Example
Ms C asked for an independent review of the council’s decision. She had applied for a community care grant as she had moved tenancy and required a number of household items.
The council assessed that the application met the eligibility criteria but stated she did not meet any of the qualifying conditions and so did not make an award. Ms C requested a first tier review of the decision, however, the council did not change their original decision.
We reviewed the council’s case file and spoke with Ms C for further information. She explained she had moved due to medical reasons as she suffers from mobility issues. We spoke with her housing officer who verified that Ms C had been allocated a bungalow with a wet room due to her medical issues. As such, we changed the council’s decision as assessed she met the qualifying criteria relating to being at risk of care. We did not award all the items, just those we deemed to meet high priority.
We provided the council with feedback about their decision making as we assessed that they did not have sufficient information to make a robust decision and should have contacted Ms C for further information. We also provided feedback regarding the recording of their decision and the quality of their decision letters; which we deemed were not in line with the guidance.