Hi, and welcome to the CAG Benefit Forum. Here's a brief guide to the sorts of information posters here will be looking for to help give you prompt and accurate answers to any questions you may have. You may not know, or be unsure about, some of the things listed. That's OK, but the more information you can give the better. Not every question will be relevant to everyone, of course - this is just a general guide. Take care to post nothing that will allow you to be identified in the "real world".

Which benefit are you claiming?

For example, Jobseekers Allowance, Employment and Support Allowance, Child Tax Credits etc. If you're unsure, please let us know the basic reason why you're claiming: are you out of work, sick, looking after someone full time etc.

If you know whether your benefit is contributory or income based please tell us, as the rules for each type can be very different.

If you're not currently claiming a benefit but are enquiring about what might be available in your circumstances, many of the questions listed here will still be relevant. Please also see the questions in the section below.

If your query relates to non-receipt of a payment you expected, when did you expect the payment?

If you have contacted the DWP or other paying agency regarding this, what explanation (if any) did they give?

If your benefit has stopped because of an adverse outcome decision, have you requested a reconsideration or appeal?

Examples of adverse outcome decisions:

• You are claiming ESA because you are sick. The DWP has determined that you are fit for work.
  
• You are claiming JSA because you are looking for work. The Jobcentre has decided that you are not doing enough to find work.
  
• You make a claim for a Personal Independence Payment because you have a disability that means you need extra assistance in getting around. The DWP has rejected your claim for benefit because it says your needs do not qualify; or the DWP has made you an award at a lower rate but you believe you should qualify for a higher one.
  

Where do you live?

We don't need your street address or hometown or anything like that. At the very least, please tell us whether you are in England, Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland, as there are some small differences in the way benefits are processed. This is especially relevant if you are in Northern Ireland. If your question relates to Housing Benefit or Council Tax Benefit, it might be helpful if you felt able to say which council area you live in, but if you'd rather not, we fully understand.

If you currently live outside the UK and are enquiring about benefits available to non-residents or to returning expats, please let us know.

If you are not a UK citizen, please tell us your status.

For example, are you a citizen of another EU country? Do you have Indefinite Leave to Remain? Or some other immigration status?

Do you have a partner?

This means someone (of the same or opposite sex) to whom you are married, or with whom you live as if you were married. If you do have a partner, does he or she work or have any other source of income?

If you are worried about a fraud or compliance matter, have you been asked to attend an Interview Under Caution (IUC)?

If this is the case you will have been informed in writing, and the letter should clearly state that it relates to an IUC.

Finally, please tell us any steps you've already taken to resolve the problem: phone calls, letters you've written and so on. This will help make sure we don't advise you to do things you've already done.

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If you are enquiring about what benefits may be available, here are some additional questions:

How old are you?

Do you currently work? If so, how many hours per week?

Have you worked and paid National Insurance Contributions (sometimes called "stamp") in the last few years?

Do you own the place you live? If you rent, do you rent from the council, a housing association, or a private landlord? Is your landlord a close relative?

Are you fit for work and looking for work?

Are you unable to work because of illness or disability?

Do you have savings over £6000? Over £16,000?

Do you have any disabilities?

Do you have any children? If so, how old are they? Are you a lone parent?

Do you care for anyone for more than 35 hours per week? Does anyone care for you for more than 35 hours per week?

Again, if you're unable or unwilling to answer all of these questions, that's fine. Just tell us as much as you can.

Dear all,

If anyone has any suggestions for changes or additions to this post, please feel free to post them here. I'll leave the thread open for posts for a few days, then I'll remove any discussion posts and lock it down to keep things neat.

The idea here is to cover the information that is, if you like, "most omitted" from OPs.

Thanks for this.

One question I ask when people post "what am I entitled to?" is "do you have savings over £6k / £16k"?

You could add a link to the benefits advisor..

There could be questions about the severely mentally impaired payment . (Not all Local authorities advertise this form). Or the enhanced disabled payment.

Then you have the winter warm payments from the utility suppliers, currently £145 per year if in receipt of certain benefits. To name but a few. Finally do you rent off of a close relative...

Thanks guys! I've added questions about savings and being closely related to the landlord.

I haven't covered severe mental impairment or the winter warm payments. I'm trying to keep the post as a basic guide to the "follow up" questions that people most often have to ask when answering a new OP. Things like those would probably fit better in a "Benefits FAQ" type thread. Every so often I think about trying to write one of those, but so far I haven't managed to come up with anything that isn't approaching "War and Peace" length.