several reports of this, but i can't find anything on the DWP website (not surprised the weasels are keeping their heads down) and i'm not sure if i've missed the links or what...?

Fri 22-Aug-08 02:11 PM by shawn

no regs yet, but background info @

• Limiting housing benefit backdating will generate savings of £70 million a year
  
  
• Restrictions on HB backdating will place vulnerable claimants at greater risk of homelessness
  
  
• Governments short-sighted plans to cut housing benefit will lead to homelessness
  
  
• Changes to backdating rules for pension credit, housing benefit and council tax benefit
  
  
• Social Security Advisory Committee announces consultation on government proposals
  
  
• Benefit backdating for older people to be cut from 12 to 3 months

Draft regulations were drawn up and presented to the Social Security Advisory Committee in the DWP's consultation paper but they are not on the list of draft statutory instruments on the Office of Public Sector Information website.

good point nevip .... draft regs are here ...

http://www.ssac.org.uk/pdf/consultation_0408.pdf

thanks - i'm seeing articles like this one -
http://www.citizen-series.co.uk/uk_national_news/3609941.Pensioners_may_lose_backdated_cash/

suggesting a recent announcement, but no press release on the DWP site...or links, and i also couldn't find the SI...

i'm looking for the government's response to the SSAC consultation, and seem to have lost the trail after the extension of the consultation period...

but it is looking like a done deal, and probably always was...

The White Paper response to the SSAC consultation has not yet been published. The draft regulations were published as part of the consultation process.

government said today -

'It's vital that older people claim money that's rightfully theirs to help with their day-to-day needs.

Don't delay - if you claim before 6th October you could also get up to a year's backdated Pension Credit.'

who would think, from reading the press release, that the government is not giving extra money to pensioners, but is in fact taking away quite a lot of benefit entitlement from claimants?

regs now out ... see today's rightsnet news ...

Changes to backdating rules for pension credit, housing benefit and council tax benefit: New statutory instrument

But not the White Paper from the SSAC consultation...

i'm not sure of the correct form here, it may not have been a green paper consultation...??? nevertheless, it would have been nice to have had a government response published, since SSAC did ask for views, and it looks bad to canvas opinions you are going to ignore anyway...
in any event, there does seem to have been some movement on the HB time limits, so it would be good to have the rationale outlined, although i doubt that there is one, and suspect the 6 months is the result of horse trading...

the pension credit backdating cut looks like it was done and dusted by late July... it would be great if somebody has kept track of this....

but, if it is not objectionable enough, it looks like this welfare cut has gone through parliament under the powers to make amendments, without debate...n'kay... i suppose we could all write to our MPs...

thanks to trish champion for alerting us to the availability of SSAC's report on the draft regs ... and the government's response ...

http://www.dwp.gov.uk/resourcecentre/408949cm7469.pdf

Erm, cant take the credit for that! I lifted it off HBInfo and it was posted by Peem.
Very interesting reading I thought.