Example
Ms C applied for a crisis grant having received her joint Job Seekers Allowance claim one week previously and received less money than she expected. She was having deductions coming off her benefits to pay off an outstanding loan. The applicant had another week to wait for her next benefits income and had spent the money she received on food, gas, electricity and paying back debts to friends and family.
The council refused to make an award on the basis that the applicant had applied under the same circumstances the week previously. They noted that on that occasion the applicant was not in a crisis situation, and that the applicant had applied under the same circumstances a number of times in recent months.
We considered the possibility that the applicant was now in crisis and whether this constituted a change in circumstances since from the previous week’s application. However, having reviewed the application history it became apparent that the applicant had submitted five applications in six months due to the on-going reduction in benefits and debts owed to friends and family. We assessed that issues with budgeting represented an on-going feature of expenditure as per Annex A - 15 of the statutory guidance and not a one-off emergency, and therefore considered that the application did not meet the eligibility requirements for a crisis grant. We did not change the council’s decision.