Being made homeless due to Job Centre

[flumps1976]

Are you on the work programme? If you are on the work prgramme then you won't be entitled to any hardship payments unless you are in a vunerable group, (pregnant person within the claim, a young child within the claim or a long term medical condition that would attract a disability premium) and youn won't be eligible for a crisis loan either.

You have requested an appeal which is the only other thing I could suggest you do (along with a reconsideration request which will be looked at automatically withi the appeal).

 

Did you notify the relevant departments of your change of address at the time or did you forget to inform one department? Unfortunately you are still required to notify each department of the change in circumstances.

 

Have you received previous sanctions for failing to attend the work programme as a sanction of this length is not a first sanction period iygwim?

[flumps1976]

To receive a 26 week sanction you will have already served previous sanctions though, this will be under the old sanction rules so not through the new escalaction which also wouldn't have happened so quickly. (old rules I believe were 2 weeks, 4 weeks, 13 weeks then 26 weeks so you would have been sanctioned previously to receive the 26 week sanction)

When you notify the BC contact centre of a change of address they can usually accept the information over the phone and will only ask for further information if you are homeless and using care of addresses, or have moved into a property with other people in the property (not a flat with a complex of block but actually into accommodation that is shared).

 

You do not have to be in receipt of JSA to qulaify for HB/CtB you need to contact your local authority and claim the full entitlement that you have for HB/CtB so your should not be made homeless, contact your LA quickly and also Shelter/Salvation Army for advice and help.

[flumps1976]

As sillygrls said you have to obtain and complete the paperwork yourself, staff at JCP/DWP/Councils are not allowed to complete forms for you anymore it is your responsibility to do that, all you need to do is take in your letter to show that you have been sanctioned and have been refused hardship payments as proof that you have no income.

 

Have you recalled any previous sanctions on your claim at all? If not then maybe the sanction has been incorrectly applied on your claim and you can reques that the period of sanctioned is looked ata again but I have to admit I have never encountered anyone go from an a record free of sanctions placed directly on to 26 weeks.

[flumps1976]

Don't just assume you won't get any help put in the application, and as for attending the JCP you will still be required to attend your local JCP and Ingenus too. You won't be excused just because you have moved they will still look at you travelling for your signing and work programme appointments, you will need to research how you will ge there if you decide not to bother with your HB application and move in with your Dad.

[flumps1976]

You can ask why the hardship was declined but as I already stated above hardship is only payable for a work programme sanction if you are in a vunerable group.

 

You will have to make enquiries about signing arrangements if you do have no alternative but move in with your Dad.

 

I'm sorry but going to be blunt now, you don't appear to be willing to help yourself at the moment and whether it is because you are finding it difficult to cope or blatantly can't be bothered I don't know an I apologise if I have assumed incorrectly but several people have now advised you to make an application for HB in your own right but you haven't even indicated that you will follow that advice but would rather admit defeat as opposed to putting up a slight fight for something you have.

Have you actually submitted the request for a reconsideration of the sanction as yet or just left it as an appeal? If not then do it tomorrow as at this moment the only person who can help you is you.

[flumps1976]

The difference with your siging when you attend the Work Programme is that the providers become your advisors and if tere any doubts regarding activerly seeking, availability or job searches then it is the providers that will raise the referral to DMA, the signing team are required to ask if you have been following the action plan agreed between you and the providers, you then sign your ES24JP declaration and this is a legally binding declaration where you state that yes you have been actively seeking, available to taje employment and that all changes in circumstances including any paid or unpaid work have been declared.

 

They will only be looking at the date in question and it makes no difference if you have regularily attended all other job searches and appointments.

[flumps1976]

any news?

[flumps1976]

Crisis loans will not help when you have received a sanction sorry.

[flumps1976]

Unfortunately there is no financial support or help available to you at the moment, you do not qualify for hardship as your sanction was decided under the old rules and you cannot receive a crisis loans if you have a sanction imposed.

Are you still attending you work programme appointments on a regular basis? If you are you can ask them on your next attendance if they will send a referral to the DMA team to reconsider the sanction period as you are now attending as and when required, however the provider can insist that you attend for a fixed period of time before they send the request. No guarantee the decision will be revised but you don't know until you make enquiries.

[flumps1976]

Your appeal could take anything up to 39 weeks to be heard by the tribunal.

At the end of the sanction you will be reassessed for JSA but will not receive back pay for the period of the sanction unless the tribunal change the decision and state that the sanction is to be revoked.

[flumps1976]

You have already been advised at the start of your thread to apply for housing benefit and council tax benefit seperately, have you done this?

If you haven't then I seriously advise you to do so tomorrow, you do not need to get into trouble with the council about HB/CtB overpayments .

There is no need to give up your flat if you make the application as advised

 

CAB may be able to help you but will only advise you to do what has already been advised.

[flumps1976]

as caspers ghost was sanctioned under the old sanction rules hardship is not payable for a work program sanction.

several people have advised to make a claim for housing benefit and council tax benefit and he did make the claim, posted above that he will be entitled to £50 per month and his dad will make up the difference.

I think Casper needs to go back to the council and request a reconsideration of the amount of help he is currently receiving towards the rent.

[flumps1976]

If your appeal is not favourable then you won't receive any payment of JSA at all for the period of sanction.

[flumps1976]

When your sanction ends as long as you have no further additional sanction then yes your payment will start again from the day after the sanction exhausts, but you won't be paid until the normal payment would be due following your signing at the JCP.

[flumps1976]

Casper you won't be entitled to a crisis loan during a period of sanction sorry.

[flumps1976]

Casper, I really don't want to upset you but it really won't matter what you write in the letter.

This is the only way I can try to explain and I apologise as no offence is meant here.

As you are subject to a sanction of your benefit criss loans will not help you as you did something to dtermine that a referral was made to dma resulting in the sanction. Unfortunately the social fund state that by receiving a sanction you have put yourself in a position of crisis and this means they cannot help you.

 

The people you see in the JCP are not processing officers in fact a lot of them have never processed a benefit claim or even have any benefit knowledge or experience so they can advise that you can try but we are not allowed to say you won't get it when you are in the office. I have never processed social fund but I have processed IS and JSA many years ago and this crisis loans unable to pay during a period of sanction was in place then and is still the same now.

[flumps1976]

You have done everything you can by requesting the reconsideration and appeal of the decision.

I am truly sorry but there is no financial assistance that I can think of to advise you to claim for.

[flumps1976]

You will not have automatic entitlement to health care costs and will need to complete form HC1 to claim on the grounds of low income as you actually need to be in receipt of the income realated/based benefits.

http://www.nhs.uk/NHSEngland/Healthcosts/Pages/Prescriptioncosts.aspx

[flumps1976]

Casper I've already stated that all you need to do is to complete form HC1 whih you can get from your JCP or health professionals and they will make an assessment on your circumstances.

As you are not entitled to receive JSA due to your sanction you need to ensure that you do complete this form as they are checking declaratios on presrciption for those stating that they are entitledto free prescriptions and there have been threads previously about being pursued for a penalty charge for false declarations.

http://www.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/DentalServices/Documents/penalty_guidance.pdf

In order to prevent this please get hold of HC1 and complete it to cover yourself.

[flumps1976]

you can still access free NHS care however you cannot automatically receive free prescription which includes dental and optical treatment, you will have to obtain and complete the HC1 asap or you could end up with up to a £100 penalty fine for claiming a free prescription earlier in the week.

They were completing a 100% check on all free prescriptions via benefits recently so get that form and complete it.

[flumps1976]

Get the HC1 asap and send it off asap.

On the back of the prescription it ask if you are in receipt of Income Based benefits and at the moment you aren't if you ticked that box then they could argue a false declaration was made but if you get HC1 sent off you may be ok.

[flumps1976]

Have you been evicted? If you are leaving voluntarily your home you could be classed as making yourself homeless and your local authority may not be obliged to help you with finding furture accommodation.

Did you ever approach the work prgram to see if they would contact DMA to advise that you are now compying with the program and see if the sanction could be revised in your favour.

 

Also, it is not the JCP that have sanctioned your claim at all, the sanction is made but your work program provider and the decision is made by DMA the JCP have no involvement in the process at all.

[flumps1976]

Casper you really do need to go to the CAB, tbh I know that San_d will think I too am being heartless but I have specfied things that you needed to do and sometime ago I advised that you speak to your work program adviser regarding the sanction and if there was anyway they could contact DMA (decision making team in the benefit centre) to request the sanction be looked at again as you are attending and complying as required.

I am not sure if there is anything else I can advise you to do but go to the CAB and go in to the council offices tomorrow and discuss your options especially as you are giving up the tenancy without an eviction notice.

[flumps1976]

Casper you won't be offered an appointment at JCP to discuss your sanction and reconsideration sorry, you have already gone down the reconsideration and appeal process and as you are at work program they are now your adviser so there won't be anything else JCP can do for you.

 

My earler posts have directed you to go back to your work program adviser to discuss if there is anything you can do to have the sanction looked at again, have you done this?

 

I really wish I could offer something more positive x

[flumps1976]

Laughing girl don't worry, I honestly think thaqt poor casper is struggling to work out what to do first.

Personally my advice is to get to shelter tomorrow to enquire what help is potentially available, then go to the work program before they shut down for Christmas to discuss the sanction but as long as they Casper is aware that the request won't be considered before Christmas even if the can request a reconsideration now that they are attending and complying fully.

With regards to the housing situation and possibly moving back in with Mum, they are suggesting that the brother and nephew should share a bedroom, thats probably due to the new rules for Housing Benefit isn't it where a same sex children under 16 are supposed to share a bedroom unless there is medical need for a seperate bedroom.

Also the local authority where I live advise people to stop put on their home until the eviction notice is served and d-day approaches before the can consider help with rehousing. Some local authorities are different I appreciate that but mst seem to be taking this line simply due to the length of te queues for accommodation requests.