Example
C applied for a community care grant to help set up their new tenancy. They were moving from a private furnished let to a ground floor council tenancy due to their health and mobility issues.
The council declined the application because C had more than £700 (the savings and capital threshold for community care grants) in their bank account a week after the application. At first tier, they declined the application because C had more than £700 in their account in the period prior to their application.
We reviewed the council's file and corresponded with C. We noted that C provided bank statements to the council at the original decision stage which showed they were only around £50 over the savings and capital on the date of their application.
We also noted that C's balance went significantly lower than £700 throughout the month as they received their benefits and spent them on living costs. We could not identify that C had any savings, and did not consider the money in their bank account could be considered savings or capital as this is what they used for routine living expenses. We assessed that C was eligible for a grant. We went on to assess that C qualified for a grant under the exceptional pressure criterion, and that a number of the items met high priority. We instructed the council to award those items.
Recommendations
- We instructed the council to award carpets for the living room, hallway and two bedrooms, a cooker, fridge freezer, washing machine, single bed and curtains for the second bedroom.
Feedback for the council
- Decision makers only need to look at the savings and capital available to an applicant on the date of their application, per section 8.32 of the guidance.
We asked the organisation to provide us with confirmation that the award was made within one week.