Example
Mr C, applied for a crisis grant on behalf of Ms A, requesting money for food and living expenses. Ms A, an European Economic Area (EAA) national, was no longer in receipt of employment and support allowance (ESA) having been assessed by the DWP to no longer meet the necessary right to reside requirements. The applicant intended to appeal the decision and her only source of income was Personal Independence Payment (PIP).
The council’s original decision maker noted that the applicant was also no longer receiving housing benefit and that on the basis of the DWP’s decision they could not make an award. The first tier review decision maker upheld the original decision. They made clear in their notes that the decision was based on the applicant “not having recourse to public funds”.
Ms A applied to SPSO for an independent review of the council’s decision. We considered the available evidence and the SWF guidance. We assessed that the council had incorrectly concluded that the applicant had no recourse to public funds (NRPF) status. As an EEA national the applicant would not typically be subject to a condition of NRPF and we noted the applicant is in receipt of PIP, which are also benefits derived from public funds. As s 6.10 and 6.11 of the guidance make clear that awards can be made in the applicant’s situation we changed the decision. We instructed the council to make an award of £81.45 to cover the period of time until the applicant’s next significant PIP payment. We also recorded a finding relating to the council’s written communication.