budgeting advances for UC

Can anyone point me in the direction of official decision makers guidance for advances of UC please? (I know that these can only be requested during the first 21 days of the claim) but would like to read exactly what DMs have to take into account when forming the basis of the decison. I have wasted about an hour of my life trying to find something but all I can find is vague references to possible help available during the first few weeks of a claim.

thankyou

We’ve got guidance on our short-term benefit advance pages.

See STBAs: key facts, law and guidance

Fourth document down on RHS.

If you need further help, you could contact Robbie whose keeping these resources updated at the moment.

Paul_Treloar_CPAG - 17 July 2015 02:13 PM

We’ve got guidance on our short-term benefit advance pages. See STBAs: key facts, law and guidance

Here is the relevant section of the operational guidance for Universal Credit advances. NB The personal and account support agent (PASA) is the DWP officer who conducts interviews of Universal Credit claimants before they have their initial Work Search Interview with their Work Coach.

Section 3: PASA Interviews before an initial Work Search Interview
The PASA informs the claimant that if they are eligible for Universal Credit:
Universal Credit will normally be paid in 5 weeks
they will normally be expected to budget their own funds until their first payment of Universal Credit
if they cannot manage financially they might be able to request one Universal Credit new claim advance or obtain support from Personal Budgeting Support
they will need to claim as soon as possible by phoning the service centre
the application must be made within 21 days from their date of claim or their request will be refused
the advance if allowed it will be recoverable from their Universal Credit payments over the next six months or sooner if possible

thats great - thank you Paul and Robbie (sorry Paul, I thought I had acknowledged your reply previously, but now see that I did not, my apologies for being rude)

I’ve read through the STBAs: key facts, law and guidance and from what I can gather from the processes detailed the maximum amount a new claimant can receive is the lesser of:
EITHER 50% of the estimated UC payment (presumably including all elements such as housing costs),
OR the repayment cap of 40% of the standard allowance x 6 months.  (12 months for claimants of existing benefits moving over to UC).

What I can’t see is whether there is a check as to whether there are any 3rd party deductions already being made which would reduce the 40% figure.  Presumably there must be as 40% is the maximum amount that can be deducted for TPDs. 

Is there a standard amount of STA that is awarded or is it just coincidence that the ones we know about have all been for single people and all for £300 repayable over 6 months?

Sorry don’t know the answer to your question but they can now be claimed up to 4 days before the first payment date (was 21 days).

Ruth, There is a mechanism for taking into account repayment of previous loans (tho it doesn’t specify TPDs). It’s at paras 6-10 of section called Advance of Benefit Awarded.
Also, I have to say, I can’t think of a case where the 40% Repayment Cap would be lower than the maximum amount of the Advance. By the formula in Para 2 – and using UC monthly allowance figures - the 40% cap would be £762.68 for a single person aged 25+.
Hope that helps.

Hi JoW (or anyone else)

UC advances…  ‘can now be claimed up to 4 days before the first payment date (was 21 days)’.... when did this change and where can I find it please? Passed me by.

Many thanks

Robbie Spence - 13 August 2015 04:46 PM

Ruth, There is a mechanism for taking into account repayment of previous loans (tho it doesn’t specify TPDs). It’s at paras 6-10 of section called Advance of Benefit Awarded.
Also, I have to say, I can’t think of a case where the 40% Repayment Cap would be lower than the maximum amount of the Advance. By the formula in Para 2 – and using UC monthly allowance figures - the 40% cap would be £762.68 for a single person aged 25+.
Hope that helps.

Robbie Spence, which document are you referring to in your first paragraph, please?

I agree with what you say and with your calculation, but that just reinforces the question, how is it that the advances we are seeing for single people are £300 paid back over 6 months?  To actually repay £762.68 would mean a hefty deduction from each month’s allowance, but I don’t understand how this figure is arrived at.

barbs1000 - 14 August 2015 11:39 AM

Hi JoW (or anyone else)

UC advances…  ‘can now be claimed up to 4 days before the first payment date (was 21 days)’.... when did this change and where can I find it please? Passed me by.

Many thanks

To be honest a rep from our JCP advised of this at a meeting I attended on Tuesday but I haven’t checked in any regs or anything. Will have a look now.

Ruth A Rees - 14 August 2015 11:50 AM

Robbie Spence, which document are you referring to in your first paragraph, please?

Go to http://www.cpag.org.uk/stba/keyfacts -  Fourth document down on RHS - “Universal Credit FoI request, March 2015” which includes guidance on UC short-term advances.