Example
C applied for a crisis grant after having to pay £300.00 in excess costs for repairs to two mobility vehicles. As a result, they were without money for living costs for them and their disabled partner.
The council declined the application on the basis that C had already received five awards in the last 12-month period which is more the usual maximum allowed. They did not identify any exceptional circumstances that would allow for an additional award to be made as they assessed that C had applied previously due to car repairs being the reason for the crisis.
We reviewed the council's file and spoke with C. We reviewed the previous applications and found that, although they mentioned car trouble, the cause of the crisis was spending money on travel costs rather than car repairs. As such, the current application was materially different from previous applications. We considered the application passed all relevant stages of the decision making process. We therefore changed the council's decision and made an exceptional award.
Recommendations
- We instructed the council to make an award of £277.74 to cover food and utilities until C’s next Universal Credit payment date, based on the recommended daily rate in the guidance.
Feedback for the council:
- Paying for travel costs and having to pay excess insurance costs are materially different reasons for a crisis.
- The decision letters should not refer to fault as this has been removed from the guidance.
- Decision making records should be robust and reflect the reasons for the council's decision.
We have asked the organisation to provide us with confirmation that the award was made within one week.