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ESA MR successful but UC not paying arrears
Hi
I have been assisting a client helping appeal a failed WCA last December under ESA.
She lives in a full service UC area and had to claim UC as ESA had stopped.
She claimed UC on 14/12/17. She recently had a WCA under UC50 etc and UC found her 15 pts and LCWRA.
This meant that ESA lapsed the appeal and sent her a letter saying that from 08/12/17 ESA have changed their decision and she has LCWRA.
She is one of the very few who is better off on UC by approx £20 per week as there is no SDP as her daughter lives with her.
The question is who pays her the ESA arrears she should be owed from 08/12/17?
ESA have told her that UC must pay the arrears. UC are saying they haven’t seen the ESA decision and even if they had they couldn’t pay back the arrears as under UC you have to wait 3 months to be awarded the LCWRA and she is now getting that.
They have advised her to ring the UC number to make a ‘booking in’ appointment for her to take the ESA MR letter to JCP for them to have it on file!
I am considering getting in touch with the local DWP partnership manager but wanted some help from you first. I am at a loss with this one.
Thanks
Pippa
If ESA have found her to have LCWRA from 8/12/17 then they should pay the component from then until the ESA claim lapses which will be when the UC claim was made (14/12/17). She is then in receipt of support component at point of transfer and LCWRA element should be paid in her UC from the start of claim under reg 19 of the UC (transitional provisions) regs 2014
Is it possible that she claimed UC on 08/12 and waiting days were (incorrectly) applied? That might explain why ESA say its not their problem?
Otherwise agree with Daphne.
Thanks Daphne,
I will write to ESA.
Much appreciated.
If ESA have found her to have LCWRA from 8/12/17 then they should pay the component from then until the ESA claim lapses which will be when the UC claim was made (14/12/17). She is then in receipt of support component at point of transfer and LCWRA element should be paid in her UC from the start of claim under reg 19 of the UC (transitional provisions) regs 2014
My client has been battling with UC for the arrears and today she has been told by the decision maker, via her journal, that they will not pay her the LCWRA arrears as she had to serve a 3 month waiting period and so isn’t actually due arrears. This must be wrong as she should have had the payment from point of transfer.
I am going to ask for a reconsideration of the decision but at the moment I am asking for a MR on a journal post not a letter.I have asked for a letter/PDF of the decision.
has any one else asked for a MR of a decision written in a journal post? If so did you write it in the journal as a MR?
ESA haven’t paid up for the 6 days either!
Thanks
Pippa
This is a common problem. We have now reached the point where we serve notice before action on the DWP solicitors (address in CPAG handbook) of judicial review and/or county court action to recover the arrears etc due.
Our experience is that raising this issue on the journal including MR of payments where the appropriate element has not been included (and sending a post copy with any relevent evidence - ESA MRN / tribunal dec. revising original ESA decision) are simply ignored. As your and others experience suggests many UC case managers simply don’t understnad the legislation (and referring them to relevant Regs and ADM paras. doesn’t make any difference either!).
But while McVey speaks untruths to parliament what hope is there?
Ask for MR on the UC decision, and when it is inevitably upheld, go to Tribunal and request that the DWP be directed to send a presenting officer to explain the legal basis to their decision.
This is a common problem. We have now reached the point where we serve notice before action on the DWP solicitors (address in CPAG handbook) of judicial review and/or county court action to recover the arrears etc due.
Our experience is that raising this issue on the journal including MR of payments where the appropriate element has not been included (and sending a post copy with any relevent evidence - ESA MRN / tribunal dec. revising original ESA decision) are simply ignored. As your and others experience suggests many UC case managers simply don’t understnad the legislation (and referring them to relevant Regs and ADM paras. doesn’t make any difference either!).
But while McVey speaks untruths to parliament what hope is there?
Pretty much the same experience, with the exception that we are going to MP instead of serving notice to DWP solicitors. Although may start resorting to that too!
We have resorted to copying and pasting FOI responses, Neil Couling letters i.e. simple authoritative stuff, as well as citing legislation and their own guidance and the online complaints service.
Thank you all, that is very helpful. I am in the process of getting the MP involved.
With the MR of the whole UC decision do I post it top the UC freepost address.
I met with DWP/JCP people locally yesterday and one of them told me that writing to UC was not a good idea as stuff is lost.
Where do the MR’s go then?
Post a copy to the freepost address
Attach a copy to the client’s “online journal”
Take a copy to the local jobcentre and insist it is forwarded to the processing centre/case manager.
Belt and Braces.
Would probably do no harm to forward a copy to the MP, if they are already involved.
Thank you that’s a great help.
Pippa - have you got the escalation email addresses for the local work coach managers in swansea, I used this to get an MR decision on a right to reside case and got a decision back in a day (refused but then is right to reside), I was given them at one of those representative group meetings at Swansea jobcentre. If you contact the welfare rights team at the council I could email you a copy.