Desperate JCP moving around the deckchairs on a sinking ship.
Whilst google-ing "crisis loan" on Wednesday (17/10/2007),

I came across these two pages:
http://www.rightsnet.org.uk/dc/dcboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=107&topic_id=1533&mesg_id=1557
and http://www.pcs.org.uk/Templates/Internal.asp?NodeID=914166
It seems to me that staff who would otherwise be processing Community Care Grants have been moved to Crisis loan work (and not for the first time to my knowledge). This is a self-defeating exercise because CCG clients are being told to get a CL in the interim, thus further increasing the overall workload and the original CCG will still need to be processed, albeit later. The "Average Actual Clearance Time" (processing target) is set at 9 days, but claims are taking 8 weeks, therefore each CCG claimant will have to make multiple CL claims (i.e. every fortnight). JCP are doing this 'self-defeating exercise' as a reaction to the drubbing they got from Sir Richard Tilt, Social Fund Commissioner's, "House of Commons - Work and Pensions - Sixth Report - Prepared 23 May 2007."