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Claimants already getting SDP
There’s a housing benefit circular been sent out, so they should know about it.
Will do, cheers
Any idea which Circular this would be please?
Our benefits team know nothing about it.
There’s a housing benefit circular been sent out, so they should know about it.
Any idea which Circular this would be please?
Our benefits team know nothing about it.There’s a housing benefit circular been sent out, so they should know about it.
they usually get linked to on here but I cant see it yet (its been a busy day for the editors here I suspect)
HB A1/2019 LA should have it today, but it’s dated from 14th so it might be next week before you have access.
[ Edited: 11 Jan 2019 at 09:23 pm by ringleby ]Regulations are out -http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2019/10/made
I’m guessing that my IRESA client currently living with parents but due to move to her own tenancy will have to claim UC as she won’t have been eligible for SDP prior to moving?
I’m guessing that my IRESA client currently living with parents but due to move to her own tenancy will have to claim UC as she won’t have been eligible for SDP prior to moving?
I would personally claim the SDP first on moving and then submit a claim to Housing Benefit on this basis, and not claim UC at all.
That would have been my plan but my anxiety is that the SDP could take months to process (not at all unusual here), leaving my client without a clear gateway condition to allow them to claim HB
Restriction on claims for universal credit by persons entitled to a severe disability premium
4A. No claim may be made for universal credit on or after 16th January 2019 by a single claimant who, or joint claimants either of whom—
(a) is, or has been within the past month, entitled to an award of an existing benefit that includes a severe disability premium; and.
(b) in a case where the award ended during that month, has continued to satisfy the conditions for eligibility for a severe disability premium.”
My reading is that your client is entitled to SDP from the date they move, the Regs don’t state it actually has to be in payment.
Many thanks. SDP would apply to the actual HB award too so hopefully entitlement will work for this client even if it’s not in payment through ESA
Such welcome news that no more SDP claimants will naturally migrate to UC from 16th Jan.
Do feel concerned about whether the ‘gateway’ will work in practice though - ie will people making enquiries and claims be steered to the right place … have seen a few messy cases with people who should have been continuously entitled to legacy bens because of having 3+ children, but it didn’t work out that way.
Do feel concerned about whether the ‘gateway’ will work in practice though - ie will people making enquiries and claims be steered to the right place … have seen a few messy cases with people who should have been continuously entitled to legacy bens because of having 3+ children, but it didn’t work out that way.
I can imagine it is going to be chaos. Cases like the one above (claimant entitled to, but not receiving, SDP) are going to be extremely difficult for initial contact centre staff to deal with in any consistent way. I doubt that there is going to be any great deal of practical understanding of the SDP and how it works, or how to identify potentially affected cases amongst staff who work solely with tax credits or UC.
As you point out, there were enough problems when the only thing that needed to be asked was “how many children do you have living with you?”
Related to my above question this I guess but not sure if it can be answered 100% at the moment,if someone gets SDP (or meets the criteria but hasn’t actually claimed yet) in HB (or anything means tested really) within the last month prior, does this mean they could potentially make a new claim for IR-ESA/JSA instead of UC from tomorrow? Same for tax credits?
Seems that way right?
[ Edited: 15 Jan 2019 at 01:30 pm by JAS1 ]Related to my above question this I guess but not sure if it can be answered 100% at the moment,if someone gets SDP (or meets the criteria but hasn’t actually claimed yet) in HB (or anything means tested really) within the last month prior, does this mean they could potentially make a new claim for IR-ESA/JSA instead of UC from tomorrow? Same for tax credits?
Seems that way right?
Yes. And no.
To be excused from UC you have to:-
1. Be entitled to an SDP (i.e. a decision has been made that you have an SDP in a benefit), or
2. Have been entitled to an SDP within the past month AND continue “to satisfy the conditions for eligibility for an SDP”.
So, yes; any SDP will do. And, no; mere eligibility is not enough - you have to have an SDP or have had one in the past month.
An example (which we discussed in another thread recently) would be where you get an adverse WCA and lose your ESA, but still satisfy the conditions for eligibility for an SDP. This would mean you could apply for JSA during your MR (as long as you did it within a month), and then go back to ESA pending your appeal.