Failure to notify change of address

Claimant is severely disabled and is on Income Support, DLA and HB/CTB. She moved to a new property in October 2011. Her mum thought that the Personal Assistants were dealing with claimant’s affairs - and they thought Mum was. HB/CTB and DLA were notified of change of address, but Income Support weren’t. (I haven’t actually met with claimant yet - info provided by her Mum).
Income Support have advised Mum that DWP wrote out to the customer a number of times (presumably linked to migration to ESA) and in July 2012 terminated claim. Mum only became aware because HB stopped and then followed this up. DWP have reinstated Income Support from 15 October 2012 (a month’s backdating which I’m suprised at) - presumably using linking rules. Looking at cpag (p1044 on) I think the DWP could terminate the claim if information had been requested (such as ESA50) and claimant had duty to notify.
I will follow up with HB to ensure no overpayment (ie. nil income during time when they continued paying) or backdating of reinstated claim. I can’t see any way of picking up Income Support for July to October. Can anyone else?

I won a 1st tier case a few months ago arguing that notification to AA should be treated as notification to PC as all DWP now have a central index with common information on address etc.  A different situation to that existing when the notification precedents were set.

The judge thought it would be appealed by the department but it wasn’t.

If you are right that the income support ended due to failure to return an ESA50 or attend a medical, that would be a conversion decision. You could then put in a late appeal against the decision that the client doesn’t have good cause for the failure. If successful, this would mean that the IS is reinstated and the conversion process begins again. See Reg 15 of SI 2010/1907:
...
(4) Paragraph (5) applies where–
(a) a conversion decision within the meaning of regulation 5(2)(b) (“the earlier
conversion decision”) is made by virtue of either of the following provisions
of the 2008 Regulations (as they apply by virtue of regulation 6)–
(i) regulation 22(1) (failure to provide information or evidence requested in
relation to limited capability for work), or
(ii) regulation 23(2) (failure to attend for a medical examination to determine
whether the claimant has limited capability for work); and
(b) after P is notified of the earlier conversion decision, the Secretary of State is
satisfied (or where the conversion decision is appealed to the First-tier
Tribunal, that tribunal determines) that P had good cause for failing to–
(i) provide the information requested, or
(ii) attend for or submit to the medical examination for which P was called.
(5) Where this paragraph applies–
(a) the earlier conversion decision is treated as never having been made;
(b) any entitlement of P–
(i) to an existing award which was terminated by virtue of paragraph (2), or
(ii) to be credited with earnings which was terminated by virtue of paragraph
(3),
shall be reinstated with effect from the effective date of the earlier conversion
decision;
...

Having said that, it is rather unlikely that this is what happened, given the award of IS on a new claim. It is worth checking out why it stopped, which may well be suspension and termination as not livingat the notified address, in which case an appeal along the lines Garath suggests is the way to go.

Jon

Thanks all - will find out more and give it a go.