The assessment of capital by DWP in an AIF is only binding on the LA in a Savings Credit case, which this is not. The Commissioners have observed on a few occasions that it is obviously messy to have decision makers in different jursidictions drawing different conclusions about the same facts, but there is nothing in the law to say they cannot do that except in the limited situations where the structure of the HB legislation has the effect of making a DWP means test decision override the Council’s own view (the AIF being an example of that).
So what you have is a claimant who doesn’t get Pension Credit and it is for you to do your own means test.
Some might argue that the Social Security Claims and Information Regs of last year require the Council to follow DWP’s means testing decisions but personally I think that is a complete misinterpretation of what was essentially a procedural measure to make life more efficient for the claimant: there is nothing in the Claims and Info Regs that requires the Council to accept legal or factual conclusions drawn from the evidence, all those Regs are for is to stop the claimant having to provide the same thing twice.
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