Example
C applied for a Crisis Grant to cover food, gas and electricity costs after their Discretionary Housing Payment (DHP) was reduced without notice. As a result, they struggled to meet their housing costs and did not have enough money to cover essential living expenses for their family.
The council declined the application on the basis that C had already received three awards within a rolling 12 month period. It considered the circumstances were not exceptional, noting that DHPs are discretionary by nature and therefore any change in entitlement could not be regarded as unforeseen.
We reviewed the council's file and contacted C, who explained they had received no advance notice that their DHP would be reduced and were in the process of appealing the decision. C also provided bank statements that confirmed they were experiencing financial hardship. We disagreed with the council's assessment. C had not previously applied to the Fund for similar circumstances and as the DHP had been in payment for some time, we considered the reduction to be an unforeseen event that they could not reasonably have anticipated or planned for. We were also satisfied that the circumstances were not those commonly experienced by people on a low income. We therefore concluded that the available information had not been properly assessed and changed the council's decision.
Recommendations
- We instructed the council to make an award of £500 to cover food, gas and electricity costs until C's next benefit payment.
Feedback for the council
- The available evidence was not fully considered when assessing whether the circumstances were exceptional.
- We asked the council to provide confirmation within one working day that the award had been made.