My client had her IS stopped in November. Her HB has continued to be paid. I do not think she will be able to get IS or JSA, just CTC and CB. She is very worried about telling the council that she is no longer getting IS.
I am wondering -
a) will she be asked to pay her rent during the time she has come off IS (as she didn't inform the council within 1 month). Her mum has been supporting her financially, should client include a letter from mum with her change of circumstances form?
b) will it be difficult to get her HB continued if her only visible income is CTC and CB.
any advice on this would be greatly appreciated!

I can only really answer in part, IMO she needs to get herself down to the council asap and inform them of the change. The council get a monthly list from DWP of cases such as this, and although each council treats them differently, she could 'potentially' be looking at a fraud officer interviewing her formally for failing to report a relevant change. If she preempts this, and visits them before they visit her, then the council would be unable to take any action (legally, not overpayment wise) against her as long as she has made "a full and frank admission" i.e. I didnt inform you of the change because......

And yes, a letter from her Mother would help, but I cannot stress enough how urgently she should tell them - get her to do it today if you can.

Hope this helps

There is no advantage to your client in not disclosing the ending of IS immediately. Although the council's Hb dept should have been routinely notified by the DWP. Delay always brings up the risk of overpayments. The rules on overpayments are so complicated that its quite possible that your client will not lose out but delay increases the risks.

She will certainly remain liable for her rent irrespective of IS.

Why does your client assume that she will be worse off? Is she aware that when IS ends she is still entitled to claim and be assessed on her actual income. This is quite likely to give her maximum (or near maximum) haousing benefit.

It is imperative that your client informs the LA of the CofC asap. There is a legal duty for her to do so (in writing) - the DWP are under no obligation to notify the LA that IS has ended.

On the practical side, what should your client tell the LA? Well, the delay in notifying the LA will, inevitably, not look good, so my advice is to be fully transparent with what happened, when and why.

The LA will (understandably) be suspicious of a case where IS has stopped but, on the face of it, a clmt should still be entitled (and yes, the payments from her family should be declared - as being "voluntary payments").

Even though your client will have notified the CofC late, the law still requires that it is treated as a change of circs - not a cessation of entitlement in or of itself. Your client's entitlement to HB/CTB can only be ended if the LA are not satisfied with the information / evidence your client provides (the LA could draw adverse inferences about your client's circumstances).

Hope the above assists.