Forum Home → Discussion → Work capability issues and ESA → Thread
Missed out on SDP for 11 years
Forgive me if this is obvious but by and large Incapacity Benefit preceded my time working in Welfare Rights.
Client was on Incapacity Benefit from 2001 and then migrated to ESA in 2012. She was never in receipt of SDP despite seeming to have entitlement to it for all but a couple of months in 2014. I am confident that I can get the SDP backdated to when her ESA started but am struggling to see a way of getting it paid for the previous 11 years when she was on IB.
The DWP is saying that as she never claimed IS there is nothing that can be done. Is this correct or is there any way of getting it backdated to before the date of migration to ESA?
I fear this is one occasion when the DWP is correct.
Unlike ESA (which is only one benefit, whether CB or IR) IB and IS were seperate benefits (and a claim for IS would have had to be made).
That is correct of course.
One thing though - I could have dined out on the number of clients who told me they were on ‘incapacity’ or ‘Incapacity Benefit’ when in fact they were in receipt of Income Support on the basis of incapacity (an easy mistake to make when the test of incapacity was the same for both benefits). So always worth making absolutely sure that it was indeed IB and not IS - or not IB with an IS top-up (e.g. for disability premium).*
* It’s a while back now, but my recollection is that there were changes to the benefit rates that meant there was a period when a person in receipt of IB at the long term rate would have been entitled to IS (because the long-term rate entitled a person to a disability premium in their IS and the resulting applicable amount was higher than the long term rate of IB) - but that later the long term rate of IB was increased so that this was higher than the applicable amount of IS with a disability premium?
past caring has beaten me to the punch. Agree with the above post. There is a reasonable probability it was IS not IB.
I am now having flash backs as 1964 spelt “separate” incorrectly. Sadly I have been around long enough to remember Invalidity Benefit (or Infidelity Benefit as a client once memorably put it) before Incapacity Benefit, and, manual typewriters. I once manually typed a very long letter to secure SDP on top of IVB. I typed about 10 sides laying out law, caselaw and so on. Client came back and had highlighted the 28 occasions I spelt “separate” with an e instead of an a. Wouldn’t accept me using Tippex :(
Some scars never heal!
* It’s a while back now, but my recollection is that there were changes to the benefit rates that meant there was a period when a person in receipt of IB at the long term rate would have been entitled to IS (because the long-term rate entitled a person to a disability premium in their IS and the resulting applicable amount was higher than the long term rate of IB) - but that later the long term rate of IB was increased so that this was higher than the applicable amount of IS with a disability premium?
That was relatively recent; I can remember it. I’d be sniffing to make sure it was IB rather than IS too.
Thanks all.
It was definitely IB rather than IS unfortunately, I have some of the paperwork and DWP has confirmed.
It looks to me like she may have missed out on the long term rate for some reason though until 2009, so maybe something to go at there instead.
If anyone knows of a decent guide to Incap Ben they could point me to would be appreciated, I have found it surprisingly difficult to find much online…
I can manage ‘separate’ but for the life of me have never remembered how to spell ‘diarrhoea’ without spellcheck.
I’m sure we have all the old CPAGs should you want something specific looking up from a particular year.
Dear me! I’m clearly in need of a holiday. Which is- coincidentally- what I am just about to start. When I come back my spelling mojo will have (hopefully) returned.
Ah, Infidelity Benefit. I remember it well. And Agitation Officers.
was there not something about the local authority having a reasonability to advise a tenant in receipt of partial HB that they could/should claim IS .
I thought they were Agitation Officers and just said Adjudication too be polite,
was there not something about the local authority having a reasonability to advise a tenant in receipt of partial HB that they could/should claim IS .
This rings a vague bell with me too. I seem to remember that our LA used to include a little small print notice at the bottom of HB notifications saying something like “You may be entitled to a higher rate of benefits, please call XXX to discuss”. Is this how LAs dealt with it do you think? I don’t see many HB notices anymore, do they still do this?
I’m sure we have all the old CPAGs should you want something specific looking up from a particular year.
Client’s rate of IB changed from £60.20 p/w to £105.45 on 02.10.09, the DWP says due to the ‘Invalidity Age Addition’ being added then at the higher rate. It is not yet clear whether this was backdated as client was born in 1975 and so would have qualified for the under-35 Age Addition long before that date (if it existed). If Mike or anyone does have an old CPAG that explains whether this was the date that the rules changed or knows why her payments changed then rather than 7 years before that would be great. Thanks.