Is this a change of circumstances?

sunflower2

Hi 

My moms on Income related ESA and my sister who lives with her has recently got a job and she can now pay full rent and has now closed her housing benefit claim does this class as a change in circumstances would she need to tell ESA shes no longer getting Housing benefit?

i wasnt sure as their not related since housing benefit comes from the council not the DWP.

poppy123456

No, this is not a change of circumstances that needs to be reported. 

Though I don’t understand the reason why she cancelled the housing benefit claim if she was entitled to it.
If she needs to claim for help with any rent in the future then she would need to claim Universal Credit. Doing this will end any Income Related ESA after 2 weeks. 

sunflower2

Thanks @woodbine I didn't see how it could either as it's seperate from DWP. 

I told her I don't think that's somthing ESA will be bothered about so no need to phone and tell them

sunflower2

poppy123456 said:

No, this is not a change of circumstances that needs to be reported. 

Though I don’t understand the reason why she cancelled the housing benefit claim if she was entitled to it.
If she needs to claim for help with any rent in the future then she would need to claim Universal Credit. Doing this will end any Income Related ESA after 2 weeks. 

She closed it because my sister warns enough that her HB support went down to only £20 a month from them and she thought we don't need it anymore. 

My sister's job is a permanent job so she's going to be their awhile as their desperate for staff and she's doing really well at the Pre-school 

poppy123456

Ah ok, yes those non dependent deductions for housing benefit depend on earnings.
Housing element of UC is a lot more generous with non dependent deductions. For UC the deduction would only be £77.87/month. 

sunflower2

poppy123456 said:

No, this is not a change of circumstances that needs to be reported. 

Though I don’t understand the reason why she cancelled the housing benefit claim if she was entitled to it.
If she needs to claim for help with any rent in the future then she would need to claim Universal Credit. Doing this will end any Income Related ESA after 2 weeks. 

I wanted to ask you if she ever did need to apply for UC for housing help and would therefore loose her ESA would she have to then go through an assessment again or would her being in the support group be honored on UC?

poppy123456

She would be entitled to the LCWRA element from the start of her claim.
UC LCWRA pays more than ESA support group in your mums case anyway. 

sunflower2

poppy123456 said:

She would be entitled to the LCWRA element from the start of her claim.
UC LCWRA pays more than ESA support group in your mums case anyway. 

Thank you , unfortunately my sister has only had this job for a month and she's not doing great in it and if she doesn't improve she's going to loose it and so we're now worried about my mom's ESA and rent. 

So as she'd be entitled to still be in their version of the support group she won't be called for another assessment due to them being suspended at the moment?

poppy123456

Reviews are still suspended. As her housing benefit ended then she will have no option but to claim UC for help with any rent. Any Income Related ESA she's claiming will end 2 weeks after she claims UC.

As part of the claim she needs to report her health condition when she claims. This will then prompt her to send a fit note from her GP, again it's part of the claim.

Once the claim is done and she has access to her online journal she needs to add a message telling them that she's in the Support Group for ESA.

She will need to attend her local job centre as a first appointment and while she's there she needs to tell them again that she's in the Support Group for ESA.

First payment will be 1 month and 6 days after she first claims and hopefully the LCWRA element will be included in her maximum entitlement.

If she's privately renting then she will need her tenancy agreement to be able to claim the housing element. If she's renting from social housing DWP will check with them for her rent liability.

sunflower2

@poppy123456 thanks for the info. 

I have a few questions of that's ok. 

1) we live in a small town and we don't have a job centre so we would need to travel for the first appointment but she struggles to travel due to her pain is their an alternative for the first appointment if she was unable to attend? 

2) she's terrified of UC because of the horror stories people say about it saying it's worser than ESA even though you get more and that some people went months without a payment. Is UC not as bad as what people make out?

3) on the housing benefit letter we received to say our claim had been closed it says at the bottom about if we contact them within one month of the end date with evidence they need they would continue the claim ? This confused me since we would have to go to UC for rent help. Does this mean theirs a possibility to reopen our claim? 

poppy123456

1/ She would be expected to attend her first appointment. If she really can't travel she can put a message onto her journal to tell them what the issue is and they maybe able to offer a telephone appointment but this isn't guaranteed.

2/ You will always mostly read the bad stories. There really shouldn't be any problems because her first payment isn't for 1 month and 6 days after she claims which means it should be plently of time to include the LCWRA element. As advised, she will very likely be asked for a fit note as part of the claim procedure, until they include the LCWRA element. I claimed UC on behalf of my daughter last year and didn't have any issues at all.

3/ Once a HB claim has ended, you can't reclaim it because it no longer exists for new claims.

sunflower2

@poppy123456

Once they have a fit note will she not need to go for interviews then? the first interview would be the last? If they can't do a telephone one and she has to go down?

poppy123456

As advised, she will be entitled to the LCWRA element from the start of her claim but the fit note is just part of the procedure. She will not need another one but she needs to tell them she's claiming ESA in the Support Group.

For first appointments you are usually expected to attend in person. She can ask for a telephone appointment but it's not guaranteed. Either way, and appointment will be needed.

sunflower2

poppy123456 said:

As advised, she will be entitled to the LCWRA element from the start of her claim but the fit note is just part of the procedure. She will not need another one but she needs to tell them she's claiming ESA in the Support Group.

For first appointments you are usually expected to attend in person. She can ask for a telephone appointment but it's not guaranteed. Either way, and appointment will be needed.

But after the first appointment it will go to how she is right now in the support group? 

poppy123456

sunflower2 said:

poppy123456 said:

As advised, she will be entitled to the LCWRA element from the start of her claim but the fit note is just part of the procedure. She will not need another one but she needs to tell them she's claiming ESA in the Support Group.

For first appointments you are usually expected to attend in person. She can ask for a telephone appointment but it's not guaranteed. Either way, and appointment will be needed.

But after the first appointment it will go to how she is right now in the support group? 

Yes, once her Support Group award is sent accross to UC.

sunflower2

poppy123456 said:

sunflower2 said:

poppy123456 said:

As advised, she will be entitled to the LCWRA element from the start of her claim but the fit note is just part of the procedure. She will not need another one but she needs to tell them she's claiming ESA in the Support Group.

For first appointments you are usually expected to attend in person. She can ask for a telephone appointment but it's not guaranteed. Either way, and appointment will be needed.

But after the first appointment it will go to how she is right now in the support group? 

Yes, once her Support Group award is sent accross to UC.

How do they send it across , do they check with ESA after she tells them? 

poppy123456

Yes they should check with them.

sunflower2

poppy123456 said:

Yes they should check with them.

Ok that's good because I thought for a second that their was more than a fit note needed , that will be easier if they check with ESA. 

When she does apply how should we word that she is in the support group? 

And do we open a UC claim and then close the ESA claim? 

poppy123456

sunflower2 said:

poppy123456 said:

Yes they should check with them.

Ok that's good because I thought for a second that their was more than a fit note needed , that will be easier if they check with ESA. 

When she does apply how should we word that she is in the support group? 

And do we open a UC claim and then close the ESA claim? 

I did advise a few times that only 1 fit note would be needed.

When the claim is up and running just add a note onto her journal telling them she's in the Support Group for ESA.

You don't need to do anything about her ESA, as advised, it will continue to be paid for 2 weeks, after this any Income Related ESA will end automatically.

sunflower2

poppy123456 said:

sunflower2 said:

poppy123456 said:

Yes they should check with them.

Ok that's good because I thought for a second that their was more than a fit note needed , that will be easier if they check with ESA. 

When she does apply how should we word that she is in the support group? 

And do we open a UC claim and then close the ESA claim? 

I did advise a few times that only 1 fit note would be needed.

When the claim is up and running just add a note onto her journal telling them she's in the Support Group for ESA.

You don't need to do anything about her ESA, as advised, it will continue to be paid for 2 weeks, after this any Income Related ESA will end automatically.

I know I'm sorry I keep asking I just like to make certain I understand and don't make a mistake. 

So we don't need to phone ESA and tell them all we do is claim UC and tell them that she's currently in the support group? Have I got that correct? 

poppy123456

sunflower2 said:

So we don't need to phone ESA and tell them

No, as advised here.

poppy123456 said:

You don't need to do anything about her ESA, as advised, it will continue to be paid for 2 weeks, after this any Income Related ESA will end automatically.

sunflower2 said:

 all we do is claim UC and tell them that she's currently in the support group? Have I got that correct? 

Yes correct. If you're unsure please have another read of all my advice.