Example
Mr C made an application for a community care grant to purchase clothing. He had been liberated from prison a couple of years previously and bought low cost clothing at the time, however these clothes were now in a poor condition and needed replaced. Mr C stated he could not afford to buy new clothes.
The council took into account that Mr C was in receipt of Job Seekers Allowance (JSA) however, they assessed that the need was an on-going one and therefore excluded under the guidance. Mr C asked the council to review the decision, explaining that he did not think there was any way he could budget to replace the clothing from his JSA income. A different decision maker looked at the application but did not change the decision. They agreed that the application should be refused as an excluded item.
Mr C asked the SPSO to review the council's decision. We took into account the specific facts of the case. We noted that Mr C had been liberated from prison in 2015 and had bought clothing at that time which now needed replaced. However, we agreed with the council that under these circumstances, clothing was considered an on-going feature of expenditure and therefore out-with the scope of the fund as per SWF guidance Annex A point 15 which states that on-going needs which are, or are likely to become, a feature of expenditure, are excluded from the fund. We did not uphold the review request and provided feedback to the council about including information about the guidance when it is used to exclude an application, to ensure the refusal reason is clear to the applicant.