Emergency funds at BCU
The University Money, Housing and Childcare Advice Service offers detailed advice to students who need urgent support due to an unexpected or urgent situation.
How can I access food/ essentials?
If you do not have access to sufficient food/ essentials due to lack of funds, you can visit your Student Support Centre. They will talk to you about what you need help with and if appropriate will provide you with a Supermarket voucher via the Student Pantry service. Students will typically only be entitled to one voucher per academic year.
Student Support Centres are open Monday-Friday 9am – 5pm during term time (excluding public holidays and University closed days). To access the Student Pantry, you can visit them in person at Curzon Building, C142 or Seacole Building, SCT002.
If you find yourself without essential food supplies and have no money to buy them outside of the Student Support Centre opening hours, you might be able to receive a food parcel from a local food bank. It’s best to call before visiting to make sure they are open and able to help you.
You can find your nearest foodbank by visiting:
Can I get emergency support to pay rent?
The BCU Emergency Fund cannot be used for rent payments. If you are worried about homelessness and require emergency housing advice, please contact Shelter who can assist: Get help from Shelter - Shelter England
For longer-term support with accommodation costs, you may be eligible to apply to the BCU Financial Assistance Fund. Information on the application process and eligibility criteria can be found on our iCity page - Financial Assistance Fund : Birmingham City University
Our Specialist Housing Adviser can help with tenancy rights, landlord issues and finding accommodation. To book an appointment please contact your Student Support Centre who will make a referral to the Money, Housing and Childcare Advice team.
I’ve ran out of money; can I access any other funds?
We advise students to speak with a Specialist Adviser to check that you are getting all the funding you are entitled to, but whilst you wait for an appointment you may wish to check your eligibility for other sources of income:
- Check your eligibility for welfare benefits. You can find information on the Turn2us website Full time students and other benefits | Turn2us or contact your local citizens advice for support.
- If you are already claiming UC, may be eligible to apply for budgeting advance for help to cover a one-off cost - Apply for a Universal Credit advance or hardship payment: Get an advance for unexpected costs - GOV.UK
- If you are getting the NHS bursary, you may wish to apply to the NHS Exceptional Support Fund (ESF). This is a means-tested and non-repayable grant available to eligible healthcare students who experience unforeseen financial hardship during their studies - Exceptional Support Fund (ESF) | NHSBSA
- Many local councils will have a crisis fund to help people who are experiencing financial crisis. You can apply to the Birmingham City Council Crisis and Resilience Fund here - Check if you qualify and apply | Crisis and Resilience Fund 2026 to 2027 | Birmingham City Council
- Birmingham City Council also offer additional support if you have a prepayment meter for electricity or gas. For more information, email crf@bvsc.org.
- If you haven’t already, you may wish to open a student bank account with an interest free overdraft facility. A 0% interest overdraft is often the cheapest form of borrowing money if you have exhausted other options.
- You may also be able to find additional financial assistance from some of the many research foundations, Trust Funds and Charities that award money to individuals for educational purposes. An excellent way of finding relevant educational Trust Funds is via online search engines, here are a few examples:
- Turn2 Us: Turn2us Grants Search
- The Scholarship Hub: The Scholarship Hub | Apply for UK Student Scholarships
- BCU Scholarships: Scholarships at BCU | Birmingham City University
I’m worried about debt, who should I speak to?
The Student Money, Housing and Childcare Advice team does not offer debt advice. The following organisations are charities that provide free and confidential debt advice if you need to access them:
StepChange Debt Charity. Free Expert Debt Help & Advice
Free Debt Advice and Support | National Debtline
How do I get help?
You will need to contact your Student Support Centre who will be able to talk to you about your concerns and, if appropriate will refer you for an appointment to discuss your circumstances in more detail with a Money, Housing and Childcare Advice team adviser.
What should I expect from my appointment?
The adviser will explore with you the cause of your financial difficulty and explore options to resolve the issue and/or prevent it from happening again. If the situation is an unexpected short-term issue or if you need interim support whilst working with the adviser, then you may also be offered emergency support.
Appropriate emergency support is decided and offered at the discretion of the adviser and may include:
- Advice on income maximisation and/ or budgeting
- Referral to the BCU Emergency Support Fund which if appropriate, may provide a short-term local travel pass and/ or food voucher(s) dependent on the circumstances. A student will only usually be supported once within an academic year.
- Referral to other services and/ or resources