Festive opening hours

We will close for the public holidays on Tuesday 24 December 2024 at 2.30pm, and remain closed for the public holidays between Christmas and New Year. 

However, we will open on 27, 30, and 31 December 2024 between 10am – 12pm and 2pm – 4pm. During these times, we will prioritise reviews of crisis grant 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 3 January 2025, and we will assist you over the phone.

Our normal service will resume on 3 January 2025 at 10am.

Case study

  • Date:
    January 2023
  • Category:
    Calculation of award

Example

C asked for an independent review of the council's decision. They had applied for a Crisis Grant due to their Universal Credit payment being zero due to earnings.

The council awarded C £150 for 28 days along with an increased amount to take into account the cost of living increase. C requested a first tier review of the decision on the basis that this was not enough but the council did not change their decision.

We reviewed the council's case file and attempted to contact C but they did not respond to any contact from our office. As such we were unable to determine why this amount was not enough to last. We did not change the council's decision but provided feedback to the council about the guidance not being followed in respect of the calculation of the award.

Updated: January 18, 2023