Example
C applied for money for household items after securing a tenancy. They had declared themselves as being homeless after experiencing financial difficulties leading to bankruptcy. They said they had no funds to buy flooring or household items.
The council declined the application at both decision making stages, as they assessed that C’s income was above the eligibility threshold and that the qualifying criteria were therefore not met.
We reviewed the council's file and contacted C for further information. While we acknowledged that C was facing financial difficulties linked to their bankruptcy, we found that their income remained above the threshold even when these factors were considered. We therefore agreed that the eligibility criteria was not met and did not change the council's decision.
Feedback for the council
- The initial decision letter was copied from the decision notes and referred to C in the third person which we considered was not in line with the SWF guidance.