My client is just about to receive £1500 CTC arrears going back to last August, the delay in adjudication being to do with immigration matters now sorted out. From last December he got HB. The question is how will those TC payments affect his HB?

Schedule 5 HB regs allows 52 week disregard of WTC/CTC arrears as capital 'where such a payment is made as a result of a change of circumstances'.

Does that mean that in _other_ situations such an arrears payment is treated as capital, or is it applied as income? The HB circulars on this only seem to take account of overpayments and/or contemporary payments, and don't seem to touch on arrears at all.

Can anyone help, please? Many thanks.