Hi all,

This may be a straightforward enough issue, but I'm having trouble finding the answer.

Claimant's IS is suspended while a valuation is obtained of her former matriomonial home (husband is still residing there, so it has been disregarded for 26 weeks). The lady suffers from a terminal illness and is suffering financial hardship as a result of her benefit being stopped. We are considering making a request that the suspension is removed and benefit payments are reinstated, in light of the hardship and her medical condition. But I've been trying to find out if they do reinstate benefit payments and a few months later the valuation comes back at an amount which takes her out of benefit entitlement, will they be able to recover the overpaid benefit which was paid following their removal of the suspension. We'll be appealing the disallowance decision anyway, but I can't see how there would have been a failure to disclose or misrepresentation so I'm not clear on how they could recover the overpayment.

Any help?

She could now take steps to sell the home which would give a further 6 months disregard (at least) - see page 972-973 of the CPAG welfare benefits and tax credits handbook.

May also be worth having a look at R(IS) 1/03.

Unless the property can be disregarded for any of the other reasons in Schedule 10 the suspension of benefit pending valuation is correct. Your client's health is not a deciding factor in whether, or not, her IS is reinstated but if it was put back in payment and then the value of her share of the property meant that she was no longer entitled any IS paid would not be a recoverable overpayment as it had not arisen as a failure to disclose/misrep under Section 71.