Example
C applied for a community care grant on behalf of their parents, who had multiple significant health conditions including mobility difficulties, incontinence, partial sight, epilepsy and a brain tumour.
C requested support with removal costs to allow living room furniture to be cleared so the room could be safely used as a bedroom, and for a shed to store displaced personal items. C and two other family members provide extensive care for C’s parents, which means the existing bedrooms in the home are typically occupied by carers and their children.
The council declined the application, assessing the items as excluded on the basis that they were medical items.
We reviewed the council’s file and spoke with C. Although one of C’s parents passed away during the review process, we assessed that the remaining parent still required the items requested. We did not agree that removal costs or a shed was excluded on medical grounds. Therefore, we changed the council’s decision.
Recommendations
- Award £478 for removal costs based on quotes provided by C. Award £600 for a shed, priced at low end of range for the size required.
Feedback for the council
- The items requested were not excluded.
- Further enquiries should have been with C at the initial application stage to establish the type of storage required.
- The first tier decision was not carried out in line with the guidance.
- The first tier decision maker did not assess the items as clarified by C in their first tier review request.
- The council's information gathering was not carried out in line with the guidance.