Office closure

Our office will be closed for the September weekend on Monday 15 September 2025.

We will close at 4pm on Friday 12 September, and normal service will resume at 10am on Tuesday 16 September.

You can still submit a request for an independent review during this time. However, any reviews received after 3pm on Friday 12 September will be processed when we reopen.

Your feedback is important to us!

We are looking to gather feedback on our new Scottish Welfare Fund decision letter via this survey: https://forms.office.com/e/8AY7szX5Qp

Case study

Date:

July 2024
Category:

Exceptional circumstances for crisis grants

Example

C had applied for a crisis grant for money for food and utilities after their money was stolen when they had a seizure. The council refused the application, because C had already received three awards in the last 12-month period (the usual maximum allowed). They did not identify any exceptional circumstances that would allow for an additional award to be made, stating that C had received previous awards after losing their money.

C asked us to review the council’s decision.

We looked at the council's file and spoke with C. We did not agree with the council’s decision because C’s was an exceptional circumstance. Money stolen is different from money lost which meant the council had used incorrect information in their decision making. We changed their decision and gave learning and improvement feedback on their decision letters.