Example
C asked for an independent review of the council’s decision. They had applied for a crisis grant as they had struggled to budget their income due to cost of living increases. As a result of this, they did not have sufficient money to cover their family’s essential living costs.
The council declined the application stating the applicant was not eligible for a grant due to their application history as they had received two awards in the past 12 months and referenced section 2.31 and 2.32 of the SWF guidance. C asked for a first tier review but the council did not change their decision.
We reviewed the council’s case file and contacted C for further information about their circumstances. We noted that C had only received two awards from the fund so their application history did not prevent a further award. The council had referenced section 2.31 and 2.32 of the guidance which were not applicable to C as they refer to sanctions to which C was not subject. We assessed that the application met the criteria for an award and upheld C’s review request, instructing the council to make a payment of £400.00. We fed back to the council that they had not followed the decision-making process and that their decision making notes did not contain sufficient information.