Festive closure 

Our office will be closed for the festive period from 25 December 2025 and will reopen on Monday 5 January 2026. 

We will be open on 29, 30 and 31 December between 10am – 12pm and 2pm – 4pm. During these times, we will be focusing on handling reviews of crisis grants received due to the urgency of these applications. If you wish to request a review of a community care grant application you can do so online. Alternatively, you can call us on 5 January 2026 and we can take your application over the phone.

Our normal service resumes on 5 January 2026 at 10am. 

Case study

  • Date:
    December 2024
  • Category:
    Exceptional pressure qualifying criterion

Example

C applied for a community care grant for a fridge freezer. 

The council declined the application on the basis that C's circumstances did not match any of the qualifying criteria for a grant. 

We reviewed the council's file and corresponded with C. C informed us that they were receiving cancer treatment and were also the carer for their grandchild, who had been placed with them due to an unsafe home environment. They were supported by their medical team, and their grandchild’s social worker. We were satisfied that C was facing exceptional pressure to maintain a settled home and that the qualifying conditions were met. 

Recommendations

  • We instructed the council to award a fridge freezer.

Feedback for the council

  • The council incorrectly interpreted the information in the application.
  • The information requested from the applicant was disproportionate.
  • That replacement of broken items must be planned for is not supported by the guidance broken items.
  • The decision letters contained incorrect information.

We asked the organisation to provide us with confirmation that the award was made within one week.

Updated: December 17, 2024