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New Enterprise Allowance eligibility - will JSA ‘Credits only’ claim satisfy qualifying criteria?
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Citizens Advice Bridport & District
Total Posts: 1052
Joined: 9 January 2017
The following suggest it does - :
New Enterprise Allowance (NEA) Mentoring 2017 NEA Phase 2 Provider Guidance para 1.18 page 7 see attached
New Enterprise Allowance (JSA claimants) paragraph 21
But i can’t find the relevant legislation underpinning the above. Can anyone point the way please.
File Attachments
- new-enterprise-allowance-phase-2-provider-guidance_(1)_July_2018.pdf (File Size: 1801KB - Downloads: 2158)
- NEA_JSA_claimants_24_Procedural_guidance_25_Feb_13.pdf (File Size: 86KB - Downloads: 1919)
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Citizens Advice Bridport & District
Total Posts: 1052
Joined: 9 January 2017
Not convinced the legislation below i.e. Reg 2 would support a ‘JSA Credits only’ claim i.e. ‘credits for unemployment’ would meet the NEA criteria.
But would be happy to be told otherwise!
http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2013/276/contents
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Accountant, Haffner Hoff Ltd, Manchester
Total Posts: 1463
Joined: 27 February 2019
DWP splits credits-only cases into two categories: “Credits only Claimants” and “Non-claimants”. The difference is basically whether a claim for JSA was actually made. In the first category, a claim was made, but refused or terminated for whatever reason, and in the second category, a claim was not actually made. This can be found in guidance released in a few FoI requests over the years. See the document attached to this post.
It is precisely this difference which is being detailed in paragraph 21 of the second attachment in your post.
The reasoning behind the difference in treatment, is that the legislation (which you quote) requires that a claim for JSA be made, but does not actually require entitlement to JSA.
File Attachments
- Credits.pdf (File Size: 84KB - Downloads: 4040)
forum member
Citizens Advice Bridport & District
Total Posts: 1052
Joined: 9 January 2017
Charles I’ve only just seen your post!
Thank you so much!
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Citizens Advice Bridport & District
Total Posts: 1052
Joined: 9 January 2017
We got back to our MP and referred to the guidance above again and Charles’s even more explicit guidance.
We cited The Social Security (Credits) Regulations 1975 ‘Credits for unemployment’ cover both New Style JSA and Old Style JSA (C) referred the DWP to Reg 8A (2) (ba) (i) (ii) i.e. applies to ‘Credits only Claimant’s i.e client’s situation which explicitly refers to New Style JSA. Not to be confused with ‘non-claimant’s’ i.e. Reg 8A (3) (i) (ii).
MP got the following response from the Regional Customer Services people.
‘The information I gave in my last email is correct. It has been taken straight from new style JSA guidance.
The term non-claimant has a different meaning under new style JSA and is the reason I mentioned the note for DWP staff saying not to use the term non-claimant when engaging with individuals. This is to avoid this kind of confusion.
The definition of the non-claimant for new style JSA is, an individual who is applying for NI credits without claiming any other benefits (new style JSA, State Pension and Universal Credit). Non-claimants do not have access to any of the programmes funded by Jobcentre Plus, or external providers.
Ms Z’s new style JSA claim closed when her entitlement exhausted after 182 days. Her access to programmes funded by Jobcentre Plus, or external providers ended when her new style JSA claim closed.
I hope this clarifies the situation’
We’ve asked our MP to go higher up.
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Citizens Advice Bridport & District
Total Posts: 1052
Joined: 9 January 2017
See attached letter from Mims Davies Minster for Employment clarifying etc etc.
File Attachments
- Mims_Davies_NEA_clarification_letter_24th_Feb_2020.pdf (File Size: 46KB - Downloads: 1930)
Very helpful - thanks Andy :)