Case Studies

Financial Hardship

Mrs Nowak applied for a Discretionary Housing Payment due to financial hardship.

She had a period of time absent from her employment due to having an operation which meant a reduction in her income.

She expected to be absent from work for a period of 12 to 16 weeks.

Prior to this she was able to meet all household expenditure, however due to being absent from work, her wages reduced to the rate of statutory sick pay resulting in a substantial reduction in her income. This led to Mrs Nowak being extremely worried and anxious about how she was going to be able to afford to meet her rent and other household bills, particularly given the rise in the cost of living.

This change in circumstances resulted in Mrs Nowak making a claim for Universal Credit, however, due to the level of their income she had an income taper of £88 per month meaning her Universal Credit award was reduced by this amount. She also had a non-dependant residing with her, who was not in employment which also meant her Universal Credit housing allowance rate was reduced by £77.87 due to a non-dependant deduction.

After reviewing Mrs Nowak's income against her expenditure, it was established that her outgoings were greater than her current income. An award of Discretionary Housing Payment was made at a rate £165.87 per month, for a period of 3 months, to cover the income taper and non-dependant deductions that she had from her Universal Credit award. This award supported the Mrs Nowak in meeting her rental costs and helped ease some of the financial pressures she had.

Contact us today

The West Lothian Council Advice Shop is a free and confidential service that can help you with:

• Benefits Advice
• Money/Debt Advice
• Housing Advice
• Energy Advice

Our phone lines are open:

• Monday to Thursday: 8:30am to 5pm
• Friday: 8:30am to 4pm

Our telephone number is 01506 283 000

Disability

Mr Smith is a pensioner who lives alone and has both physical and mental health conditions including mobility issues for which he has a motorised scooter. His daughter contacted the Advice Shop as Mr Smith was very worried about rising energy costs and was afraid of using too much heating or electricity at home, opting instead to go to bed early in the evening to keep warm and limit electricity use. Mr Smith's daughter was very worried about her dad's refusal to use gas and electricity as he needs to keep his motorised scooter charged in order to maintain his independence.  

An adviser supported Mr Smith to check for entitlement to any unclaimed social security benefits and was able to secure extra help through Council Tax Reduction and Pension Credit to help toward day to day costs. The adviser was also able to support Mr Smith to make a claim for Attendance Allowance to help with extra costs associated with his health conditions and to make an application for a £100 Fuel Grant to help with energy bills and for Warm Home Discount of £140 through his energy supplier. Mr Smith was also able to apply for a Disability Fuel Grant to help toward the cost of maintaining his motorised scooter.

Contact us today

The West Lothian Council Advice Shop is a free and confidential service that can help you with:

• Benefits Advice
• Money/Debt Advice
• Housing Advice
• Energy Advice

Our phone lines are open:

• Monday to Thursday: 8:30am to 5pm
• Friday: 8:30am to 4pm
• Our telephone number is 01506 283 000

Lone Parent

Miss Jones is a mum of two young children aged 4 and 6. She became a lone parent this year after leaving an abusive relationship and moving in to temporary accommodation whilst she got back on her feet. Miss Jones was referred to the Advice Shop by her children's school as she was finding it difficult to make ends meet with her monthly Universal Credit payment due to rising living costs.

An adviser was able to help Miss Jones to apply for access a range of additional support. After leaving her relationship and moving into temporary housing, Miss Jones had very few personal possessions. Money for clothing was secured through the Feeling the Pinch fund and additional help with school clothing was obtained via a School Clothing Grant. Miss Jones' income has been maximised through an application for Scottish Child Payment and she has also been entitled to two additional bridging payments of £130 each. To help with day to day living costs, Miss Jones has been provided with a £100 Fuel Grant and has received two food parcels as well as information about how to access local community food outlets in her local area to help manage ongoing food costs.

Contact us today

The West Lothian Council Advice Shop is a free and confidential service that can help you with:

• Benefits Advice
• Money/Debt Advice
• Housing Advice
• Energy Advice

Our phone lines are open:

• Monday to Thursday: 8:30am to 5pm
• Friday: 8:30am to 4pm
• Our telephone number is 01506 283 000