Councils rebuff claims for help from vulnerable, finds watchdog
STEPHEN NAYSMITH
(SPSO), which revealed the cases in a new report, said that councils had made the wrong decisions in one-third (32 per cent) of crisis grant applications referred to it.
Furtherore, similar errors had been made in 43 per cent of reviews of Community Care Grant applications, the discretionary payments for people who may suffer from poor health or family issues.
Peter Kelly, Director of the campaign group, Poverty Alliance, said the number of reviews upheld showed there had been an issue with decision making connected to the welfare fund.
He said: “That so many of these cases were a result of incorrect interpretation of information or the guidance not being followed correctly, shows a need for increased training for decision makers,” he said.
“All decision makers should know that it is not acceptable to send someone to a foodbank instead of providing financial assistance. This does not fit with the idea of a social security system based on dignity and respect. People access the Scottish Welfare Fund at times of crisis and when they are under severe stress, it is therefore important that the welfare fund works for them rather than creating further hardship.”
The SPSO reviewed 437 decisions in its first year since taking on the job of overseeing complaints about the fund. Previously applicants who were dissatisfied had to ask the councils themselves to review a decision they were unhappy with. In an annual report, it said it was only seeing the “tip of the iceberg.”
It is not known if those who do not come forward after being rejected for payments are satisfied with the decision, don’t know they can ask for a review or are in too much crisis to do so.
An SPSO spokeswoman said: “We are only seeing the applications where people are unhappy with the decision that has been made, and have the energy to take that to a further independent review stage.”
The report found 65 per cent of those asking the SPSO for help with a claim had a mental or physical disability. Glasgow had the most with 163, followed by North Lanarkshire (63) and South Lanarkshire (42).
Councils are criticised for poor communications, particularly when turning down applications, and failing to seek relevant evidence. The SPSO also changed decisions where councils had refused to pay for ‘supplementary items such as pots and pans, when providing an oven, or bedding when paying for a bed. “Without them the applicant is unable to effectively use the primary item they have been awarded,” the report said.
The SPSO Rosemary Agnew, said she was “delighted” that it had made the scheme more accessible.
A spokesman for the local authorities’ umbrella body, Cosla, said the figures needed to be put in context, adding: “Councils seek to be robust but fair in dealing with claims in such circumstances and there is an appeal process.”
Bernard Gallacher in his doctor’s robes.