Informing JCP when DLA award comes to an end

We have had a clt come to us with MR notices for failure to disclose change of circumstances, overpayment of JSA and Civil Penalty charge notice after failing to notify JCP about her husband’s DLA claim ending (joint JSA claim).

This has arisen from the clt failure to disclose to JCP that her husband’s DLA claim has now come to an end.

In clt’s MR, she states that she did inform JCP by telling their work coach of the DLA award coming to an end. The WC advised that the change should automatically be made as DLA is a DWP administered benefit, and therefore the WC did not make note of the change of circs.

DWP maintain that its documented that clt’s did not contact JCP with change of circs.

Clt states that WC said he is happy to support them should the DM contact him, as he was unaware that he had to update such changes manually.

I was wondering if there was a specific reg about for JSA about notifying JCP when DLA comes to an end.

Any advice greatly appreciated.

reg 32 Social Security Claims and Payments regs is what you’re after. It’s a pretty broad provision.

Hi Chazzywazz - the regs Dan refers to are at http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1987/1968/pdfs/uksi_19871968_301117_en.pdf

If you have the CPAG handbook then page 1228 has lots of useful information on failure to disclose complying with your duty to disclose. I think it comes down to what’s the relevant office for your client. The work coach is an officer of jobcentre plus so you have an argument I think although the DWP might argue that it has to be the address/phone number of the letters that tell him about his JSA.

Also you will see three paragraphs up from the bottom on page 1228 of CPAG that even if you have a specific duty to disclose (which your client did in this case as award letters explain that) then, if you are told by an officer of the DWP that you do not need to disclose it then you no longer have a duty to do so - so you possibly have an argument there too. The footnote for that decision is r(A) 2/06- http://administrativeappeals.decisions.tribunals.gov.uk//aspx/view.aspx?id=1913, summary on rightsnet at https://www.rightsnet.org.uk/welfare-rights/caselaw/item/Overpayment-whether-there-is-any-duty-to-disclose

“DWP maintain that its documented that clt’s did not contact JCP with change of circs.”

How is it possible to document an event that didn’t happen?

I suggest that you read this thread   https://www.rightsnet.org.uk/forums/viewthread/11995/  because a similar thing may be happening with JSA. 

Also, trawl through all the paperwork and look for any reference to a Change of Circumstances (COFC) around the date that husband’s DLA ended.

What about JSA Regs 1996 24(8)?

(8) Where, pursuant to paragraph (1) or (2), a claimant is required to provide information he shall do so when he attends in accordance with a notice under regulation 23, if so required by the Secretary of State, or within such period as the Secretary of State may require.

Paragraph (2) states:

(2) A claimant shall furnish such other information in connection with the claim, or any question arising out of it, as may be required by the Secretary of State.

The ending of DLA would have been relevant to the JSA claim with regard to the entitlement of the disability premium.  So it was OK to report this verbally at the meeting with the Work Coach? 

Many thanks for this. I have a CPAG subscription, but unfortunately I am unable to locate relevant section by page number. I don’t suppose you can provide me with the chapter?

Many thanks!

Chapter 52, section 3, under heading ‘failure to disclose’ :)

Also, see the post on 31 October 2014, 02:14 pm in this thread:

https://www.rightsnet.org.uk/forums/viewthread/7308/

There is a FOI request attached, which confirms that the JSA department are notified internally of DLA ceasing. So you could try to argue that the cause of the overpayment was the failure of the DWP to act on information already known to it, rather than your client’s failure to disclose.

It will depend on exactly what the client said and when to the work coach and what the work coach said in reply.  It will be worth getting detailed instructions from the client about the conversation and possibly drafting a witness statement for them to sign setting out what they recall with dates, name of work coach, location, etc.

One angle which is worth exploring is that where a DWP staff member makes oral representations (e.g. “that’s OK, you don’t need to worry about telling us that”) it can modify the duty to disclose see R(A) 2/06.