Example
Mr C applied for a crisis grant as his Universal Credit payment had been sanctioned. He therefore had no money for living costs until his next benefit payment.
The council assessed that Mr C had received three awards in the previous rolling 12 months and so was not eligible for a further award. They upheld their original decision following the applicant’s first tier review request.
Mr C asked for an independent review of his application. We considered the facts and circumstances of the case and spoke with Mr C for further information. He explained that he had missed an appointment with the job centre which was the reason he had been sanctioned. We also asked the council to provide additional information about Mr C’s previous applications. While we noted that sanctions had not been a feature of his previous applications within the last 12 months, we did note that he had acknowledged that he was responsible for the sanction on this occasion. In line with s7.21-7.23 of the SWF guidance, we assessed the circumstances may be considered to be different compared to previous, however, we assessed that the applicant had some responsibility for the sanction and so did not change the council's decision. We provided feedback to the council about the robust recording of the decision and clear decision letters.