20 May 2004 - Publication of DWP research report: Experiences and consequences of being refused a community care grant
Research published today by the Department for Work and Pensions examines what happens when people are refused a Social Fund Community Care Grant or are only granted a partial award. The research was carried out by the Personal Finance Research Centre, University of Bristol, and was based on qualitative interviews conducted with 48 people who had applied for a Community Care Grant between April 2002 and January 2003.
The main findings are as follows:
DWP Research Report 210: Experiences and Consequences of being refused a Community Care Grant
- There were wide variations in people’s prior experience and knowledge of the Social Fund. Of those interviewed, half were applying for their first Community Care Grant whilst a quarter had fairly extensive experience of applying to the Social Fund. Similarly, just under half of applicants knew very little or nothing about the Social Fund whilst almost a third were very knowledgeable.
- The most common reasons for applying for a Community Care Grant were to set up a new home and to move from one home to another. Those setting up home generally applied as a result of upheavals in their lives and typically requested a full range of furniture, white goods, flooring and carpets. A minority of applicants needed money to enable them or another family member to remain living in the community. Few applicants had tried to raise the money they needed in any other way before they applied for a Community Care Grant, as most had few, if any, other options to raise the amounts of money they required.
- For more than half of applicants, making an application was not a straightforward process. Some received help to complete the form while others completed it themselves with difficulty. Although awareness of the review process was high, the majority of people did not request a review of the initial decision because they could not see the point in having their application re-assessed when there had been no change in their circumstances.
- Those individuals who applied for internal review generally did so themselves and did not find it difficult. Few were aware of the independent review service and those who did go to independent review tended to because they had challenged the decision of the internal review officer rather than consciously requested it.
- People who were awarded a Community Care Grant generally received between a quarter and half of the amount they had requested. Although this usually allowed them to meet some of their needs they were still left with an average shortfall of £600. The majority of unsuccessful applicants had had their applications refused because they failed to satisfy Direction 4, they were therefore left to find the full amount they had applied for, which on average was £865.
- Applicants employed a wide range of strategies to make up the shortfall in their award. People who received a partial award tended, most commonly, to buy second-hand goods and started saving up. Unsuccessful applicants were more likely to apply for a Social Fund loan or ask family or friends for help. A fifth of people borrowed money commercially to buy the items they had applied for.
- Nearly half of people who were interviewed had to do without at least some of the things they applied for, which resulted in hardship. A similar proportion had to repay commercial or Social Fund loans they had taken out to make up the shortfalls in their Community Care Grant awards, which created an additional financial burden on their incomes.
Notes for editors
- The research was conducted by Elaine Kempson, Sharon Collard and Sally Taylor of the Personal Finance Research Centre, University of Bristol on behalf of the Department for Work and Pensions. The study was based on qualitative interviews with 48 people who had applied for a Community Care Grant between April 2002 and January 2003. These people had either had that application refused (20 people) or had been given a partial award that was at least £50 less than the amount they applied for (28 people).
- "Experiences and Consequences of being refused a Community Care Grant’ (report series No.210) is published on 20th May 2004. A summary and copy of the report is available on the DWP website: http//www.dwp.gov.uk/asd/asd5.
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