Summary
Ms C, an advice worker, complained to us on behalf of Ms A, following the council's refusal of her application for a Community Care Grant from the Scottish Welfare Fund. Ms C felt that the council had failed to properly consider the application, as the reasons for refusal given at each stage of the process were either very limited or absent.
On investigation, we found that the council had failed to follow Scottish Welfare Fund guidance in a number of areas. Their record of the decision-making process was limited, and fell short of what was required, and their decisions appeared to be based on a misquote or misinterpretation of the guidance. They had also failed to comply with the guidance on communicating accurate reasons for their decisions at each stage of the process, which affected Ms A's ability to effectively appeal their decisions. As such, we upheld the complaint.
Recommendations
We recommended that the council: apologise to Ms A for the failings identified in this investigation; provide a fast-tracked reconsideration of Ms A's application from the first stage, ensuring the guidance is followed; and provide training to relevant staff, including review panel members, on the contents of the guidance.
Related reading
View Decision Report 201502107 as a PDF (12.95 KB) Updated: March 13, 2018