Example
Mr C applied for a crisis grant as he had received his Personal Independence Payment (PIP) but had spent this, and had no money for living expenses until his next Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) payment in 4 days.
The council declined Mr C’s application on the basis that his PIP payment would have been sufficient to meet his immediate living expenses until his ESA payment and that he would have been aware that this money would need to be budgeted until his next benefit payment. As a result, they assessed that he did not meet the qualifying criteria. They did not change their decision after Mr C’s first tier review request.
Mr C requested an independent review of the council's decision on his crisis grant application. We received the council’s file, and asked Mr C for further information about his circumstances. We assessed that the council's refusal was not in line with s7.26 of the guidance, which states that how the emergency came about is not relevant, even if the applicant might be judged to have caused it or to have been able to avoid it. We assessed that Mr C had no access to money on the day that he applied and had no food or fuel, therefore he met the qualifying criteria of being in an emergency. We assessed that his request for living expenses met the priority level in place at the council and upheld Mr C's review request. We instructed the council to make a payment for four days totalling £25.06, and provided feedback that the council’s decision letter did not contain sufficient information.