Example
Mr C applied to the council for a community care grant. He applied for travel expenses for him and a companion to travel to England to his grandmother's funeral.
The council considered that the application for travel expenses was excluded under section 16 of Annex A of the guidance which states travelling expenses, with the exception of one-off expenses relating directly to the qualifying criteria, for example travelling expenses to help someone move to a new home where that move is essential to their re-integration in the community, or if a journey is essential in connection with a crisis, exceptional pressure or in support of independent living. As a result, they refused the application and upheld this decision at first tier.
Mr C applied to the SPSO for an independent review of the council's decision. He stated that he was facing exceptional pressure as his mental health had deteriorated significantly as the result of the bereavement and concerns over not being able to attend the funeral. We spoke to his doctor who confirmed that Mr C was in a low mood but did not present as suffering from acute mental health crisis. We noted that the guidance states that the journey must be essential in relation to exceptional pressure, and we did not consider that the journey to the funeral was essential to his mental health circumstances. We also considered that his mental health issues have been ongoing and managed for a long period of time, that they were not new to this application. As a result, we were satisfied that the council had correctly identified that Mr C's application was for an excluded item and that his circumstances did not meet any of the exceptions where travel costs can be awarded.