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Housing Benefit Interview?

July 28, 2018, 3:54 pm
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When making an application for housing benefit does the applicant require to attend an interview or are applications done electronically and decision gets made without an interview?

I know they are compliance interviews with HB, but are they application interviews as well?

Also, when renting from a housing association does that require a face to face interview or is it done all over the phone or internet?
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Council Tax Benefit

July 29, 2018, 3:22 am
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Do part time carers who rent their own homes who care for someone on the highest PIP and ESA partially living with them 15 hours per week claim disability council tax reduction, while they live 15 or more hours in another carers home already receiving a reduction in that property?
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Does PIP & Carers Allowance reduce CTC?

July 29, 2018, 8:05 am
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Hi Guys,

I'm in receipt of PIP standard mobility & enhanced daily living, & my partner is on my ESA support group claim & has been recently awarded carers allowance.

We're in receipt of Child tax credits & are about to inform them of the recent award of PIP & Carers Allowance.

Will our recent award of these benefits reduce or child tax credits?

Many thanks for your valued input as always.
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Renewing tax credits p60 question

July 29, 2018, 9:36 am
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The form asked for p60 info but on the form theyve sent me its the net amount theyve put down which is correct. Do I need to go back to employers and ask for total amounts?
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ESA help!!!

July 29, 2018, 10:19 am
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Hi, I have been on ESA since 2003, I received a letter saying that my money would stop June, I received £14.03 on 7th June and have had nothing since, I went for an assessment 4 weeks ago but have heard nothing and still no money,

Should I phone them or has anybody else been in my situation?

Thanks x
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New area ESA help

July 29, 2018, 1:06 pm
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I am currently on ESA in the work related support group. I have moved area (100 miles away) and I informed my work coach of this and he did not book me a new appointment. I phoned up once I moved and I was told to visit my new local job centre and ask for a live transfer to the new area. On my visit to the job centre, I was told by the lady who came to me at the door this was completely wrong, they don't do transfers, neither do they do ESA and I must pursue a new claim of universal credit, and that I just forget about my ESA that I have passed my assessments for, let myself get sanctioned for it and just start again with this new claim, and in turn claiming with my new address. When I returned home I rang the call center again to see if this was right and he gave me again completly different information. He told me I need to claim new style ESA and he changed my address on their system. I also got an appointment to see an advisor at my new location for Friday. I was just wondering what is correct and and what actually happens to my current claim. Is it true that my current ESA is now null and void as I was advised and will I have to start an entirely new claim? What will the advisor tell me on Friday.

Thank you so much for advice.
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Could we make this work for our family?

July 29, 2018, 11:54 pm
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After 11 years of marriage my husband and i have decided to separate. As we have two young daughters together we're trying very hard to make this as peaceful as possible and really do wish to co-parent, with us both being as involved with the kids as much as possible in the say to day life as well as the big events. With this in mind he is at the house most evenings after work for a few hours, weekends when hes not working he comes over to take the girls out or simply hang out with them here in the house.
He's currently sofa surfing with friends in the village as he kindly left me the car to be able to run the kids to and from school , grocery shopping, etc. He does have access to a company van most times and the boss has kindly said that he can use the vehicle to commute to and from work which is just 3 miles away.
Now the issues we're facing is this....he doesn't have a permanent home yet because on his wages he cannot afford a place of his own within a reasonable distance from the children and his work ( 1 bedroom is around £450 a month) with all the bills and still contribute towards our daughters maintenance...which i desperately need as i have no income at the moment other than benefits. I'm currently looking for jobs, but with our youngest going through autism testings and assessments, a large portion of my time is taken up in speech therapies, team around the family meetings, specialist doctors appointments etc. Our youngest daughter is very socially awkward and struggles to socialise, leading the school to believe that shes a selective mute among other issues. We have no set diagnosis yet and so still bouncing from one therapy to the next! Trying to find a job around these parenting parameters within a travel distance from our village is proving tough, but I am still trying!
As we only separated last month, i'm not entirely sure who needs to know about these changes. He currently has no other address and so his mail still comes to the house. A friend suggested that Keith move into a caravan at the bottom of my garden, so he still has unlimited access to the children, somewhere to sleep for as long as it takes to get on with our lives separately and alleviate both our financial worries for now....can this be done, legally? Can we be separated and hes still living on the property in this way? Do i need to contact my council and amend my Council tax support claim to reflect someone else living on the property-albeit in a caravan on the bottom of the yard? Would it cause issues for my benefits if hes still on the property like that ?
Like I said, I don't want to restrict his access to the children, we WANT to be as peaceful as we can, he will always be in my life as the father to my children and i don't want to cause agro for any of us, not for me, not for our children and not for him. Just because we don't love each other as husband and wife doesn't mean our children should suffer or life should be filled with anger or upset.
Can anyone offer advice on how a caravan on site would (if at all) effect the benefits and if there's any reason NOT to make this work for us ( for now) Should i inform all the benefit offices as a precaution anyway?I appreciate all your advice during this complicated time.
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ESA assesment - what to expect

July 30, 2018, 4:17 am
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Good morning all,


Recently assisted my ill son to apply for ESA


As far as I am aware all new ESA claimants are to have an assessment within 13 weeks...and his is coming up within the next couple of weeks


What can he expect?


He is extremely anxious about it


Thanks in advance
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Universal credit

July 30, 2018, 4:38 am
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Hello,

I’m a first time poster and would really appreciate some supportive advice please. I was made redundant from a care role that I loved doing for many years last year. I offer support voluntarily now. I went to the Job centre in October last year for support. I declared some savings I had from work and some redundancy money I had left. I can’t remember exactly what was on the form.

I received some universal credit for October -February. I started work in a care role part time at the beginning of this year and received earnings from this in March. The universal credit was reduced in March. I received no UC in April-July as I’m earning. I called and waited on phone lines for hours to cancel. Called again and again until I got through. Given a small payment wrongly and letter saying ongoing. Called again to say I had requested to close UC.

Compliance officer sends letter and calls me to say the tax office have info to suggest I have a larger amount of ‘savings’. I have had some inheritance in the past. I didn’t know this needed to be declared? I need to send all bank statements and accounts off to be looked at. Are they allowed to see everything on my statements? I’m really worried sick about this situation. Can anyone advise please? Thankyou.
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Tax free childcare vouchers

July 30, 2018, 6:16 am
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Hi all, Looking for some advice. I've been paying into the Tax Free Childcare Voucher scheme but can't use all the funds so looking to get this back less tax obviously. The agency who holds the 'vouchers' (essentially salary sacrifice) said that they can pay back if my employer allows it but that my employer will not do this and instead only pay out to a charity. Does anyone know if you can get the refund independently perhaps e.g. through an accountant? Thanks in advance.
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Governement Grants for warmer homes?

July 30, 2018, 6:32 am
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I am in receipt of P.I.P. (high mobility, low care) and my landlord has just had an energy efficiency survey done on our home. Despite doing everything we can, our house is only 1/2 as efficient as it could be, so I was wondering if there are any Gov Grants available to help with energy efficiency for people getting PIP?
TIA
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Minimum earnings to qualify for Working Tax Credit

July 30, 2018, 9:09 am
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If someone is just starting being self employed what are the minimum earnings to be able to get Working Tax Credit?

If you state that you work 30 hrs a week, do HMRC expect you to earn 210 pounds a week?
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PIP and moving

July 30, 2018, 10:48 am
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Hi.

I've been awarded PIP Today! Yay. I've been awarded Enhanced Daily living rate and Standard Mobility.

I plan to go to university in September, and as far as I'm aware, I don't have to inform DWP of this, just like if I was returning to work.

Here is my issue;
I live around 30 mins public transport away from Newcastle City Centre, and I would be very unable to do that commute every day in my MH circumstances, so my MH team and my family have discussed living in a Studio apartment in Newcastle, provided they check in every day, in person, I've signed up to Uni Disability support etc, and also a friend also on the same course living close by is going to spend a lot of his personal time with me ensuring I'm looking after myself, eating, hygiene, and also the commute to and from university each day. There's also things in place for e.g. I can miss a lot of lectures etc if I'm unable to attend due to my health, but there will be an online blackboard where I can complete most work from home. The course in computer science so there will still be minimal interacting with other people, which is where I scored on my PIP assessment as this is a very big problem for me.

I would be moving into this accomodation for a set tenancy length of 44-weeks, then I'd be back at home, and if I'm struggling, and not doing so well, I'll also stay at home.

Do I have to inform the DWP of this change? I'm very confused as to whether this is a change of address as it's temporary and a lot of my time will still be sent at home, my banks, GP, letters etc will all stay at my current home address. My main issue is they'll see me living alone as "independant and able to look after himself" which isn't the case, I see my psychologist once a week, my CPN weekly, weekly group therapy, family will check in every day, friend will help me with day to day tasks around hygiene/eating etc.

As I've been awarded it today I've very anxious to report this as I'm almost certain it will trigger a re-assessment and also will end up losing my benefit altogether.

Can you please advise me on what I should do in my situation, staying at home would disable me from attending a lot of university and ultimately being removed from the course, yet moving into the city, a short walk from the university could render me losing my PIP entitlement alltogether.
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Tax credits and 30 hours per childcare

July 30, 2018, 1:02 pm
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My daughter has recently become a single parent. She was awarded £400 a month, she earns about 20k.
Two children, 7 & 4. Her and her ex partner jointly pay the mortgage.

She got the £400 for the last couple of months.

She didn’t get any this month, so she called them. She’s been told as she gets the 30 hours of childcare (for the 4 year old - mind you they’ve broken up now) she’s not entitled to any more tax credits.

She doesn’t claim any childcare help, she works around the school hours, her ex helps and both nans help.
She doesn’t get or claim any other benefits.

Is this right about the 30 hours childcare? It’s really odd it’s stopped now, as the childcare has also stopped until September (it’s the local school nursery).
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Backpayment for UC additional amount

July 30, 2018, 4:14 pm
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I'm currently waiting on the result of my UC50 Health Questionnaire and hoping to be placed into the Support Group, Limited Capability for Work and Work Related Activity.

Should I be placed in the above group, either at the first instance or after a medical assessment, I was wondering whether the addional amount is able to be backdated?

The process is very stressful and I have already waited a long time, which I appreciate is the norm. Therefore, I am hoping the additional amount can be backdated, even if just a month or two, to help with my current financial situation.
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ESA or JSA

July 30, 2018, 4:20 pm
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Hello

I need to make a claim but don't know how to or which one I should claim. My marriage broke up 18 months ago and I have been suffering severe depression for 6 or 7 years and I have counselling which is helping. I have a 16 year old son at college. I have managed to get by ok by using my savings but they are almost depleted now.

I would like to get a part-time job as I know this would really help the depression. For the moment, there is no way I could possibly work fultime as the depression is too severe.

I don't know if to claim job seekers or ESA. If it is ESA, would I have to get a medical certificate rom the doctors before applying?


Would I also be able to claim child tax credits? If so, is this a completely different claim?


Many thanks
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Local Service Compliance Interview

July 31, 2018, 11:24 am
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Hi all I received a letter telling me to come in for an interview, can anyone tell me what happens and why they would want to see me.
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Benefits advice - back payments

July 31, 2018, 12:56 pm
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Hi, I was hoping I could receive some benefits advice.
I used to receive employment and support allowance in the support group receiving maximum benefits.
Five and a half months ago I was migrated to universal credit following a claim for housing benefit.
I have just been found to have limited capability for work and work related activity and I will receive an extra £328.32 per month. The letter stated that I may be owed some arreers (back payment). Should I expect to receive any? If so how much? Thank you for your help.
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Son has mental health problems doesn’t want benefits

July 31, 2018, 2:00 pm
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Hello, my adult son has mental health problems. He has no income so I support him. He lives with me. I have tried to get him to apply for benefits but he gets angry and won’t discuss it. I think he is worried about going for an interview and being made to work. Any advice please? He’s 20. Thanks
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ESA stopped, What now?

July 31, 2018, 3:04 pm
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I'm not sure if this is the right place to post/ask this. Apologise if it's not.

I was signed of work for 8 weeks for mental health issues. My GP did this so that I would be able to claim ESA and have at least one element of stress removed from my life whilst I was struggling to cope. I was self employed and she wanted me to know that I could at least feed myself.

During the time that I was signed off, as well as having 2 failed suicide attempts during my incredibly low times, I also used my manically high times to try and be productive. I was successful in this as I managed to find a full time new permanent job and by spending the last of the money I had from an inheritance I have (pending the final references going through) secured a flat I can live in so I will no longer be homeless (I was never on the streets but have been sofa surfing for 4 months). Things are looking up I hear you all saying.....


My sick note run out last week. My expected last ESA payment for today was cancelled. After I pay for my train to work for the next month I have £20 to live on until the 31/8. During that period I am meant to be looking after my 2 young (7 and 4) children for 9 days. I really don't know what to do. I have already asked so many favours off my close friends by asking for somewhere to sleep I cant bring myself to ask for money. My parents have !!!! all and I would be taking food out of there mouths if I asked them for help. I really don't now what to do.

I know that I could ask my job for an advance but as I am on a 4 week probation period I am scared of admitting to them that I am in such as bad situation. I don't see how I can explain it without letting on about my mental health problems and I really don't want to talk about that with them at this stage in my employment. I have only been there 2 days. I really need this job. I cant give them any reason to doubt that I am capable to continue.

I feel so stressed and worried right now. It is bringing me right back to the darkest places I have been over the last few months as I can see way out of this.

Does anyone know if where I can turn to for help as I am at rock bottom, and I am saying that as someone who has tried to end their own life twice in the last 2 months
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