Short term benefit advances

The DWP have now released their internal guidance on short term benefit advances.

The guidance is referred to in their Memo DMG 6/13 but was not publicly available.

You can see the guidance here:

https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/operational_guidance_concerning#incoming-379431

I have linked the documents to this post as well.

It should be useful to advisers as you can actually tell the JCP or contact centre advisor exactly what they are supposed to do. eg “Now you are supposed to say, that you will continue taking my claim details and return to the question of a short term advance at the end of a call- then you open the HOTT system to do that….” magic.

DWP have also issued a response to issues raised by LA’s re SBTAs

We are seeing people whose 12 months of c-ESA has expired, and who have never been assessed for ir-ESA so their benefit just stops and they have to get hold of an ESA3. Any thoughts on whether this should count as a “new claim” (or, a relevant “change of circumstances”), for the purpose of qualifying for a STBA?

Last time it came up with us, contact centre refused to consider short term advance on basis it was neither…

Why do they even bother in administering a benefit that nobody seems to want to process or allow?

Our LA wants proof that the claim for STBA has been refused before offering crisis or community support, and most claimants cant even get past the first 30 seconds of a phone call requesting a STBA. Ridiculous