Terms & Conditions

[swatts]

Can anyone help with this query please?
ETD rec’d following the latest Council Tax Benefit take up campaign by the Pension Service.
The new 3 page claim form is received within 14 days (or maybe later).
We can go back 52 weeks – but from when? Is it the date that the ETD is received or the date that the claim form is received? Generally, these people have been entitled to PC(G) since October 2003 but have never claimed benefit with us.
Thanks!

[Anonymous]

Date claim form received.
Regs allow us to treat the date of claim as being up to 1yr+1day before claim form received.
As with any other case the claim is only made based on when claim form arrives.

Example.
Claim form arrives 06/10/2005
Treat as received 06/10/2004 (Wednesday)
Claim effective Monday 11/10/2004

I’ll post the reg when I can remember what it is….

[Anonymous]

The Housing Benefit (General) Regulations 1987
(as ameded by pension credit regs)
Reg 72BA
(1) This regulation applies to persons to whom regulation 2 of the Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit (State Pension Credit) Regulations 2003 (housing benefit regulations) applies.
(2) Where this regulation applies, the prescribed time for claiming housing benefit is as regards any day on which, apart from satisfying the condition of making a claim, the claimant is entitled to housing benefit, that day and the period of twelve months immediately following it.

[Mark]

Gotta disagree with Peter here.

There are in fact 2 seperate provisions that determine the effective date – the new one (CTB Reg 62BA) – and the old one – CTB Reg 62(5).

The new one is indeed counted as Peter describes.

The old one says that if CTB is claimed within 4 weeks of a successful claim to Guarantee Credit then the date of claim is the start date of the Guarantee Credit award.

But there is 12 months auto-backdating in Pension Credit too. So let’s continue with Peter’s example of someone claiming CTB on 6th October 2005. If this same person had claimed Pension Credit on any date on or after 9th September 2005 and had Guarantee Credit awarded back 12 months then they can have an earlier “date of claim” under the old provision than they can under the new one. So surely the most generous provision should apply.

Example:

Pension Credit claimed on 13th September 2005
Guarantee Credit awarded back to 13th September 2004
CTB Claim form arrives at LA on 6th October 2005

“New rule” date of claim = 6th October 2004
“Old rule” date of claim = 13th September 2004

I have a strong recollection of reading somewhere that the DWP know of this anomaly and plan to make it clear in the new consolidated regs that the earliest date should be used.

[Author]

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