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:
    March 2025
  • Category:
    Exceptional pressure qualifying criterion

Example

C applied for a community care grant to set up their new tenancy. C had to move due to an incident involving their neighbour. 

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 spoke with C’s representative. We gathered further information about the circumstances involving the neighbour and their need to move. We were satisfied that these circumstances represented exceptional pressure for C. Therefore, we considered that the homelessness criteria was satisfied and that C qualified for a grant and met the necessary priority for an award. 

Recommendations

  • Award a living room carpet and a bedroom carpet.

Feedback for the council

  • The council did not make sufficient follow-up enquiries based on the information provided on the application about the applicant’s circumstances. 

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

Updated: March 20, 2025