Monday 19 October: Complaint form offline

The supplier of our case management system has confirmed that they are experiencing a significant technical issue.

At present, we have no access to the case management system and we are currently unable to take new Public Service Complaints or provide updates on cases. We are planning on the basis that this could continue for a period of time including next week.

Please be assured we are doing all we can and will provide updates on our website.

For an all service update: Service update | SPSO

Scottish Welfare Fund news - September 2023

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Last month we:

  • responded to 75 enquiries
  • made 61 decisions
    • 6 community care grants
    • 55 crisis grants.
  • upheld 67% of community care grants appeals and 5% of crisis grant appeals
  • signposted an additional 90 applicants to other sources of assistance
  • received 12 enquiries from councils seeking advice

Stakeholder engagement

We escalated one issue under our Support and Intervention Policy. This concerned delays with the processing of applications for both crisis grants and community care grants.

Case studies

This month, we gave a number of councils feedback on their handling of crisis grant applications. This included ensuring that sufficient enquiries are made to make an informed decision. We have updated the searchable directory on our website with sample cases to share learning from our findings.

Updated: September 20, 2023