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Forum Home  →  Discussion  →  Universal credit administration  →  Thread

Full service - claims ‘need for assistance to make a claim’

SarahJBatty
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Money Adviser, Thirteen, Middlesbrough

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Total Posts: 345

Joined: 12 July 2012

Anyone in Full Service areas coming across people who have advised Jobcentre that they need assistance to claim UC, but JC either send them off to make the claim in a library or to an advice centre, or offer the use of their facilities but will not give one to one help, only stand-by assistance?

Reg 10 (b) of the C&P Regs provides for the date of claim to be the date the claimant notifies DWP that they require assistance to claim, and that assistance is arranged either at home or at an appropriate office by a person ‘providing services to the Sec of State’.

Presumably this is to reflect the so-called ‘Universal Support / Local Support’.

I do not think this is happening in practice.  I have now come across several people either sent away with a leaflet, or sent to an advice centre to wait 2-3 weeks for an appt.  It has been essential to intervene as a social landlord to get the claim made at the earliest possible date to minimise rent arrears, but of course, there is no system at the jobcentre for logging the date assistance was requested.

Any experience / thoughts?

Jon (CANY)
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Welfare benefits - Craven CAB, North Yorkshire

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Joined: 16 June 2010

I’ve not much to add, but the ADM does at least describe how reg 10 is applied (see the example of Sanjay at A2041):
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/602462/adma2.pdf

As you say, in practice if JCP don’t agree that the support is needed, then the reg does not bite. Both ourselves as an advice agency, and support workers who help our clients, are dealing with the dilemma of effectively having to withdraw our support for vulnerable clients before JCP will assist. If we help a client make the initial claim, then I think as far as JCP is concerned that person won’t appear to need JCP support to manage the claim going forward.

Daphne linked to some guidance on what support should be available, in this thread:
http://www.rightsnet.org.uk/forums/viewthread/10918/