Terms & Conditions

[s_tucker]

Help please, we have a difference of opinion re this case

Claimant moved into property on 230106 and put in claim for HB on 090206 requesting a backdate.

He was then taken into custody on 030306 and therefore did not supply info for his original claim which was subsequently deemed defective.

He has now asked for the period of temp absence to be paid while he was on remand.

Can we pay even though he was not in receipt of HB at the time he was taken into custody?

Any one got any ideas

[seanosul]

[quote:25f155a1a1=”bradlesl”]Help please, we have a difference of opinion re this case

Claimant moved into property on 230106 and put in claim for HB on 090206 requesting a backdate.

He was then taken into custody on 030306 and therefore did not supply info for his original claim which was subsequently deemed defective.

He has now asked for the period of temp absence to be paid while he was on remand.

Can we pay even though he was not in receipt of HB at the time he was taken into custody?

Any one got any ideas[/quote:25f155a1a1]

From that explanation you can tell that there was a good reason for not providing info!

[andyrichards]

Well as a general point, I see no reason in regs for supposing that someone has to be in receipt of benefit prior to a temporary absence starting. If someone makes a claim on the very first day of their temporary absence, or at some point during it, then if they meet the temp absence conditions and are otherwise eligible for benefit, I see no problem.

The reason for the temporary absence may be the reason why someone needs to claim. (E.g. giving up job to go away to look after someone who is sick).

In this particular case there maybe backdating issues, but as Sean says, his period custody may provide grounds for late revision of the decision made on his claim in January.

[s_tucker]

many thanks for your replies

I have now also received confirmation from the Adelphi as follows:
“Regulation 7 provides for circumstances in which a person can be treated as occupying a dwelling as his home. Once it has been decided that a person can be treated as occupying his home you can then look at the temporary absence issue, ie that person can continue to be treated as occupying that dwelling for a limited period depending on the reason for absence. The claimant can make a claim for benefit at any time but if he is absent during the claim the period of absence is still taken from the first day he was absent from that dwelling irrespective of whether he was claiming benefit at that time. A claim does not need to exist prior to being absent.”

[Author]

Posts