Guidance

LA Welfare Direct Bulletin 6/2019

Updated 4 March 2024

Contact

If you have queries about the:

• technical content of this bulletin then contact details are given at the end of each article

• general content and distribution of this bulletin, contact [email protected]

Who should read

All Housing Benefit staff

Action

For information

Editorial

Hi, it’s my turn to do the editorial this month and there’s lots going, so I’ll just mention some matters that I believe (and hope) will be of interest to you.

Since the completion of Universal Credit (UC) Full Service rollout in December 2018 the Change and Communications Team in my area have taken over the local authority (LA) engagement functions from the UC Programme. This includes managing events such as those many of you would have attended in the last few years bringing LAs and Partnership Managers together. The team will shortly be coming out to you with a survey asking what areas you would like us to cover in the next round of events – these won’t be restricted to UC so please let us know your thoughts. I’ve always found these kinds of forums really productive and a good way of bringing together local front facing counterparts.

You will have seen the latest guidance on the new mixed age couples policy that came into force on 15 May 2019. Although the expected volume of cases impacted is relatively low we recognise the complexities of the policy and I wanted to talk a little bit about how the guidance was produced and the limitations we sometimes have to work within; in terms of how and when we can communicate policy changes to you. In this instance there were some late changes before the second Commencement Order was laid and we talked these through (along with scenarios in the guidance) with my team, policy colleagues and the Practitioners’ Operational Group (POG). Now, of most importance, is that the department and LAs support those impacted through the changes. You’ll see below there is some further clarification on certain scenarios from A9/2019.

Going back to POG members’ valuable ongoing input in the production and proofing of circulars and guidance we issue (sometimes at short-notice and/or with a tight turnaround). This is not always apparent but always appreciated. I would like to use this opportunity on behalf of the department and Housing Delivery Division (HDD) to thank all POG members for their continuous time and effort.

Finally, I just wanted to mention and thank Tim Savill from Birmingham City Council for coming along to the HDD event on 23 May 2019 and giving us a very informative view of Housing Benefit (HB) and UC from his LA’s perspective over the last few years. He also left us with a wish list of things to change that, I’m sure, many of you would agree with. We have taken them away to explore.

PS, I’ll be speaking at the Welsh Institute of Revenues Rating and Valuation (IRRV) conference on 20 June 2019 for anyone attending, so see you there.

Darren Baker
Leader, Change and Communications, Fraud, Error and Debt Team
Housing Delivery Division

Update: Eligible service charge new LA IT functionality requirement

1.The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) recently commissioned IT software suppliers to implement through SHBE (Single Housing Benefit Extract) 2 new fields that would gather management information on both sheltered accommodation and eligible service charges. These fields have been available to populate from April 2019.

2. Recent communications on how to populate the sheltered accommodation field were detailed both through the software suppliers release notes and circular HB A5/2019.

3. We advised within the circular that a further circular would follow to support steps to completing the eligible service charges field. However, issues have been raised both at the Practioners’ Operational Group and via correspondence by a number of LAs which need to be considered in more detail by all stakeholders involved.

4. Therefore, we ask that LAs do not populate the eligible service charges field until instructed.

5. You can contact [email protected] with any questions you may have in regards to this update.

Clarification: HB circular A9/2019

6. This article is to provide clarification regarding the correct action to take to end a claim in the following circumstance:

• where a working age couple are in receipt of a DWP legacy benefit (IS, JSA(IB) or ESA(IR) and working age HB and the older member of the couple is the lead claimant for the DWP legacy benefit and is approaching State Pension age

7. In this circumstance, when the older member of a couple reaches State Pension age and they are in receipt of a DWP legacy benefit then the LA will receive an ATLAS (Automated Transfer to LA System) notification (where the HB interest is set in the Customer Information System) confirming that the DWP legacy benefit has ended. On receipt of the ATLAS notification the HB claim should be closed as the mixed age couple will no longer be entitled to claim HB.

8. However, it has been brought to our attention that some LAs are continuing to suspend the HB claim on receipt of the ATLAS notification and contact the claimant to see if the HB claim can continue. Due to the changes that came into force on the 15 May 2019, claimants who will be part of a mixed age couple when they reach State Pension Age will need to claim UC for any ongoing support as they no longer meet the qualifying conditions to claim HB.

Transition to UC housing payment

9. To clarify further, the LA could also receive a HB stop notice to confirm that a new claim to UC has been made. On receipt of the HB stop notice, the LA must consider whether the transition to UC housing payment will be made to the claimant. The LA must then close down the HB claim and complete and return the MGP1 back to the UC Service Centre.

10. The DWP legacy claimant will have been notified up to 4 weeks prior to reaching State Pension age that their DWP legacy benefit would end when they reach State Pension age. They must, at that point, be advised that if they require further housing support then they should make a claim to UC.

11. If you have any general or technical queries regarding the content of circular HB A9/2019 you can email [email protected].

Correction to email address in HB circular A9/2019

12. In Annex A of circular HB A9/2019, we provided an incorrect email address in the paragraph headed mixed aged couples in receipt of HB with SDP. The correct address is [email protected].

13.The circular available on our HB pages on GOV.UK has been amended.

Reminder: LAs to use correct email route for UC Third Party Deductions applications

14. UC Third Party Deductions change and improvements has now rolled out.

15. UC has changed the way it processes Third Party Deductions for Council Tax arrears.

16. We are still receiving applications (for new, amend and stop deductions) via an old postal route. These applications will not be processed. New applications must be sent via the new email route detailed in the UC creditor pack sent to all LAs earlier this year.

17. If you have not received the UC creditor you should liaise with your local UC Partnership Manager.

HB decisions by the Upper Tribunal

18. Decision Making and Appeals (DMA) Leeds is aware of the following HB cases that have been decided by the Upper Tribunal (UT):

• CH/1746/18: Derivative right to reside – Can evidence provided in support of an application for a person to have the Right to Reside as a self-sufficient “Chen” child and for their primary carer to have a derivative right under paragraph 257C of the immigration rules (as they stood at the material time) amount to a maintenance undertaking for the purposes of s.115 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999, or an undertaking for the purposes of para 3 of the Schedule to SI2000/636 (which provides relief in limited circumstances from the exclusion effected by s.115)
  
  
• CH/1852/18: Overpayment of HB – Remitted – First- tier Tribunal did not adequately explain why it accepted that the appellant had notified the DWP but not the council

Decisions of the UT are published on the Courts and Tribunals Judiciary website.

19. If you have any queries about cases before the UT judges or courts, you can contact us by:

Email: [email protected]
Fax: 0113 232 4841

New legislation

20. The following Statutory Instrument (SI) has been laid:

• 2019 No. 935 The Welfare Reform Act 2012 (Commencement No. 31 and Savings and Transitional Provisions (Amendment)) Order 2019 2019, made on 14 May 2019

21. The following Statutory Rule (SR) of Northern Ireland has been laid:

• 2019 No.107 The Welfare Reform (Northern Ireland) Order 2015 (Commencement No. 13 and Savings and Transitional Provisions (Amendment)) Order 2019, made on 14 May 2019

22. Copies of SIs can now be downloaded from www.legislation.gov.uk.

What’s new on our HB pages on GOV.UK

23. The following items can be found on the website link shown:

Document type	Subject
LAWD5	Editorial Searchlight Transfer Your Files Reminder: Discretionary Housing Payment end-of-year monitoring returns 2018-19 LA1 and LA2 Capital Valuations requests: Change to contact details Overview of LA Funding Group and work undertaken Corporate appointees Change to contact email address for benefit cap templates Secondment opportunities in HDD Update: Speed of processing statistics LA Welfare Steering Group and Practioners’ Operational Group Decisions with the Upper Tribunal New legislation What’s new on our HB pages on GOV.UK
Circular HB A6/2019	Housing Benefit operational information, performance support and engagement 2019-20
Circular HB A7/2019	The Social Security (Income-related Benefits) (Updating and Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019
Circular HB A8/2019	Windrush Compensation Scheme and Housing Benefit
Circular HB A9/2019	Mixed age couples: Further guidance The Welfare Reform Act 2012 (Commencement No. 31 and Savings and Transitional Provisions (Amendment)) Order 2019 (SI 2019/935)