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High value payments

Daphne
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SInce 18 October, legislation has provided that the DWP can, with the claimant’s consent, pay arrears of benefit in instalments rather than as a lump sum.

More info at https://www.rightsnet.org.uk/welfare-rights/news/item/enabling-dwp-to-pay-arrears-of-benefit-in-instalments-rather-than-as-a-lump-sum

and https://www.rightsnet.org.uk/welfare-rights/news/item/guidance-on-making-payments-of-benefit-arrears-by-instalments-confirms-that-a-claimant-must-agree-to-the-arrangement-before-a-decision-maker-can-roceed

This came up at a stakeholder meeting a couple of weeks ago and Gary Vaux from Hertfordshire submitted a list of supplementary questions. The questions and answers are attached..

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Peter Turville
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How will the payment of arrears in instalments affect the 12 month disregard of benefit arrears for MTB’s? What if it is a very significant sum paid over an extended period of time? Will the 12 months start from payment of the first instalment?

[ Edited: 11 Nov 2021 at 01:46 pm by Peter Turville ]
Daphne
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Hi Peter

We’re having another session on HVPs at our next stakeholder meeting at the end of the month so I"ll take your question and any others that come up here to that meeting and feed back.

Peter Turville
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Daphne - 11 November 2021 02:33 PM

Hi Peter

We’re having another session on HVPs at our next stakeholder meeting at the end of the month so I"ll take your question and any others that come up here to that meeting and feed back.

Hi Daphne

The capital disregard Regs count the 12 month disregard from the date of receipt of the arrears. It would therefore seem the proper application would be to disregard each instalment for 12 months from the date it was paid.

That could lead to complex calculations of a claimant’s actual and disregarded capital at the date of each instalment and the point at which the arrears count as capital, tariff income may apply or capital exceeds £16K. Add to that if the total arrears due are made up of different benefits - PIP arrears + arrears of MTB premiums / components etc. Will this be considered as a factor when the SSWP decides whether to pay arrears in instalments?

An unintended potential nightmare?

Gareth Morgan
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CEO, Ferret, Cardiff

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add to that, will it always be the ‘oldest’ capital that’s spent?  That would mean that the newest gets the maximum disregard period, but what happens if they make a recovery? Or, the claimant transfers a payment to a 3rd party?

WillH
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Any update on this Daphne (the treatment of the arrears as disregarded capital, that is)?

Will

Daphne
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I haven’t yet WIll but I will chase it up now…

Paul_Treloar_AgeUK
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Information and advice resources - Age UK

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OSEF are running a workshop thing on it in February.

Daphne
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we asked again at the workshop - they are taking it away!!

Attached are some slides from the workshop for info

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