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Forum Home  →  Discussion  →  Housing costs  →  Thread

Treatment of ESAC Transitional addition for HB purposes

RAISE Advice
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RAISE Benefits Advice Team, Liverpool

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we have a client who has a large transitional addition of around £56 pw in her ESAC, i was under the impression the LA should not take this into account for HB purposes (by adding to the applicable amount) can anyone clarify this for me?
Thanks in advance

Dan_Manville
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Mental health & welfare rights service - Wolverhampton City Council

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Transitional CESA is taken into account as income.

Jon (CANY)
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Welfare benefits - Craven CAB, North Yorkshire

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The transitional addition to the HB applicable amount can end in several ways. And e.g., if you’re not on HB on the day of conversion I don’t think you get it at all. HB/CTB Circular A14/2010 may be helpful:

http://www.hblearning.co.uk/media/circular_summaries/2010/1010/A14v2010_Full.pdf

andyrichards
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Just to clarify, the ESAC transitional addition is taken into account as income but it should always be balanced out by a corresponding addition to the applicable amount.

Jon (CANY)
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andyrichards - 18 July 2018 09:18 AM

Just to clarify, the ESAC transitional addition is taken into account as income but it should always be balanced out by a corresponding addition to the applicable amount.

I had thought it wasn’t always included ... there are 12 and 104 week linking rules, and it is possible in some circs to exceed them, lose the transitional addition, then go back on to HB and have the full ESA count as income against a standard applicable amount. Happy to be corrected on that though.

andyrichards
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My (admittedly rather old) training notes suggest that if someone regains the TA under linking rules, there should still be an equivalent uplift in the HB applicable amount.

Jon (CANY)
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The HB circulars etc speak of a “transitional addition” in two senses: extra c-ESA benefit, and an extra allowance added to the HB applicable amount. To be clear, I think it’s possible to lose the latter, while the former stays in payment. If so, the scenario given in the original post may be correct, depending on the claimant’s history.

Just for e.g.,
- someone gets a transitional addition in both their ESA and their HB;
- they leave the tenancy and move in with family for over 12 weeks
- they take up another tenancy and claim HB

I think the extra ESA stays in payment throughout, but I don’t think they get a transitional addition to the applicable amount in the second HB award.

RAISE Advice
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Thanks for all your input, the LA have basically said they’re using it as income because “they can” and offered no further explanation. We have asked for further explanation so will await their response. Will post outcome as and when.

Cheers