Can HB award be reinstated?

This is somewhat clutching at straws but I can’t see any way around it for this unfortunate couple.

They’re mixed-age couple whereby husband has HB award in his name and he is over SPA for more than four years. Claiming State Pension and ERDL/ERM PIP, nothing else in payment.

Wife under pension age and also entitled to ERDL/ERM PIP as well as CA for husband and has private pension. Son lives with them and claims CA for his mother.

Last year, they called Pension Service to try and claim PC - they were told they can’t and should claim UC. Unfortunately, they followed this poos advice with result that HB award stopped. UC entitlement was nil. They didn’t realise HB award stopped and now in significant rent arrears.

So we know HB award was pension-age and should have been able to claim PC under reg.5 of HB regs and Article 4 of CO31. However, we also know that under reg.9(2A) of the UC Transitional Regs that the fact of making the UC claim terminates the HB award and there is no going back.

Or is there? Reg.8(2A) requires the UC claim to be made and for the claimant to satisfy the basic conditions of entitlement under sec.4(1)(a)-(d):

4 Basic conditions
(1) For the purposes of section 3, a person meets the basic conditions who—
(a)is at least 18 years old,
(b)has not reached the qualifying age for state pension credit,
(c)is in Great Britain,
(d)is not receiving education,

For wife this is clear but for the husband, he patently did not satisfy the basic condition in sec.4(1)(b)and therefore there is an argument that the HB award was not properly terminated and could be reopened now. Is this worthwhile pursuing or am I missing something here?

Any thoughts or opinions welcome.

Having a working age partner is a prescribed circumstance in which the upper age condition does not have to be satisfied - UC Reg 3(2)(a).  Reg 8(1)(b) of the UC(TP) Regs says HB terminates if the claimant either satisfies or is not required to satisfy the basic conditions in s4(1).  I think unfortunately that Reg 8 is engaged and the remedy would have to be by way of a complaint.

Thanks Peter, I think you’ve pointed this out to me before.