Can someone please confirm that for people aged 60 and over housing and council tax benefit are to be backdated 52 weeks (providing they are eligible during this total period), even if the client does not have an entitlement to SPC guarantee or savings ?

It is in fact deciding the date of entitlement and not backdating (I was was curtly told by a local HB/CTB section). But yes you are right.

paragraph 20 of HB/CTB circular A29/2004 http://www.dwp.gov.uk/hbctb/circulars/2004/a29-2004.pdf is the one you want.

Many Thanks.

I submitted a claim from a 75 year-old a few weeks ago, along with a backdating request, quoting the new provisions. Back came the response - claimant hasn't shown "good cause" therefore can't backdate. Appeal submitted, plus e-mail to Customer Services Manager suggesting staff should be better trained. Back comes response quoting backdating provisions during Pension Credit take-on period, and saying these are only provsions that can apply. I responded by quoting new Regs and the relevant circular - since then, a deafening silence.

It's very disquieting that a local authority should be ignorant of such a fundamental provision 8 months after it took effect. I dread to think how many legitimate backdating requests it has wrongly turned down since last October.

What bothers me is it is up to the decision maker to decide what date the claimant became entitled which can be up to 12 months prior to their claim. The onus is not for the pensioner to request backdating.

How many other D/Councils have not considered claims correctly and will they be looking at all of the claims it has decided for pensioners since Oct 2004???

Apologies for the bad grammar in the above post, I wrote it a couple of times and changed it round a bit and then pressed submit instead of preview. (Shawn, can we have an edit button please?????)