Team members did a home visit today and the whole team is amazed at what we found.
A resident looking after a 2-year old child ran out of money to top up her gas meter. At the same time, the Council came round to do the annual service of the meter. Because gas wasn't flowing, and the resident didn't have enough money to top up, they capped the meter, so that she couldn't use it at all. For over a month, the family have lived without being able to use their cooker, hot water or heating. They have managed by feeding money into the electric meter to run an expensive electric meter - pushing them further into poverty.
It would cost £10 to have provided this family with some credit to do the meter check. We reckon it must take 800% more money, at least, to send someone out again to uncap the meter. And meanwhile, a small child is growing up in a home that isn't warm or able to provide hot food....
This disastrous piece of bureaucracy shouldn't happen to anyone. In this case, it happened to a lovely couple providing kinship care to a 2-year old. Somehow, they have been left with a kinship care allowance as their only income - this is not enough to live on as it is meant to be an additional payment.
We're on the case, we have made the correct benefits claims and provided some furnishing the family needs to manage better.
Meanwhile, we're lobbying hard for this situation to be prevented, by investigating meter capping as a standard practice that must be stopped.