Hi, Please, if anyone can advise on this..? I really need some expert help, or if anyone has been in this situation before? It's a really lengthy post, sorry, but everything is a complicated mess, and I wanted to give all the information. I applied for a CCG on 12th July 2012 to help with costs for furnishing my flat, and with the help of Stockport Resettlement service and a floating support service. The CCG was refused outright, 14 items were declined for the following reason: 'we cannot consider an application for anything you have applied for within the last 26 weeks, if there has been no change in your circumstances.' There were also 3 items that were declined for a different reason: 'After looking at your application and personal circumstances, we have decided that your need for what you have asked for does not have high enough priority.' This was a massive shock, I knew nothing of a 26 weeks rule and neither had I been warned of any such issue by the Resettlement or floating support workers. Previously, I had applied for a CCG that was declined on 18 November 2011, so in fact 26 weeks had passed, but when I called the DWP I was told this was a mistake on the letter and it should have read '52 weeks', as this was the new rule and the reason I was not eligible to apply. This previous application in November was done by a different floating support service, NACRO, on my behalf, and was declined because: 'We can pay CCG to help people in certain circumstances... After looking at your application and personal circumstances, we have decided that the qualifying conditions for the payment of a CCG are not satisfied.' I ought to have met the criterion 'to set up home in the community as part of a planned resettlement programme following a period when a person has had no permanent home.' So I thought there must have been a mistake with the application, but I had not seen what was written in it. Currently, I have assistance on this problem from Resettlement, the new floating support service, and the Citizen's Advice Bureau, but in desperation I am turning to the Internet for help as nobody I have spoken so far has ever encountered this situation before, they did not know about the 52 weeks rule, what it is, or what to do about it. The only thing I am told is to 'appeal it', but I can see that simply reiterating my need for the grant would get me nowhere in this particular situation. After doing a lot of researching online I discovered something called 'Direction 7': "A decision maker shall not determine any other crisis loan application, or a grant application, made within 12 months of a previous application by the same person for the same expenses for which a payment has already been awarded or refused unless there has been a relevant change of circumstances." And also: "Changes in circumstances. If the application is for the same item, then direction 7 will not apply if there has been a relevant change in circumstances. Relevant changes may include: - a change in the applicant’s personal circumstances, or those of his family. Not all changes will be relevant, but any change that impacts either on the nature or urgency of the need, or on the reasons for an earlier application being refused, will be relevant. This will be the case however minor the impact and whether advantageous or disadvantageous. It is important to identify any changes in the applicant’s circumstances that are relevant to his need for an item for which he has made a previous application." As far as I can see, my options include 2 possibilities: 1) Appeal the decision on the first application made in November, my reason for the lateness being my state of mind, mental health and lack of outside support over the past few months. 2) Claim a change in circumstances has occurred. I have a couple of questions I can't find the answers to: 1) Can I appeal a decision for a previous application after already having submitted a second, fresh application? 2) In order to count, the change would have to be something substantial? Or could it be fairly minor? What kind of change in circumstances would they accept? Unfortunately the reason I need the grant is because nothing has changed and I am in the exact same situation as when I first moved in here! And I already know about the usual sources (Gumtree, Freecycle, Freegle, Greencycle, eBay, local furniture charity), they are not much help as even for free items I am struggling to afford the transport costs, and to be honest I find if you can't pick-up immediately then Freecycle is useless as they always seem to give it to the 'first come first served'. For a change in circumstances the only things I can think of are a decline in my state of mental health which I have evidence for, including a psychiatric referral, or a withdrawal of support that I have been relying on. The latter involves a partner who has been able to provide both emotional and practical support during the past few months, but the relationship ended a few weeks ago. I have had to return some items that I borrowed to help me get by, such as plates, cutlery, a microwave, and folding camp bed. The bed I have not returned yet, I am delaying as I have nothing else to sleep on. Would this count as a change in circumstances? Or not, seeing as how technically it just puts me back to the circumstances under which I made the first application in November. Please, any advice on how to proceed would be gratefully appreciated, I am at my wits end with this whole thing. Many thanks, Louisa

Hi, I applied for a CCG for assistance with staying in the community rather than going into care. I currently receive IB, IS and lower mob. and middle care portions of DLA (currently going through a change of circumstances to get the latter upped to higher rate). They awarded me a certain amount and denied about half of what I was asking for. I sent in an appeal stating my reasons and received a letter saying that as they didn't receive it within 28 days so I had 12 days to state why I hadn't sent it sooner. In my reply to that, which I sent Special Delivery because the deadline was 2 days away when I got the letter, I stated that because of my disability I was unable to post letters myself and needed someone else to post letters for me and if there was a delay it would be because of that. I received a letter in reply stating that my reasons weren't good enough and they wouldn't be looking at it again. I can get no further information from anyone only that there is no form of appeal against that final decision. So I need to know whether this is true? If not then what reasons are valid for not having the appeal letter in on time? Finally where can I go from here? Any help would be very grateful received, Thanks in advance, Macky.