Departments Directions Social Fund Guide

Part 2 - Community Care Grants

Direction 7 - Repeat applications

The Department directs that

(1) A decision maker shall not determine an application in the circumstances set out in this direction.

(2) Where the application is for a crisis loan for living expenses in respect of a period for which such a payment has already been awarded to the applicant or his partner, the decision maker shall not determine the application unless satisfied that it is to meet living expenses:

(a) as a consequence of a disaster which has occurred since the previous award; or

(b) in an emergency which -

(i) has arisen since the previous award;

(ii) is not a consequence of an act or omission for which the applicant or partner is responsible, and

(iii) the applicant or partner could not have taken reasonable steps to avoid.

(3) A Decision Maker shall not determine any other crisis loan application, or a grant application, made within 28 days of a previous application by the same person for the same expenses for which a payment has already been awarded or refused unless there has been a relevant change of circumstances.

Repeat applications

2150For the purposes of Direction 7, do not refuse to determine an application for the same expenses in those cases where:

the previous application was withdrawn before a decision or an offer was made
the applicant declined the previous offer on the previous application
the applicant did not respond to the offer on the previous application, or
the Department decided that the previous application was incomplete.

See Social Fund (Applications and Miscellaneous Provisions) Regulations (NI)1988.

Direction 7(3)

2151A crisis loan or community care grant application made after 28 days from the date of a previous application for the same expenses is not subject to the provisions of Direction 7(3)

2152 In considering Direction 7(3), a relevant change of circumstances might be for example, a change in the:

applicant's circumstances
budgetary position, or
law.

2153 With regard to the applicant's circumstances and whether there has been a relevant change, consider the following example.

2154 A repeat application for a bed is made by two different applicants who have already been awarded a payment for a bed. Applicant A did not buy a bed, but a different household item instead. Applicant B did buy a bed, but the bed has been subsequently destroyed by a house fire.

2155 In the above example, there is no relevant change in Applicant A's circumstances. There may however, be a relevant change in Applicant B's circumstances.

2156-2199