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Forum Home  →  Discussion  →  Work capability issues and ESA  →  Thread

War Disablement Pension and WCA of UC

Auslau
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Welfare Benefits and Debt Executive/ General Welfare/ RAF Benevolent Fund

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Total Posts: 8

Joined: 14 January 2015

I have a client who receives a War Disablement Pension that includes the ‘unemployability supplement’. This overlaps with ESA. Does anyone know whether my client will be able to undergo the WCA as part of a UC claim? I know he can claim UC but he needs to be assessed as having LCW/LCWWRA to have the correct conditionality applied to his claimant commitment rather than just being left in a position of the work coaches discretion. 

In addition, if he can go through the WCA and is assessed as having LCWWRA, does anybody know if he can receive the additional element for this within his UC?

Thanks in advance,

Laura

HB Anorak
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Benefits consultant/trainer - hbanorak.co.uk, East London

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Yes, he’ll get the higher element if he is assessed as having LCWRA.  But there are two other issues which I will have to research and post an update later … unless someone gets in first.

Those two issues are:

- does entitlement to the unemployability supplement mean that he is automatically treated as having LCW and/or LCWRA without the need for an assessment?  That will probably involve some tortuous legislation, most likely in the No 9 commencement order, but I cannot check at the moment.
- treatment of the supplement as income in the UC means test.

Hopefully someone else can fill in the gaps as I am busy for the next few hours

Auslau
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Welfare Benefits and Debt Executive/ General Welfare/ RAF Benevolent Fund

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Hi HB Anorak,

Thanks for replying so quickly!

The income from the WDP is non-taxable so should be ignored for UC means testing purposes.

Unfortunately, as far as we are aware and I have spoke to some contacts at other Military Charities, the unemployability supplement does not automatically treat an individual as having LCW or LCWWRA - we hope this is something that will change. If you do explore this further and find out any different we would love to hear.

Charles
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Accountant, Haffner Hoff Ltd, Manchester

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It does not count as income for UC, and I don’t think there is any provision for automatically treating him as having LCW/LCWRA.

See also previous thread here.