Assistance

ELIGIBILITY TO CLAIM:

To make a valid claim to the Fund as an individual, you must qualify by at least one of the following criteria:

A current serving Police Officer or member of Support Staff of The Police Service of Scotland and a current paid up subscribing member of the Fund.

A retired serving Police Officer or member of Support Staff of the Police Service of Scotland and were a qualifying subscribing member of the Fund (or any former Police Benevolent Fund of Scotland).

Applications submitted on behalf of an Organisation, Charity or other Group, must provide evidence of their connection to having or having had some direct connection with the Police Service of Scotland (or any former Police Force within Scotland) and/or their dependants as part of their submission. Applications of this nature are normally considered annually by the Trustees at the charities AGM in August.

Those qualifying in accordance with the above criteria who are seeking assistance are encouraged to submit their application in the first instance in accordance with the process outlined below.

This map outlines the process for the management of applications for financial assistance.

All applications for financial assistance shall be submitted on the relevant application form to the Treasurer to the Board who will arrange for receipt of the application form to be recorded and allocated a unique reference number.

The communication of applications will ordinarily be undertaken via electronic format (email). Applications can be submitted as an attachment in a picture scanned format such as JPEG,PNG format, or as an actual document in PDF or Word Doc format. The Application and any additional documentation should be forwarded to the Treasurer at the following email address : enquiries@spbf.org.uk

The Treasurer will then allocate the application for consideration in accordance with the provisions of the Charity.

Every effort will be made to ensure the confidentiality of the applicant and any written records such as a meeting minutes shall refer to the application by its unique reference number only. The names of applicants will not be published under any circumstances.

Members making application for assistance, who may have reasonable concerns about any individual member of a sub-committee being involved in the decision making process should intimate such concerns at the time of application.

Each application will be considered on its merits taking cognisance of any conditions or procedures which the Board may impose.

Where there is an insufficiency of information in respect of any application, the Treasurer shall contact the Secretary of the Board or sub-committee, what ever the case shall be, who will thereafter arrange for a suitable member of the Board or sub-committee to liaise with the applicant and obtain the information necessary for the application to progress.

The Board, or in the case of emergency situations, three Trustees, or any sub-committee, acting with the delegated authority of the Board, may, in respect of any application; (1) approve the application in full or in part (2) reject the application.

In the event that an applicant is dissatisfied with the decision of; (1) in the case of an emergency situation, three Trustees (2) a sub-committee, the applicant must communicate with the Secretary of the Board outlining in detail their rationale. All relevant documentation should accompany said communication.

In such circumstances the Secretary of the Board will ensure the matter is raised and discussed at the next subsequent Board meeting. The Board may; (1) review and alter any previous decision (2) support any previous decision.

Any decision by the Board in this regard is final.

Grants

In cases where an application relates to a grant less than £5,000 the Treasurer will arrange for the application to be forwarded to the Secretary of the relevant sub-committee for consideration at the next subsequent meeting of that sub-committee.

In all other cases the Treasurer will arrange for the application to be forwarded to the Secretary of the Board of Trustees for consideration at the next subsequent meeting of the Board.

Loans

In cases where an application relates to a loan less than £10,000 the Treasurer will arrange for the application to be forwarded to the Secretary of the relevant sub-committee for consideration at the next subsequent meeting of that sub-committee.

In all other cases the Treasurer will arrange for the application to be forwarded to the Secretary of the Board of Trustees for consideration at the next subsequent meeting of the Board.

Emergency situations

The Scottish Police Benevolent Fund is not an emergency funds provider. It was established as a way of providing medium to long term financial assistance to applicants as reflected in its constitution, Meeting Structures and Governance.

In urgent cases of necessity, the Treasurer upon receipt of an application will contact three Trustees who dependent upon the prevailing circumstances may approve an immediate grant or loan no greater than £2,000.