Cost of Living payments and APAs

This has probably been mentioned before, but raising it again in the hope that someone with the ear of senior DWP people (Daphne for example?) will be able to get some urgent clarification issued to front line staff.

Have seen a couple of cases where DWP is saying you cannot have a CoL payment if you did not personally receive any UC in the snapshot AP because it was all paid to the landlord as a managed payment/APA.

This is nonsense of course: entitlement depends on being entitled to a payment of at least 1p.  When UC is paid to the landlord, it’s not the landlord who is entitled to the money, it’s the claimant.  Paying the landlord is the method used to pay the money to which the claimant is entitled.  These claimants are entitled to the CoL payment.

Just posting here in the hope the message will be amplified and reach the right audience in DWP.

Sorry - missed this yesterday - sending an email up now :)

edit - to be fair to me see you posted after 7pm which is past my rightsnet time so I don’t feel so bad ;)

Thank you Daphne

Would have replied sooner but site seemed to have an issue towards the end of yesterday

Ooh - sorry about that!

Response received via stakeholder forum -

You are correct - Claimants that have a UC nil award because a deduction is being made and paid to a third party or a debt is being repaid can still have an entitlement to a cost of living payment.

My Cost of Living Team colleagues have stated they would be grateful if you could be send some of the evidence for the cases you are talking about so they can try and trace back where this is coming from.

Can you DM/email me any specific examples Peter?

I should be able to do that, the cases I have seen came through the UC Notes members’ queries (I think you know Glenys and Julia?): we’ll have to go back to the person who sent the question so that they can go back to the claimant and get permission.

Thanks - Glenys has been in touch :)