LTAHW decision

Please forgive me if this is obvious, I can’t quite remember and can’t find any written confirmation either.

The client has been given a LTAHW decision for period from 2014 - 2017 , presumably the end date is when DWP ‘discovered’ that she was LTAHW and stopped payment.

She seems to have had the usual separate decision from Debt Management about the amount of the o/p.

There will be an appeal but the question is what she may be able to claim in the meantime.

There does not seem to have been an LCW decision so I imagine her entitlement to ESA continues but is not payable due to ‘partner’s’ income or working hours.

I haven’t done one of these appeals for some time but I seem to remember that it is possible for her to notify a change of circs in that she is no longer part of a couple and have the single person rate of IRESA reinstated?

Have I got this right or is my ageing memory letting me down (again!)

I don’t think I’d want to notify a change of circumstances that she is no longer in a couple as that implies that she was in a couple before which is what she is challenging isn’t it? But I would put in a new claim and ask for a fresh decision giving any evidence you have that she is single. I had a client like this ages ago and it took us ages to get anything paid. The other thing is to try and expedite the appeal given the circumstances.

what daphne said.

you don’t want her saying things that could be held against her later.

Thanks to you both. I’m a bit worried about claiming again, she already has LCW and another claim could end up in another LCW assessment and we are all far to familiar with the problems these can cause. 

I was thinking about her claiming IR ESA only but this would automatically include the fact that she was a single person, hence notifying a change of circumstances from what DWP currently believes to be the case

I seem to recall that claims could be made in this way without prejudicing the appeal, she hasn’t actually said that she used to be part of a couple, only that she is single person from now on and it would be apparent that any previous decision to the contrary was going to be challenged - it is this part that I can’t find any reference to and I’m beginning to wonder if I imagined it!!

Yes I agree she can, and should, put in a claim as a single person now - just so long as she doesn’t say it’s due to a change of circumstances as she’s no longer part of a couple.

But in my (very limited) experience it can be hard to get it accepted as the same arguments are likely to arise which is why I suggest pushing to expedite the MR/appeal