Ooo I've missed this site!

Client who's actually in with my colleague at the moment has had IB suspended since Nov whilst they investigate alleged working.

We'll obviously push for a decision but in meantime (and to save some time researching as we're all fully booked this afternoon) what can she claim apart from CL's?

All I can think of is an interim payment (see page 986 of the handbook), but if DWP don't think she's entitled then they probably won't agree.

What about a complaint? You'd certainly think that in six months the DWP should have ascertained whether or not the client is actually working now.

If the client is not actually working, she could make a statutory declaration to that effect which might then make a refusal to pay (at least IP's) unreasonable and give additional credence to a complaint. Might the clients MP be able to help in this situation by adding to the complaint about the unreasonable delay?

Are there other benefits in payment (HB/CTB)? If so, has the paying authority also considered the question. A conclusion in favour of the client might assist with the IB claim.

It's funny Tony we brought this up as I was concerned she wouldn't have had any HB/CTB. However she didn't want to discuss this and kept skirting round it when asked.

We've sent in a complaint to the management team at the local BDC.

I'd been thinking along the lines of perhaps JSA as it would be one of the options I'd advise on if they'd failed PCA but I don't think it would be relevant here. Alternatively a new IB claim but that would probably take some weeks anyway.

I should get a response from manager early next week so I'll wait until then

Potentially worrying that she doesn't want to discuss benefit issues...

But anyway, I also toyed with the idea of breaking the IB claim and claiming JSA. She might well get JSA since the departments don't communicate very well with each other, but if she breaks the IB claim for more than 8 weeks, she'll be starting at the bottom rate - and might even lose entitlement altogether on contributions.

She couldn't just do a new claim now because she has an existing one so would have to have to be 'signed off' and then back 'on' again (med certs). But doing that might raise additional suspicions with IB section.

Either way, it would be a mess, and I would still favour the complaint so long as I was sure the client was deffo not working now and could provide evidence that she'd stopped working if there was indeed evidence that she had been working.

As an aside, don't forget that fraud investigators don't always get it right! In two cases this week an LA found that a client had committed an offence; she's since been paid over two years of benefit arrears and we're seeking an apology. In another, the DWP fraud investigator told a client, at in IUC, that IS is a NON-means tested benefit and that IS is never payable when people go abroad for a holiday!

Let us know how you get on.

Tony

LOL

Will do and thanks