1yo lad in year 12 at school, lived with grand parent who claimed CB. Lad thrown out permanently 4wks ago, now living with friend's parents. Grand parent has apparently done nothing to relinquish CB and isn't passing it on. Lad has been told by JCP call centre that he cannot get IS while somebody is being paid CB for him. CB unit tell me that they will only act on information received from CB account holder (grand parent), and will not suspend payment or investigate if the lad contacts them to say he no longer lives with grand parent. Advised lad should contact benefit fraud line. If this is true it means that financial support for the lad is inaccessible for goodness knows how long.

My understanding is that the IS claim effectively takes precedence over the CB claim, and if payment of the two overlap there will be a recoverable overpayment of CB. Regs 16 (1) and (2)(a) of the IS regs says that a person is not treated as a member of the family if he/she is living away from the family and does not intend to return. the absent person may be a member of a couple, or a child. Ref 15, which says that a person for whom CB is paid is treated as a member of the family, does not therefore apply.

Do you agree? I have advised the youngster to insist on being allowed to make a claim so we have a decision to appeal. What in the meantime though? I doubt that he will be able to get a Crisis Loan because in the absence of benefit he will have no means to repay, and he will not get EMA next term as the EMA people insist that young persons must be in receipt of IS if they are estranged.

The lad is not that clever. He is 18 not 1!!!!

Hi Brian,

I absolutely agree with your analysis. The IS claim should take precedence over CB claim and therefore CB is being overpaid (particularly as the eligibility conditions are no longer met).

I don't think there is anything to be done about the EMA (but would it be worth asking whether it can be paid in arrears if IS is awarded for a past period? I've never tried, but as EMA rules actually come from guidance, I don't see why not).

Crisis loan - I would take the same approach as with IS and insist on a decision, then go to review etc. Since this person is actually eligible for IS and SHOULD be getting paid it, then they do have a likelihood of being able to repay (although admittedly not a likelihood that JCplus currently accept).

This isn't very helpful, I know. This problem (overpaid CB claims preventing vulnerable young people from claiming) keeps coming up, so maybe what we need to do is write to JC+ higher up.

Rachel

Tue 26-Jun-07 09:04 AM by cgale

Hi
you are right CB is in effect being overpaid and the IS claim should be allowed to proceed. As for the EMA well here at our college we generally request a backdate of the EMA to the date of the IS claim - there are some codes of guidance (vary from college to college) on time scales for backdating but generally 'exceptional circumstances' should allow the school or college some discretion to backdate out of time. The only other option you have (and its a long shot) is to try and secure some section 17 monies from the local social services until the IS claim can proceed - personally I would contact your JCP customer services manager and get them to help push the claim through.
Good luck Caroline

Thanks Rachel and Caroline. Rachel, I've just had another enquiry along generally similar lines.

Mum and dad split up, dad was in receipt of the CB and has apparently not relinquished it while the child lives with mum. Mum claimed IS as a lone parent but was refused as the CB is still in payment to another person. She has claimed CB. Do IS regs 15 and 16.2.a apply here as well? i.e should't mum be able to get IS straight away, or does she fail to fit into sch 1B.1 that requires that she is "responsible for a child" because the test of responsibility is receipt of child benefit?

Brian