Welfare Benefits

Our Welfare Benefits advisers are Sylvie Leavey and Richard Stacey.

There were changes to our funding from Legal Services Commission in October 2007, which we feared could result in a reduction to the Law Centre’s income and thus place restrictions on our ability to offer a full service to clients, from claim to appeal.   We have adapted to the new funding arrangements, making it work for us so that clients have the same level of service, from claim to appeal.  We make use of the ‘McKenzie Friend’ provisions within the LSC Guidance regulations so that we can represent vulnerable clients at their appeal hearings.  Unlike many other agencies that no longer represent clients at appeal, we are committed to continue to do so.  We feel that if we no longer represent, we lose valuable skills and experience.  It is impossible to advise a client about what will happen to them during their hearing if you do not have recent first hand experience yourself.  We have a good relationship and reputation with the Tribunal Service.  We attend meetings of the Tribunal User Group to stay informed and we remain committed to maintain a good quality specialist advice service in welfare benefits.

 

The last year has seen a consistent and very high demand for advice.  The major area of dispute is still decisions relating to incapacity; Incapacity Benefit and Disability Living/Attendance Allowance claims and appeals are the bedrock of our work at the Law Centre.

 

We have gained considerable expertise in this area of law and we prepare our cases instinctively.   It is a well trodden path for most welfare benefits advisers.  The challenge for us is to be aware of the clients’ concerns and fears and establish a level of trust so that it is possible to get very personal information from the clients about intimate care needs, etc to ensure the best outcome for the client.

 

We do have a very high success rate in these types of cases.  As an organisation we quantify the financial gains we have made on behalf of clients, and these are considerable, often doubling the client’s income.  The figures do not convey the whole story.  We are privileged to share what increased income will mean for our clients: the elderly client with severe health problems, for whom an award of Attendance Allowance and increased Pension Credit enabled her to pay her neighbours who had provided care and support for many years, without payment.  She regained pride and independence.  Or the young family, with a disabled child, who were awarded Disability Living Allowance at appeal.  The arrears of benefit allowed the whole family to take their first ever holiday. Or the mother who struggled for nine months on Child Benefit as sole income due to JobCentreplus error. She won over £3,500 in back pay which cleared her debts.

 

In the past year we have also dealt with a wide variety of other welfare benefit enquiries.  Clients are still experiencing delays in processing new claims for earnings replacement benefits.  We have made good relationships with named supervisors at the processing centre in St Austell and are able to contact them direct to resolve the matter for these clients.  We do attend networking meetings at the local Job Centre Plus, where we have the opportunity to raise issues and get to know individuals who can help us in emergencies.

 

Of course tax credit overpayments are still around and it can be challenging to deal with the Tax Credits Office. No matter is resolved speedily; most cases take years to resolve.  Recovery of overpayments is not subject to appeal. We would argue that they should be. In the overwhelming majority of cases the Tax Credit Office seeks recover large sums of money from those least able to afford with scant regard to the sever financial hardship this shall cause. This is so even where the Tax Credit Office has caused the error.  We do involve the local MP’s to highlight serious cases of hardship caused by a ‘benefit’ which was meant to ease low income families back into work.

 

We have worked with the CPAG Tax Credit Network to campaign for reform to Tax Credits. We have argued that Working Tax Credit and Child Tax Credit should be paid as entirely separate awards. Child Tax Credit should be means tested on salaries above the Office of National Statistics average and not below. Child Tax Credit should be paid to the “parent with care” as Child Benefit is; thus obviating the problems of relationship breakdown etc. Overpayment’s would still occur, but could be recovered by the reduction of an ongoing award. This cannot occur where a joint claim ends and a single one starts, and vice versa.

 

We have been contacted twice by agents for the Recovery Section of Tax Credit Office asking us if we have heard from Tax Credit Office. When we stated “but you are the Tax Credit Office” the reply came “but our software doesn’t allow us to see the Tax Credit Office helpline contacts so we don’t know if we have contacted you, can you find out what is going on?”

 

We continue to campaign for better customer focused service.

 

We also continue to deal with more complex issues relating to benefits for people from abroad.  There is a misunderstanding about how easy it is to obtain benefits if you are an EU national.  Changes to the domestic regulations have made it impossible for these people to access benefits unless they are workers or work seekers, or dependants of a ‘qualified’ person.  There is a specialist unit located in Wick, Scotland who make decisions about the entitlement of people from abroad to benefits.  It does cause considerable delay and hardship to the claimants who have to wait for a decision.  In these cases, we do attach a submission to the claim to speed up the decision making process.  We do have considerable experience in this complex area of law and continue to take referrals from other agencies.

 

In this time of recession and draconian welfare reform, we remain committed to offer advice in all aspects of welfare benefit entitlement, from initial claim to challenges to the Social Security Commissioners