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Forum Home  →  Discussion  →  Other benefit issues  →  Thread

Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit (IIDB) and Universal Credit/Council Tax Reduction.

JPCHC
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Cardinal Hume Centre - Welfare Rights

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Total Posts: 186

Joined: 24 November 2014

As industrial injuries disablement benefit is unearned income, I understand it’s taken into account in full in the calculation of entitlement to Universal Credit so unless I’m missing a trick - is there any value in having it?  Again, I’m probably missing something but presumably he’s also worse off because it’ll be taken into account in his Council Tax Reduction assessment too .  This is the first person I’ve advised who’s in receipt of IIDB and he wants to stop it.  I just wanted to check I’d not missed anything crucial and that there wouldn’t be any downsides of him ending his claim.

For background, clt is currently in receipt of contributory ESA, IIDB and HB.  He has a baby but hasn’t claimed UC yet…

Thanks in advance

csmk
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Welfare Benefits Specialist, Frenkel Topping

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Could they get PIP DL and have an SDP add on to an ir-ESA top up and then claim CTC? On basic calculation based on what you’ve said an SDP and EDP could be paid for ir-ESA if client gets support group, PIP DL component, lives alone with baby and no-one claims carer’s allowance for looking after client. Might end up getting more than UC. That’s assuming it’s possible based on client’s specific income/circumstances.

ClairemHodgson
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Solicitor, SC Law, Harrow

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mmmmm

is health likely to improve at all such that client could go back to work in due course?  at that point, the IIDB would be worth having, since it’s not a means tested benefit but your client would remain disabled, probably (depends what the injury was, of course)

but in any event, i’m not sure that it IS possible to stop IIDB; it’s awarded, as you know, because of disability caused by an industrial accident or disease, and if the disability is sufficient to result in a weekly award, your client’s injuries resulted in a disability payment at more than 20%  (that is, your client is more than 14% disabled, which pays at the 20% rate) (less than that, there wouldn’t be a weekly payment at all)

so on balance i’d support the idea of investigating PIP entitlement

also bear in mind that IIDB will never be affected by the vagaries of UC - so even if UC mucks up for whatever reason, there’ll still be income coming in…bearing in mind the nightmare many people have with UC, is it worth giving up a guaranteed income (even if that is possible)

[ Edited: 16 Feb 2019 at 03:55 pm by ClairemHodgson ]
HB Anorak
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Benefits consultant/trainer - hbanorak.co.uk, East London

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I don’t think the IIDB can actively do any harm … but you are right, if he qualifies for so much as 1p a month of UC with the IIBD included, he doesn’t really see any advantage from it either.

The real dilemma is whether or not to claim UC at all.  He stands to gain a child element: what would he be losing?  Probably not as much as he will gain by claiming.  In the current HB and CTR assessments, the IIDB and other income will reduce benefit by a combined taper of 85% under most CTR schemes, but only to the extent that they exceed the applicable amount.  On UC, most CTR schemes award whatever the local maximum is where the claimant has no earnings.  He will therefore get full CTR if he claims UC and qualifies for at least 1p a month, whereas currently it is probably reduced a bit by excess income.