What the grant can be used for

You can spend your grant on anything on the eMarketplace.

There is however a restriction on how much you can spend on food vouchers – we understand that during a family outing or evening out you may want to eat together which is why there are a range of restaurant and dining vouchers available on the eMarketplace.

There is a maximum amount of £40 available per family (regardless of how many children you have). This is because the majority of the grant should be spent on activities.

For travel expenses it is not possible to provide vouchers to cover these but we appreciate that for some families it is appropriate for some of the grant to be used towards paying travel costs. To help accommodate this, you will need to pay for travel yourself in advance but you can claim a maximum of £20 back to contribute towards your costs.

To do this, please add ‘Travel costs’ from the eMarketplace to your basket. The amount will be deducted from your account balance to ensure there are available funds when you claim this back at a later date. To make a claim, you then need to complete a travel claim form including your receipts and your bank details. Once we have received this we will be able to transfer the amount claimed to your bank account to reimburse you.

What if there’s something I want to do but it’s not on the eMarketplace?

If there is an activity that you would really like to do that isn’t on the eMarketplace then you can submit a 'Special Spend Request' for this to be considered. A Short Breaks panel will meet once a month to review all requests and only requests in exceptional circumstances will be considered. 

I have a suggestion for an activity, who do I speak to about this?

We’re working to expand the range of provision on the eMarketplace so if you have any ideas for an activity that you think would be of benefit to others, then please get in touch with us with your suggestion – we’d love to hear from you!