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Lcwra help

tanipark

Hello, i have recently been placed in lcwra on uc and need a bit of advice, i put my firts fit note 22nd april and was awarded lcwra on 24th july our payment dates are 8th of month and we are currently affected by the cap too. We have just received our payment schedule and the cap hasnt been lifted and lcwra not applied is this correct or not we transitioned over from tax credits in april too if that needs to be known thanks for any help

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poppy123456

The benefit cap will be lifted because of the LCWRA award and it should have shown that in your statement you just received. Are you 100% sure you were affected by the cap and it's not just a deduction for something else?

For the LCWRA element there's a full 3 month assessment period waiting time. The extra money is then paid from the 4th month of your claim, with first payment being the end of that month.

Based on the information you gave your waiting period will be as follows… May/June, June/July, July/August.. LCWRA starts from 2nd August to 1st September and first payment will be 8th September. No LCWRA element is owed because it's not paid at all during the waiting period.

However, if your UC includes any Transitional Protection from migrating from Tax credits then this will erode if other elements increase or you become entitled to other elements.

There's some information here about the benefit cap and when you're not affected.

https://www.gov.uk/benefit-cap/when-youre-not-affected

tanipark

hi @poppy123456 the cap is in place as i have 5 children on our claim all born before 2017 and is still in place on this payment

poppy123456

Put a message onto your journal under the payment section and tell them that the benefit cap is still included but that should be lifted due to the recent decision on your WCA. You will be owed some money for that from the start of your claim.

Money owed will be paid as a separate payment and often takes quite a few weeks to pay it.

tanipark

hi @poppy123456 so when would the cap be lifted from when i was awarded lcwra ? sorry to be a pain im trying to get my head around it all thanks

poppy123456

From the assessment period in which you provided your first fit note, which will be 2nd April to 1st May, with first payment being 8th May.

Can I please just check that you continued to provide fit notes without any gaps until a decision was made on your work capability assessment?

tanipark

Hi @poppy123456 you have been a great help 🥰 yes all fit notes have been provided from 22nd april onwards without any gaps x

tanipark

hi @poppy123456 i have been in touch with uc regarding this situation and have had this response is this correct or should the cap apply from the start ?

5 Aug 2024 at 2:15pm
Hi Tina and Darren

Following your work capability assessment you were awarded the health element of Universal Credit (LCWRA) from 2 April 2024.

When an award of LCWRA is made there is a ‘relevant period’ before entitlement to any LCWRA payments.
The payments will be included in your Universal Credit awards after 3 FULL assessment periods following the award.

The LCWRA award was made from 29 April 2024. This falls in to the assessment period 2 April 2024 to 1 May 2024 .
As this is not a full assessment period, this is disregarded.

2 May 2025 to 1 June 2024 (Full assessment period number 1) - Payment date 8 June 2024

2 June 2024 to 1 July 2024 (full assessment period number 2) – Payment date 8 July 2024

2 July 2024 to 1 August 2024 (full assessment period number 3) – Payment date 8 August 2024

Your first payment of LCWRA will be paid to you for the assessment period 2 August 2024 to 1 September 2024- Payment due date 8 September 2024.

An exemption to the benefit cap applies if a claimant, partner or child is 'receiving' certain benefits as follows: -
an award of Universal Credit that includes an additional amount for limited capability for work and work-related activity.

The benefit cap will no longer apply from the assessment period 2 August 2024 to 1 September 2024- Payment due date 8 September 2024 when the LCWRA element is included as part of your Universal Credit award.
Regards
Paula

poppy123456

They are incorrect about the benefit cap lift as that should be lifted from the assessment period in which you provided your first fit note, which is 2 April to 1st May.

They are saying the LCWRA is awarded from 2 April, which is correct and then contradict their self by saying the cap isn’t lifted until the element starts to be paid, which is incorrect.

Put a message onto your journal and tell them you disagreed and it’s your understanding that the cap is lifted from 2nd April.

tanipark

Thankyou @poppy123456 i have sent a message back on our journal, this is so stressfull i will message you back when i receive any further messages from them if thats ok x

tanipark

hi @poppy123456 this is the latest response from uc x

5 Aug 2024 at 6:06pm
Hi Darren
Universal Credit guidance states that an exemption to the benefit cap applies if an individual is receiving an award of Universal Credit that includes an additional amount for LCWRA.
No additional amount is being received or due to be received until the assessment period 2 August 2024 to 1 September 2024- Payment due date 8 September 2024, therefore the benefit cap still applies during the 'relevant period'.
Regards
Paula

poppy123456

I've searched for the UC regulations for this and found what I was looking for. To be honest, I've quite surprised that they are correct and I'm wrong. Although the work allowance would apply from the assessment period in which you provided your first fit note. The benefit cap isn't lifted until the assessment period in which the LCWRA element starts. See link.

https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2013/376/regulation/83

There's also a thread on Welfare Rights regarding this.

https://www.rightsnet.org.uk/forums/viewthread/16981/#80632 please note, they are experts on there and some of the wording they use can be difficult to understand.

Apologies for incorrect information given.

chiarieds

I'd just been searching too in ADM Chapter E5: Benefit cap - & thought perhaps I was missing something!

tanipark

oh i see could i ask for some further advice, i have had my pip assessment and have received a copy of it (not the award) and i have 13 points on the daily and 10 mobility at what point can my husband apply for carers element and carers allowance do we have to wait for the award letter and payment or can he apply now

poppy123456

He needs to wait for the decision to be made first. What you have received is not the decision, it’s a recommendation only. They do mostly go with it but it has been known for them to go against it.

If he claims carers allowance as well then this will be deducted in full from any UC entitlement, there’s no financial gain to claiming the at the same time. The only advantage is that he would receive class 1 NI credits, where as UC is just class 3.

Carers element of UC can be claimed without carers allowance.

Jimm_Alumni

I hope the decision is the same as the report, let us know how you get on with it @tanipark