Client trying to claim JSA severe hardship. Has been living at hostel since mid-Feb, went to appointment with JCP under 18s section mid-March. Was requested to provide phone numbers of mother & sisters so U18s could contact them re estrangement. These numbers not available, but client provided mother's address.

Claim has been turned down as phone numbers were not provided. Client has been told no right of appeal, and that the U18s adviser decision is final.

Any views on any of this? Shouldn't they write to the mother first?

Thanks all.

Unless the customer's story is 'inherently improbable' there should be no need for third party corroboration.To close the claim because he could not give a telephone number,even though he gave an address, would appear to go against the policy intention that the young person's statement should be believed. DMs have been told not to seek verification as a matter of course. Any approach to a parent (or anyone else)should only be made when all other avenues have been exhausted and only with the consent of the claimant.

Thanks JudithH. Can you point me towards any guidance etc which would support our argument?
Cheers

Outrageous as ever. Jobcentre Plus staff are frequently aware of their own departments guidance. See it at

http://www.dwp.gov.uk/advisers/jsa_for_16-17year_olds.pdf
Brian

Brian has given a link to the guidance my reply was based on so you should be able to use that as a basis for reopening your client's claim.

This guidance is being widely flouted by JCP staff (and there is parallel guidance for IS "estrangement" cases which was issued recently (see www.rightsnet.org.uk/cgi-bin/sub_client/search.cgi?template2=news/user_details2.htm&output_number=1&news.ID=22315496761).

Can you also use the JCP Complaints Porcedure to make aofrmal compliant about this? We need to get a stop put to these sort of unacceptable practices.

One cannot but feel that the flouting of this more liberal guidance is influenced by negative and ill-informed attitudes about young people who find themsleves having to claim JSA or iS.

Thanks all.

I'd ahve thought it was abundantly obvious that if you are estranged from your family you may not know their telephone numbers, especially if like so many people nowadays they don't even know their own without looking it up on their mobiles, which they change every six months because they got tired of the colour or the poor definition of the camera...

ariadne - agreed. Good point well made.