Hi

I recently applied for a Community Care Grant on behalf of my client to purchase a hoover. The previous hoover had broken a long time ago and she had been left using a brush pan and brush. Our argument was that the Arthritis that my client suffers from made it extremley painful for her to use a brush pan and brush, although she was able to perform the task.

This decision has been refused on the basis that it did not meet any of the Community Care Grant criteria. However, my client has said that her condition has detiorated between submitting the application and the date of her decision and that she in now totally incapacle of using the brush pan and brush. Can the reconsideration process take into account?

a) The detioriation between the date of the application and the date of the decision.

B) Any detioriation between the date of the decision and the present date.

Thanks

The answers are a) yes: b) yes. There is no 'down to the date of the decision' rule in the discretionary social fund because this would tend to fetter the discretion of the reviewing officer.

Thanks very much for your help.