Example
C applied for money for food and utilities after struggling to budget their income due to energy costs and an expected furniture removal cost.
The council awarded C for food only. They asked C for evidence they had prepayment meters. When this was not provided, they refused an award for gas and electricity. At first tier C explained they were not at home and were unable to travel due to their disabilities. They provided details of the debts on the meter and confirmed they were without any power and heating. The council considered this information but did not change the decision as they assessed, on balance, that they did not have sufficient information that C had prepayment meters.
We reviewed the council's file and contacted C. We noted C had provided information in relation to their gas and electricity meters and had explained why they were unable to provide photographs of their meters. We disagreed with the council’s decision and considered they assessed the information available to them incorrectly. There were no inconsistences compared to past applications from the applicant and the guidance is clear about having a trust-based approach. We changed the council's decision and instructed them to award C for gas and electricity.
Recommendations
- We instructed the council to make an award of £52.94 to cover utilities until C’s next benefit payment date using the recommended daily rate in the guidance and included an additional amount for debt on meters.
Feedback for council
- The council did not correctly interpret the information available to them.
We have asked the council to provide us with confirmation that the award was made within one working day.