Example
Mr C had applied for a Community Care Grant for a fridge. He applied due to the fact that his fridge freezer was not working correctly and his food was spoiling.
The council declined the application as they did not consider Mr C to meet the qualifying criteria for a Community Care Grant. At the first tier stage, a visiting officer visited Mr C's property. They observed that the items seemed to be in working order but Mr C stated that it was very inconsistent. They noted that Mr C had also purchased a chest freezer. They did not change their original decision.
Mr C asked us for an Independent Review of the council's decision. We considered the particular facts and circumstances of his application. This included information provided by Mr C and details of the decision making process provided by the council. Although we recognised that not having access to a functioning fridge freezer was very inconvenient, we did not consider this to put him at risk of going in to a care facility or that it placed him under exceptional pressure (8.9, 8.10, 8.14 and 8.15 of the SWF guidance). As these were the only qualifying criteria that could have applied under Mr C’s circumstances, we did not change the council's decision. We therefore did not change the council’s decision, although we provided feedback about the decision letter not containing sufficient information; and the decision making process not being followed correctly.