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:
    December 2025
  • Category:
    Resident within the local authority area

Example

C applied for money for food as they had a gap in their income due to starting a new job.

The council declined the application on the basis that they were not satisfied that C was resident in their area.

We reviewed the council's file and spoke with C. C was sofa surfing in the area, was using their ex-partner's home in the area as a 'care of' address and intended to remain in the area. C also told us during the review process that they have lived in the area for over 20 years and have been registered with a GP there for this time. We had no reason to doubt C's account and were satisfied that the residence condition for a grant was met. As C's application satisfied all other stages of the decision making process, we changed the council's decision.

Recommendations

  • We instructed the council to make an award of £200 to cover food until C’s first wage.

Feedback for the council

  • Grants can be made to those who are resident in the area, about to be resident in the area or homeless. There is no requirement to be registered as homeless.
  • The first tier decision was issued outwith the standard timescales.

We have asked the council to provide us with confirmation that the award was made within one working day.

Updated: December 17, 2025