Example
Miss C applied for a community care grant for a washing machine and vacuum cleaner. Miss C advised these items had broken and she was unable to replace them due to her low income.
The Council considered that Miss C met the eligibility criteria to be awarded a grant but assessed she did not meet any of the qualifying criteria as set out in the Scottish Welfare Fund Guidance. Miss C applied for a first tier review and the council confirmed the application was considered by a different decision maker, who was not involved in the initial decision. The new decision maker changed the original decision and awarded Miss C a washing machine. A vacuum cleaner was not awarded as they assessed that it did not meet the council’s current priority level. It was unclear from the council’s letter and notes what qualifying criterion on they assessed the application met.
Miss C asked us for an independent review of the council’s decision. We considered the particular facts and circumstances of the application. This included information provided by Miss C and details of the decision making process provided by the council. We assessed that Miss C did not meet the qualifying criteria as she had been in his current property for nearly nine years and was managing her tenancy well. We also noted that she had a lot of family support. We recognised that Miss C suffered from health difficulties which affected her daily life. We also noted that she was on a low income and this made it difficult for her to budget and buy items for her property. However, overall disagreed that Miss C was facing ‘exceptional pressure’ to maintain a settled home (covered in 8.14-8.15 of the guidance). We did not change the council’s decision as we will never reduce or take away an award. However, we provided feedback that the guidance had not been followed in respect of their assessment of the qualifying criteria.