Supersessions
If you have a benefit claim up and running, a supersession is the legal process for changing your award if something about your circumstances has changed.
In effect, a supersession says that the original decision was correct, but it now needs to be replaced (superseded) because of the new factor.
The DWP can initiate the supersession process if they believe that your award is wrong, or needs to be checked.
You can initiate the supersession process by telling the DWP that you want them to look at your award again. You can do this by phone but it is best to put your request in writing.
If you have an ongoing entitlement to a benefit, or you receive benefits for someone else you a have a legal duty to notify the DWP of any change of circumstances that you might reasonably be expected to know would affect your benefit, as soon as reasonably practical after the change occurs.
DWP will only supersede a decision if it is too late for you to have a revision.
The rules about the procedure for applying for a supersession come from regulation 33
There must be grounds for a supersession.
Part 3 Chapter 1 of the Universal Credit, Personal Independence Payment, Jobseeker’s Allowance and Employment and Support Allowance (Decisions and Appeals) Regulations 2013 lists the possible grounds for the supersession which include:
- Regulation 26: superseding a decision following a new medical report
- Regulation 23: superseding a decision following a change in your circumstances
Also Regulation 24 provides grounds for superseding a decision that included an error of law or that was made in ignorance of facts, or that was made on the basis of a factual mistake. However it would generally be better to approach this by seeking a revision of the original decision.
The Date That A Universal Credit Supersession Takes Effect
Section 10(5) of the Social Security Act 1998 includes a general rule that says that a new decision made by a supersession takes effect from the date that you asked the DWP to look at the decision again, or if the DWP initiates the process, the date that the new decision is made.
Because Universal Credit is administered by calendar monthly assessment periods, various regulations always apply a Universal Credit supersession from the first day of an assessment period.
There are some exceptions to the general rule which depend on which grounds are being used to make the superseding decision.
If more than one ground for supersession can apply to a situation that increases your benefit, and this leads to more than one possible effective date, caselaw says that the earliest effective date should be used.
The exceptions to the general rule say:
If you tell DWP about a change in your circumstances that decreases your benefit the general rule applies and supersession takes affect from the first day of the assessment period in which the change occurred. This is true no matter when you tell them about the change. Schedule 1 (20)
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If you tell the DWP about a change in your circumstances that increases your benefit in the same assessment period that the change occurs, the supersession will apply from the first day of that assessment period. Schedule 1 (20)
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If you delay telling DWP about a change of circumstances that increases your benefit until a later assessment period, the supersession will take effect on the first day of the assessment period in which you notify the DWP – unless the late notification rule applies. Schedule 1 (21)
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The late notification rule: If you delay telling DWP about a change of circumstances that increases your benefit the supersession can only take effect on the first day of the assessment period in which the change occurred if:
- it was not practical for you to tell DWP about the change in your circumstances at an earlier time, and
- you now ask for an extension of the time limit giving full details of the change in your circumstances, and
- you do this within 13 months of the change occurring, and
- you explain why you did not notify the DWP earlier, showing that special circumstances caused the delay, and
- the Decision Maker accepts that the request is reasonable – the longer the delay the more special the circumstances causing it must have been.
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If the change in your circumstances is that you have become terminally ill and you notify DWP of this with a clear statement that you are terminally ill, the supersession takes effect from the first day of the assessment period in which you became terminally ill, regardless of all the rules above. Schedule 1 (9)
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If the change in your circumstances is that you or a member of you family have a new award, or a different rate, or the end of another benefit [a so-called relevant benefit defined in this para 8(3) and this parts II to V] the supersession takes effect on the first day of the assessment period in which the entitlement to the other relevant benefit, started, ended or changed. This applies regardless of all the rules above, and regardless of any delays in notification. Schedule 1 (31)
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