grant as outlined in this ‘Your Responsibilities’ booklet.
If you are unclear about any of the conditions attached to the use of your grant, or if you are unclear about the necessity of advising ILF Scotland of any change, it is your responsibility to seek clarification from ILF Scotland as soon as possible.
Making yourself available for ILF Scotland visits
ILF Scotland may seek to carry out visits to applicants at any time in the application process.
We may also want to visit recipients of grants at anytime during their grant period. It is important that ILF Scotland has the opportunity (if necessary) to meet with you to discuss and clarify any aspect of your grant.
These visits are intended to be supportive and you will be able to ask ILF Scotland to tell you why they are visiting. It is your responsibility to be available and contribute to ILF Scotland visits.
Gathering information that helps ILF Scotland understand how the Transition Fund has worked
ILF Scotland will be evaluating how the Transition Fund has worked and what difference it has made to people who receive a grant. We will do this in a number of different ways, which could include individual meetings, focus groups, comments through our website and social media and case studies of young people who receive a grant.
This will help ILF Scotland to identify what things they could do better in the future, and share experiences in order to help others.
ILF Scotland will always value your feedback, and will ensure that you are fully involved and consulted on how your views are presented. We have policies in place that safeguard your personal data and we will respect your views at all times.
Need advice?
Online
You can visit our website www.ilf.scot for more information or email us at enquiries@ILF.scot
Offline
If you cannot access our website, you can phone us on 0300 200 2022 or write to us using the address below:
ILF Scotland, Ground Floor,
Denholm House,
Almondvale Way,
Livingston EH54 6GA
If you need this document in an alternative format please contact us.
ILF Scotland Limited is a company limited by guarantee registered in Scotland Company Number SC5000075.