Example
Mr C applied for a community care grant after moving via a mutual exchange to be nearer his carer. He had applied for flooring for a number of rooms, in the property and for a washing machine.
The council originally declined the application on the basis that they did not consider the application met the necessary priority level. Following the applicant's first tier review request, the council upheld their original decision although noted that the reason for no award was because they assessed that the applicant did not meet the qualifying criteria as it was a mutual exchange of properties, and that the property was not allocated on the basis of health reasons. The applicant then contacted us for an independent review of the council's decision.
We considered the particular facts and circumstances of the case, and determined that we disagreed with the assessment that the application did not pass the qualifying criteria. The applicant had moved to be nearer his carer and suffered from a number of significant health problems including two serious illnesses, double incontinence, extreme fatigue and mental ill health. We therefore assessed that he could be considered to be at risk of care without an award; as moving to be nearer someone who provides you with care is one of the listed examples under the criterion which concerns risk of care (s8.8 to 8.12 of the SWF guidance). We therefore changed the council’s decision as we assessed that the available information has been interpreted incorrectly. We instructed the council to award all of the items meeting the necessary priority level, and also provided feedback that they had shortened the descriptions of the qualifying criteria in their letters which changed their meaning.