Incapacity Credits to ESA claim?

Any help please.

I have a client who was in receipt of Incapacity Credits but did not receive payment of Income Support as her husband was working. When her husband became unemployed on 27th March they went to the local office for assistance and she was informed that she had to make a claim for ESA for a couple and that her husband should claim JSA (credits). (Husband already receives LRc DLA).

My 1st thoughts were that she cannot claim ESA with an existing claim for Incapacity Credits and she should have claimed Income Support. I am aware there a lot of transitional provisions around this but am not sure of the information in the DMG memo relating to similar situations.

Would it have been possible for her husband to claim (IB)JSA at a couple rate and claim the disability premium either through his DLA entitlement or her incapacity credit entitlement?

clucker24 - 25 May 2011 01:30 PM

Any help please.

I have a client who was in receipt of Incapacity Credits but did not receive payment of Income Support as her husband was working. When her husband became unemployed on 27th March they went to the local office for assistance and she was informed that she had to make a claim for ESA for a couple and that her husband should claim JSA (credits). (Husband already receives LRc DLA).

My 1st thoughts were that she cannot claim ESA with an existing claim for Incapacity Credits and she should have claimed Income Support. I am aware there a lot of transitional provisions around this but am not sure of the information in the DMG memo relating to similar situations.

Would it have been possible for her husband to claim (IB)JSA at a couple rate and claim the disability premium either through his DLA entitlement or her incapacity credit entitlement?

I have a very similar case i am working on right now.

single person on ib credits and paid is, got inheritence of over 16k, ib credits never stopped, spent inheritence, reclaimed income support, initially is claim reopened but then closed and told must claim esa.

i have my appeal papers and am still working out if i have a case or not.

my email is .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)  i have beenm in touch with the bdc here so have some info that may be of use to you if you want to email me and i will forward it on.

Maybe I am being naive… surely your client has an active claim for IS (IB credits) that was merely not in payment due to husband’s income, as that income no longer exists payments should be reinstated/started?
I am probably being far too optimisitc here.
Chaos

My take on this scenario: Partner in 24 hours work (or £16K capital as in the second case), breaks IS entitlement. Therefore these would have to be new IS claims; which can no longer be made (unless there is an existing IB claim, or some other route).

Would it have been possible for her husband to claim (IB)JSA at a couple rate and claim the disability premium either through his DLA entitlement or her incapacity credit entitlement?

I think they would need to be a joint claim couple, i.e. she is available for work - perhaps with reasonable restrictions due to her condition.

Unfortunately it seems pretty clear that receiving credits only does not give transitional protection - see reg 2 of the ESA (transitional provisions) regs 2008, as amended. There it talks about being ‘entitled to incapacity benefit’. Those on credits only are not so entitled.