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I don't feel very well and my brain feels like its mothballed and i'm making really heavy weather out this scenario, so if another welf could put me out of my misery i would be really really grateful.
I've a got a client claiming HB/CTB as a self employed lone Parent (working 16 hours a week), anyway for HB/CTB purposes they are treating her earnings from her business as £0.01 a year because basically she is making no profit.
So to all intents and purposes her income is WTC (16 hours a week), CTC, CHB and that's it.
Anyway looking at the HB/CTB award letter at disregarded earnings there is no sign of the Lone Parent disregard of £25.00, instead the figure is £15.45 disregard i.e. the additional disregard for HB/CTB 30 hour element. Obviously as i've already stated she works under 16 hours, so Mmmmmmmm.
Question 1 - Does the £25.00 lone parent disregard still apply if earnings from work assessed at only £0.01 or is it applied to the aggregated amount of all her income i.e. earnings £0.01, WTC, CTC and Child Benefit.
Question 2 - On talking to Client it actually turns she is working roughly 35 hours but nevertheless her profit or lack of it is the same. So she's missing out on the 30 hour element WTC, which brings me back to the HB/CTB additional disregard - the bit in the CPAG handbook that refers to:
The additional earnings disregard does not apply where your total earnings are less than the total of £15.45 plus any earnings disregard and Child Care costs disregard. I take it that means net earnings as opposed to her income as a whole i.e. WTC/CTC ETC? If thats the case then £15.45 is disregarded from any WTC awarded but the earnings disregard is not increased.
In other words does the last bit explain the £15.45 disregard in her decision letter instead of the lone parent rate.
Hope this makes sense.
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