Terms & Conditions

[Anonymous]

Has anybody else picked this up, or am I the last to know?

The latest news we received today (16th November – unconfirmed by the DWP though) indicates that inclusion of housing benefit into universal credit is being delayed from October 2013 until April 2014 for new claims and ”around” the end of 2015 for existing claims. So Housing Benefit may well survive longer than expected, but limiting payments based on underoccupation is still scheduled to go ahead from April 2013. The governments published timetable is as follows:

[Anonymous]

Bill Herne from DWP yesteerday confirmed that if the lead benefit has already moved to Universal Credit then any new claim for HB will be done within the UC claim.

This means that for example if a customer becomes unemployed and JSA has gone over to UC then any new claim for housing costs will be done by DWP. If however their lead benefit has not gone over to UC or someone makes a new claim for HB only then this will still be done by the LA.

DWP are issuing a migration timetable for the affected benefit in the spring of 2012.

[Anonymous]

I think that was always the plan. From October 2013, for the first two or three months people who make a new claim for what would have been an out-of-work DWP means-tested benefit will claim UC instead and they will cease to be an HB claimant at that point.

For example, Mr A is working but receives a small amount of HB. In October 2013 he is made redundant. He ges to the DWP to sign on and, because he has a partner, his JSA(c) is below the applicable amount for JSA(ib) … except he doesn’t get JSA(ib), he gets Universal Credit and you will receive an ETD telling you to stop the HB award. You will lose him in October 2013.

From about January 2014 the same thing will happen for people who move into work and would get WTC – if Mr B comes off JSA(ib) in January 2014 and is potentially in line for an award of WTC, he will claim UC instead and at the same time you will lose him as an HB claimant.

By about April 2014 you will not be able to receive new HB claims from anyone, irrespective of work status – for example Mr C is on JSA(ib) and succeeds to his mother’s tenancy in May 2014. Instead of claiming HB, he claims UC and his JSA(ib) is rolled up into the UC award.

Then between 2015 and 2017 long-standing claimants with a stable work status will be migrated, unemployed first and then finally in-work HB/CTB claimants apparently one Council at a time en masse.

I’ll believe it when I see it.

[peterdelamothe]

I am not sure about the Council enmasse nor who comes first. In a recent film, the vaccine was given out to those with a birth date picked by a lottery machine. Makes you think …… 😉

[Rob Hawes1]

Did the film have a happy ending or would it serve as a metaphor for UC?

[AndrewDonald]

[quote=Rob Hawes1]Did the film have a happy ending or would it serve as a metaphor for UC?[/quote]

😀 😀 😀 😀

[Author]

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