The Crisis Loan application function for our area has been centralised to an office in Norwich and is operating on a phone application only based system. I have just found out that they only have the capacity to take a determined number of applications in one day, and any callers over and above that number are being told to call back the next working day.In the case of today this means people being left over the weekend with no money.
This is totally unacceptable and I think needs a cordinated response. Is anyone else experiencing similar problems? Can we link together on this?

Thanks

Try writing to the social fund inspector for a review on the grounds that your client cannot make the application. There is no requrement that crisis loans are made by phone and bearing in mind your client must be facing a crisis, the SFI will not be very happy.

in parliament yesterday, the chair of the work and pensions select committee said -

'My next point concerns crisis loans. Boy, did we get some conflicting evidence and words on those. About four years ago, the system on crisis loans changed to one in which claims are mostly made by telephone. We were told that at every office people can make a walk-in claim, but we received lots of evidence from many different organisations that people can walk in, but are then told to go away and use a phone. If they do not have their own phone, they are advised to find a public telephone that they can stand by and wait for someone to ring them. People have waited for up to three hours for someone to call them.

Applying for a crisis loan is not the most ennobling situation in the first place. By definition, if someone is in such a state that they have to apply for a crisis loan, there has probably been a major incident in their life and they are probably penniless, if not destitute. For such a person to be told to wait somewhere for three hours, not knowing what the decision is going to be, and that somebody might ring them in that time is unacceptable. We received lots of evidence about the walk-in facilities at different offices around the country stating that people can get through the door, but that it is still difficult for them to have their claims processed there while they wait.

All of those issues are compounded for people who live in rural areas. In major conurbations such as Stockport, Bradford, Aberdeen and Swindon—I shall not name any more—there is a reasonable chance of people being able to manage that system. However, for someone who lives in Kirby Stephen in Cumbria, the nearest office is Carlisle, which is an 80-mile round trip. Take someone who is hard of hearing who needs to make a crisis claim. Using the telephone is not an option for them, and they will not have the money to travel the 40 miles to Carlisle to get the money that might help them to get back. That might be an extreme example, but there are green and pleasant parts of this country which are 10, 20 or 30 miles from the nearest major population centre.

The Committee recognises and understands the rationale behind the reorganisation of the estate. In terms of pounds, shillings and pence—I am showing my age—there is an argument for it, but there is also a service argument. We need some sort of network in rural areas which uses other agencies, if necessary, by which people can access Jobcentre Plus services, particularly for those people who are already disadvantaged and want to make new claims, for whom the speedy processing of their benefit claims is essential. The same applies to crisis loans.'

A. Just go to the DWP website, find Crisis loans in the A - Z menu, and download the form that's available there - fill it in and present (with a warm, friendly and diasarming smile) to your local friendly JCP office.
B. If acceptance of said form is refused, stand your ground notwithstanding being presented with various home grown local variations of:
"You can't make personal claims"
"You need to be claiming a benefit"
"You need to use the telephone over there....yes, the one you can't get through on......"

Do not be deterred - ask to see a supervisior, preferrably one who is not 'in a meeting', 'on holiday', 'off sick' etc.

Point out that they cannot refuse to accept this claim because:

1. The form is approved by the S of S - he put it on the website
2. He must have therefore intended for the claimant to present it at their nearest JCP office,
3. Besides which, the Claims & payments Regulations apecifically say they must accept the claim.

Be polite at all times - do not raise voice even in the face of an obvious lack of basic knowledge of the Regs and other forms of provocation - you coulde find yourself being "invited" to leave the office by a nice security man, as nearly happened to a social worker in Norwich a month or two ago....


PS Why are these phones in Jobcentres called "warm phones" ?

Mike

Probably because of where we'd like to tell them to put them!
Can you send me your email address - I've been trying to copy you into the stuff about Norwich, but they keep bouncing back. Thanks.

Claire

.....That's a very unkind ( and tear provoking) thought for a genteel Suffolk Lady ...

Should have mentioned that one is also supposed to be able to walk into a JCP office and ask for a Crisis loan claim form over the counter: they are supposed to carry stocks of all claim forms ...I have heard of one or two that (alledged) don't.

The equivalent Regs to the Claims & Payment Regs, for the Social Fund are the following (as amended in 2002-Reg 2A inserted).

Statutory Instrument 1988 No. 524 The Social Fund (Applications) Regulations 1988 © Crown Copyright 1988Statutory Instruments printed from this website are printed under the superintendence and authority of the Controller of HMSO being the Queen's Printer of Acts of Parliament. The legislation contained on this web site is subject to Crown Copyright protection. It may be reproduced free of charge provided that it is reproduced accurately and that the source and copyright status of the material is made evident to users. It should be noted that the right to reproduce the text of Statutory Instruments does not extend to the Queen's Printer imprints which should be removed from any copies of the Statutory Instrument which are issued or made available to the public. This includes reproduction of the Statutory Instrument on the Internet and on intranet sites. The Royal Arms may be reproduced only where they are an integral part of the original document. The text of this Internet version of the Statutory Instrument which is published by the Queen's Printer of Acts of Parliament has been prepared to reflect the text as it was Made. A print version is also available and is published by The Stationery Office Limited as the The Social Fund (Applications) Regulations 1988, ISBN 0110865243. The print version may be purchased by clicking here. Braille copies of this Statutory Instrument can also be purchased at the same price as the print edition by contacting TSO Customer Services on 0870 600 5522 or e-mail:[email protected] information about the publication of legislation on this website can be found by referring to the Frequently Asked Questions. To ensure fast access over slow connections, large documents have been segmented into "chunks". Where you see a "continue" button at the bottom of the page of text, this indicates that there is another chunk of text available.

STATUTORY INSTRUMENTS 1988 No. 524 SOCIAL SECURITY The Social Fund (Applications) Regulations 1988 Made 16th March 1988
Laid before Parliament 17th March 1988
Coming into force 11th April 1988

The Secretary of State for Social Services, in exercise of the powers conferred on him by sections 33(1) and 84(1) of the Social Security Act 1986<1> and section 166(1) to (3A) of the Social Security Act 1975<2> and of all other powers enabling him in that behalf, by this instrument which is made before the end of a period of 12 months from the commencement of the enactment under which it is made, hereby makes the following Regulations:Citation, commencement and interpretation

1.—(1) These Regulations may be cited as the Social Fund (Applications) Regulations 1988 and shall come into force on 11th April 1988.

(2) In these Regulations, unless the context otherwise requires — "the Act" means the Social Security Act 1986;"appropriate office" means an office of the Department of Health and Social Security.Form and manner in which an application is to be made

2.—(1) "Except in the case of an application referred to in regulation 2A,". Every application for a payment out of the social fund under section 32(2)(b) of the Act (payment to meet needs other than in prescribed circumstances) shall be made in writing, on a form approved by the Secretary of State and completed in accordance with the instructions on that form, or in such other manner, being in writing, as the Secretary of State may accept as sufficient in the circumstances of any particular case.

(2) Forms of application shall be supplied, without charge, by such persons as the Secretary of State may appoint or authorise for that purpose.

(3) Every application shall be delivered or sent to an appropriate office.

(4) Where an application is to be made on behalf of a person, that person shall signify in writing his consent to the application being made on his behalf unless the person making the application is a person appointed by the Secretary of State under regulation 33(1) of the Social Security (Claims and Payments) Regulations 1987<3> to act on the beneficiary's behalf.

(5) Where it appears to the Secretary of State that an application which has been submitted is incomplete in that —

(a) the form approved has been used but it has not been completed in accordance with the instructions given on that form, the Secretary of State may return the form to the person making the application for proper completion by him; or

(b) it contains insufficient particulars to enable any material question to be determined, the Secretary of State may request that person to furnish in writing or by attendance at the appropriate office such further particulars as may reasonably be required to complete the application.Form and manner in which an application for a crisis loan is to be made

2A. - (1) An application for a crisis loan under section 138(1)(b) of the Social Security Contributions and Benefits Act 1992 need not be made in writing unless the Secretary of State directs in any particular case that the application shall be made in writing.

(2) Where an application for a crisis loan is to be made in writing - (a) it shall be made, either on a form approved by the Secretary of State and completed in accordance with the instructions on that form or in such other manner, being in writing, as the Secretary of State may accept as sufficient in the circumstances of any particular case; and(b) regulation 2(2) to (4) above shall apply to that application in the same way as those paragraphs apply to applications under regulation 2(1).

(3) Where it appears to the Secretary of State that an application which was made on a form is incomplete in that the form has not been completed in accordance with the instructions on that form, the Secretary of State may return the form to the person making the application for proper completion by him.

(4) Where insufficient particulars have been provided with the application for a crisis loan (whether made in writing or otherwise) to enable any material question to be determined, the Secretary of State may request the person making the application to provide such further particulars as may reasonably be required to complete the application.

(5) Where an application for a crisis loan has not been made in writing and it is subsequently determined that a loan may be awarded in connection with that application, the person making the application shall -

(a) provide satisfactory evidence of his identity;

(b) confirm in writing that there have been no changes to the particulars supporting the application; and

(c) confirm in writing that those particulars are correct,before the loan is paid to him.".

Signed by authority of the Secretary of State for Social Services.Nicholas ScottMinster of State, Department of Health and Social Security16th March 1988 EXPLANATORY NOTE(This note is not part of the Regulations) These Regulations make provision for the manner and form in which applications are to be made for discretionary payments from the Social Fund under section 32(2)(b) of the Social Security Act 1986.These Regulations are made before the expiry of 12 months from the commencement of section 33(1) of the Social Security Act 1986 and are accordingly exempt by section 61(5) of that Act from reference to the Social Security Advisory Committee and have not been so referred. ISBN 0 11 086524 3 Notes:<1> 1986 c. 50; section 33(1) was amended by paragraph 9 of Schedule 3 to the Social Security Act 1988 (c. 7) and section 84(1) is cited because of the meaning it ascribes to the words "prescribed" and "regulations" . back <2> 1975 c. 14; section 166(3A) was inserted by section 62(1) of the Social Security Act 1986 and section 166(1) to (3A) is applied by section 83(1) of that Act. back <3> S.I. 1987/1968. back

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e the following (as amended in 2002) - Reg 2A inserted).

The biggest potential problem with claiming on a clerical form is that rumour has it that the clerical forms go to the bottom of the pile and are not dealt with that quickly. Obviously this causes concerns as it is a Crisis.