Two queries on the similar topics:
Hey Mike,
I’ve been on UC for a while because I’ve been unwell. I was put in the Work Related Activity Group when I first claimed. By January my health had got worse and I asked Universal Credit to make a new decision that I now have Limited Capability for Work Related Activity. They finally decided this in August but have only paid me the extra LCWRA element from August. Is that Right?
Claire
Hiya Mike
My partner Daniel and I have been on Universal Credit for a couple of years. Dan was injured in an accident last year and I have been caring for him ever since.
He clamed PIP in January and got high rate daily living in August. This was back-paid to January.
I asked UC if I could have the Carer Element and it has been allowed from this month.
I asked about getting it back paid and I was told that even though he has only recently had the PIP decision, I couldn’t have the Carer Element for the earlier time because I didn’t tell them that I was looking after him until the PIP came through.
Is that right?
Donna
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Supersessions
To understand the answers to these queries we need to understand the rules about supersessions.
A supersession is a legal process that the DWP uses to reconsider and change a decision about your benefits.
It’s a bit like a revision or Mandatory Reconsideration except that where a revision changes a decision from scratch, a supersession takes effect from a later date.
Supersessions are usually used to deal with a new situation; such as a change in your circumstances, or getting a new medical report, or getting an award of one benefit that knocks on to another.
The law includes detailed rules about when a Universal Credit supersession take effect but for these queries we need to know just a few things:
- If your circumstances change and you ask the DWP to look at your benefits again, a supersession that increases your benefit takes effect on the first day of the assessment period in which you asked them to reconsider your award.
- If you delay telling the DWP about a change in your circumstances, the DWP can backdate the supersession to the assessment period when the change occurred, but only if you tell them about the change within 13 months and special circumstances caused the delay in telling them. This is called the late notification rule .
- If the DWP decide to re-look at your award and as a result they increase your benefit, the supersession takes affect from the first day of the assessment period in which they make the new decision.
- If you or a family member get a different award of another benefit and as a result you are entitled to more Universal Credit the supersession takes effect from the first day of the assessment period in which the other benefit award started. This applies regardless of the rules above.
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Claire’s query is very straightforward.
Claire’s health deteriorated so that she met the rules for the LCWRA element.
She asked DWP to look at this in January, the decision was made in August, and because Claire asked for the supersession it should take effect from the start of the January assessment period.
DWP have probably got this recorded as a supersession that they initiated. If that was true then the August effective date would be correct.
Claire just needs to point out that she asked for the supersession and DWP will probably back-pay to January without too much hassle.
Although you can ask for a reconsideration by phone, this is a good example of why it’s always best to ask for the reconsideration in writing, so that there is a clear record of who did what.
If Claire’s health had deteriorated before January, she could use the late notification rue and ask them to back-pay the LCWRA element if special circumstances caused the delay in telling them about the change.
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Donna’s query is a bit more convoluted.
To qualify for the Carer Element in your Universal Credit you have to tick two separate boxes:
- You must tell the DWP that you are a carer, looking after someone who has a disability for 35 or more hours each week.
- The person that you are caring for must get PIP Daily Living Component – or the DLA/AA equivalent.
Although Daniel got the award of PIP back-paid to to January, the DWP seem to be saying that because Donna didn’t tell them when she began looking after him, they don’t tick the first box.
And so they can only have the Carer Element from the date when they told UC about the caring.
This seems to fit in with the first bullet point in the list of legal rules above so maybe the DWP are right.
.
But there are three possible approaches to get the back-payment, and I would try all three:
First, it may be that Donna was mentioned as a carer in Dan’s PIP claim, in which case the DWP were notified of the caring, right from the start.
Second, the DWP might accept that the late notification rule applies, in which case the extra element could be back-paid upto 13 months.
And third, Donna could claim Carer’s Allowance.
A special rule (paras 33 and 34 of this) says that so long as she claims this within three months of the award of Daniel’s PIP claim, it will be backdated to the same date that the PIP started.
Then, the new award of Carer’s Allowance could be used to trigger the fourth bullet point in the list of legal rules above.
Welfare Rights Workers might spot a problem with this approach, but I would try it anyway.
My fellow nerds are very welcome to get in touch, if you want to talk this over.