Example
Ms C applied for a crisis grant in order to obtain £300.00 for fuel oil, explaining that this was the minimum payment required to arrange a delivery. The applicant stated she did not have the income to be able to meet this payment, and that without this item she would be without heating or hot water.
The council refused an award on the basis that the applicant had previously been awarded a similar amount for the same reason upon moving into the tenancy in the middle of the previous winter. At that point the applicant had been advised to set up a budget payment plan to ensure there would be credit available to her to arrange a delivery when the time came. The expense was therefore considered to be excluded from the welfare fund as an ""ongoing feature of expenditure". They upheld their decision at first tier.
We considered the applicant's circumstances and the welfare fund guidance. We agreed with the council's interpretation that while money for heating oil had previously been awarded as a one-off expense and part of a crisis; it had since become an on-going feature of expenditure (Annex A point 15) once the applicant became established in the tenancy. Additionally, we noted that the applicant had received three awards in the previous 12 months, meaning that for an additional discretionary award to be made the situation would need to be considered exceptional and the applicant without fault. We did not consider either of these conditions to have been met. We recorded one finding on the case, relating to the council’s written communication.