Benefit cap query

I have a client who has 6 children aged between 16 and 4
she was affected by the first benefit cap and lost a large portion of her HB until she stopped claiming for her eldest child when she started going to college in September this year - (even though she is still 16 and eligible)
so currently she is back on full HB - but will now get affected by the new benefit cap when it is implemented in our area in January - and this time she will lose all entitlement - bar the 50p notional award.
So my question is this - is there anything stopping her re-claiming CHB and CTC for the 16 year old after she is hit by the new cap - as this will bring her overall income back up and help her to pay the shortfall
and my second question is - is she not falling foul of the deprivation of income rules?
thanks in advance

As CTC and CHB are not benefits which can be capped, then there should not be any barrier to getting the child amounts for this added back on, it will certainly go some way to mitigating the loss that she will feel.

that’s what I thought - so it maybe much better for her to go along that line rather than a DHP application which would be only temporary.
in another case I’ve got - I have a single father with 4 children who is actually thinking about terminating his JSA claim come January but I’m worried about the deprivation of income angle - although I’m not sure whether anyone would pick up on this….

Why not do both DHP and CHB/CTC? as long as they still have the notional 50p entitlement there shouldnt be any barrier. I would certainly do the CHB/CTC element though as that is guaranteed income.

Not too sure about the deprivation of income rules, I have never come across these and cant find anything other than deprivation of capital or not taking student income in the regs. Other more knowledgable people than me will no doubt be able to contribute on this point, I personally dont think if there are such rules that they would be picked up on and in anycase it is fulfilling the policy intent, but by terminating a JSA claim the client could lose more than what his HB so it would be worth being careful on.

Morning all -  ben cap query

Client just split up from her working partner and has claimed HB / IS as a lone parent (has 3 dep children),  HB decision awaited but she will be subject to ben cap reduction

Ex- partner had worked for a number of years prior to separation ( and continues to do so) but client had not. Can she be eligible for the 39 weeks ben cap grace period re: HB claim as partner is now ex- partner?

Many thanks

She will not be eligible for grace period because her ex-partner is the worker.

Have a look at Circular A10/2016 which says;

“When a claim is received from someone who has recently separated, that claimant can apply for a grace period based on the circumstances of their ex-partner. If that ex-partner would satisfy the conditions for a grace period, this can be claimed by the person submitting the claim.”

Oh ok, thank you, I learned something new.
Than the grace period usually is granted from DWP in this case Income Support. I suggest that you discuss the case with IS.

Many thanks both

re a DHP where Cben and CTC are not being claimed but there is an entitlement (16 yr old in further education) many DHP teams I have worked with may allow a very short DHP but advise to go claim the benefits she is entitled to.
Then re claim a DHP once all her entitlements were awarded. .

If stopping JSA - if on JSA IB - then all other income/capital is disregarded (tax credits, part time earnings, capital etc etc) and max HB is awarded anyway.
If someone ends their claim for JSA , and that isnt replaced by a different income the it is quite likely the a notional income of the same amount would be included in the claim but that notional amount doesn’t mean everything else is disregarded. So we’d use the £71.40 notional jsa plus any other income to do a standard claim .
Many authorities will automatically suspend the claim payments as soon as an ATLAS is recd stating JSA has ceased - and request details of new income .

A notional amount of UC cannot be added to a HB claim because the 2 are mutually exclusive for most tenants (you cant claim HB if you are claiming UC so there cant be a notional UC in a HB calc)

JSA C is not disregarded income and if it hasn’t been paid for the full 26 weeks, most LA’s would ask why its stopped - if the person didnt want to claim it anymore, then its likely to be included as a notional for the balance of the 26 weeks. But this is less likely to be picked up than if JSA IB stopped