Outcomes - Selected Case Summaries
Categories
NAU financial assistance rules
Investigation | 12 September 2023
The complainant applied on multiple occasions to the Needs Assessment Unit (NAU) for some form of financial assistance and was refused. In the latest refusal, the complainant appealed to the NAU director who stated the application was not successful because the complainant had access to more than $8,000 KYD in various bank accounts. This sum is more than the limit contained in the NAU's eligibility criteria policy which is currently set at $8,000 KYD. The complainant stated the NAU had not taken into account certain factors relative to the complainant’s personal situation and made a formal complaint to the Office of the Ombudsman (OMB) challenging the NAU director’s decision.
The OMB first attempted an informal resolution process, akin to mediation, in attempts to resolve the matter. OMB received a detailed response from the NAU which was provided to the complainant, however, the complainant remained unsatisfied and sought a formal investigation.
The investigation found that NAU had followed its existing policies with regard to the financial constraints set for providing long-term financial assistance to applicants. However, it was noted that NAU needed to set a written policy on how the agency decides who owns a bank account. The complaint was not supported by the OMB, but one recommendation was made due to the findings of the final report.
Recommendations:
- The NAU should reduce its stated policy on ownership of bank accounts to writing and it should make this available to the public in whatever form it sees fit, if it has not already done so.
The recommendation was followed by the NAU later on during 2023 and the matter was closed.