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Forum Home  →  Discussion  →  Income support, JSA and tax credits  →  Thread

Need for Photo ID when claiming JSA for the first time

Tina M
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Benefits team - Stoke-on-Trent Citizens Advice Bureau

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We have been contacted by an 18 year old who was told by the DWP to claim JSA rather than UC, however when she attended her interview at the jobcentre she was informed she would not be able to claim JSA because she did not have any photo ID. 

We have contacted the DWP and have received an extract from their guidance on ID - see attachment - but we have not been able to find any legislation to support this.

Has any one else had similar problems? 

We are in a UC live area at the moment and now have lots of concerns for our clients who do not possess any form of photo ID.

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Benny Fitzpatrick
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Welfare Rights Officer, Southway Housing Trust, Manchester

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In preparation for the Full Roll-Out of UC in our area, the local Jobcentre has announced that they will pay for Cl’s to apply for a provisional driving licence to get round the photo ID problem.

May be worth enquiring whether this would be an option in your case.

Daphne
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In UC full service they can use other ID or biographical security questions if nothing else - see https://www.rightsnet.org.uk/forums/viewthread/11655/

Tina M
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Thanks Benny - we had wondered about provisional licences and that may be an option for some claimants but we have concerns about someone with a learning disability or other cognitive problems being encouraged to apply for a provisional licence.

Thanks Daphne I will have a look at the UC guidance.

ClairemHodgson
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Tina M - 19 September 2017 04:59 PM

Thanks Benny - we had wondered about provisional licences and that may be an option for some claimants but we have concerns about someone with a learning disability or other cognitive problems being encouraged to apply for a provisional licence.

.

indeed.  someone who is unfit to drive should never be encouraged to apply, of course.

ClairemHodgson
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i never did understand the arguments against ID cards, and really given that we all need photo ID these days for all sorts of reasons (which wasn’t necessarily the case last time the issue was discussed in parliament etc) the arguments for are stronger.  subject, of course, to what gets put on them apart from basic id and laws about tracking us…

NAI
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Unclaimed Benefits Campaign, Middlesbrough CAB

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ClairemHodgson - 20 September 2017 11:39 AM

i never did understand the arguments against ID cards, and really given that we all need photo ID these days for all sorts of reasons (which wasn’t necessarily the case last time the issue was discussed in parliament etc) the arguments for are stronger.  subject, of course, to what gets put on them apart from basic id and laws about tracking us…

I think a simple ID system would have been great but, as usual, requirements of the system proposed were expanded to the point where the project was too complex and costly. Government seems to have a talent for this sort of thing.