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:
    April 2025
  • Category:
    Evidence gathering

Example

C applied for a crisis grant for money to buy food after using their benefits to repay debt.

The council requested a four-week bank statement, benefit statement and evidence that C was registered as homeless. C explained that they were unable to provide this evidence due to being in crisis. The council declined the application on the basis that C had already received three awards in the last 12-month period which is the usual maximum allowed. They did not identify any exceptional circumstances that would allow for an additional award to be made.

We reviewed the council’s file and spoke with C. We noted that C had applied for a grant for the same reason within the last 12-month period and agreed that their circumstances were not exceptional. We did not change the council's decision.

Feedback

  • The council should not have requested evidence of the applicant's circumstances, as this would not have made any difference to C's eligibility.
     

Updated: April 30, 2025