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Backdated HB - Advice required

CDV Adviser
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Nestor Financial Group Ltd

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I’m looking for some advice on the best way to approach this.

Client was in receipt of HB and DLA up until 2016. At that time he made a claim to ESA and the DWP refused the claim as there were doubts about his immigration status. DLA and HB stopped at the same time. Due to capacity issues, he did not claim any benefits after that.

He received a letter from the Home Office in August 2020 which established he has had indefinite leave to remain since 1978. PIP was reclaimed and apparently has been backdated to 2016. The client’s (new) deputy wrote to ESA in September and asked for his ESA to be reassessed and backdated to 2016. They were advised to make a new claim in December and completed an ESA1. There is no decision on this currently but they were told by the DWP that backdating would be refused.

They applied for HB in September 2020 and were refused as he had not been in receipt of SDP in a legacy benefit within the last month.

UC was claimed in November and is now in payment (although they are making a reduction for capital due to the backdated PIP, which they shouldn’t be doing).

During that 4 year period he racked up huge arrears of rent which are being recovered through his UC. The Deputy has also used a large portion of backdated PIP to get these arrears down.

So what’s the best approach. Should they be asking for an any time review of the HB decision in 2016 based upon the new info from the Home Office? Should ESA be doing the same?

Stainsby
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Welfare rights adviser - Plumstead Community Law Centre

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First step for me would be to try to get hold of all the decision notices re the termination of the legacy benefits

Its my guess that the DWP will have destroyed theirs but the LA might not have

The LA’s notice might well not comply with Sch 9 of the HB Regs and if that is so it will be strongly arguable that the clock has not started vis a vis any appeal

There is a case for any time review on account of official error because it is arguable that the LA ( and the DWP) made decisions to terminate the awards with no evidence to support those decisions (see for example CH/2324/2003 at [12])

CDV Adviser
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Nestor Financial Group Ltd

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Edited.

[ Edited: 21 Jan 2021 at 11:46 am by CDV Adviser ]
CDV Adviser
forum member

Nestor Financial Group Ltd

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Total Posts: 493

Joined: 20 January 2016

Stainsby - 21 January 2021 11:02 AM

First step for me would be to try to get hold of all the decision notices re the termination of the legacy benefits

Its my guess that the DWP will have destroyed theirs but the LA might not have

The LA’s notice might well not comply with Sch 9 of the HB Regs and if that is so it will be strongly arguable that the clock has not started vis a vis any appeal

There is a case for any time review on account of official error because it is arguable that the LA ( and the DWP) made decisions to terminate the awards with no evidence to support those decisions (see for example CH/2324/2003 at [12])

Thanks. I’ll try to get hold of the letters. I’m thinking ATR due to official error for both HB and ESA.