I am a Housing & Support Worker at an accommodation project for 16-25 year olds.

One of our residents (who has now moved out) made a claim for JSA via the call centre and attended an interview at the local JC+ where JSA & HB forms were completed. The JC+ office have told me that these forms were sent to the processing centre, but the Benefit Service tell me they have no record of receiving a claim form. I have tried to phone the processing centre to find out what happened to the HB form, but the number is constantly engaged. JSA was awarded from the date the young person contacted the call centre, so I know that at least the JSA form was received at the processing centre.

We cannot provide another HB claim form as the young person has moved out of Birmingham and we cannot get anything signed.

Does anyone have any ideas on how we can get HB paid in these circumstances. The amount in question is £840.

I am guessing you're in a CMS area, in which case JC+ should have forwarded to the LA a document outlining HB entitlement (it's called an LA Input Document). In a CMS area this should suffice as a claim and it should have been sent if your client gave answers in his interview which indicated possible HB entitlement. This document does not actually have to be signed. If there is no sign of the form it must mean that either

the JC+ office failed to produce one by mistake
it got lost in transit
the claimant did not indicate that he wished to claim HB

To be honest, in any event (even the third one) the LA ought to be willing to accept that a claim has been made. The sending of the LA input document is just about data transmission. The LA ought to be able to verify from their own systems that a JSA claim was made and take it from there.

This is all based on the assumption that you are in a CMS area; it's a bit more complicated otherwise.