Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit Circular
Department for Work and Pensions
The Adelphi, 1 - 11 John Adam Street, London WC2N 6HT
HB/CTB A22/2005
ADJUDICATION AND OPERATIONS CIRCULAR
ACTION / For information
SUBJECT / Important new information to HCTB1(PCA)
Guidance Manual
The information in this circular does affect the content of the HB/CTB Guidance Manual. Please annotate this circular number against paragraph Annex A2A.31 to A2A.34,
D1P1.350 to P1.351, D1 Annex E.
Queries
If you
· want extra copies of this circular/copies of previous circulars, they can be found on the website at www.dwp.gov.uk/hbctb
· have any queries about the
- technical content of this circular, contact Val Clark
Email:
- distribution of this circular, contact Corporate Document Services Ltd Orderline
Tel: 0113 399 4040
Fax: 0113 399 4205
Email:
Crown Copyright 2005
Recipients may freely reproduce this circular.
HB/CTB Circular A22/2005
Contents
para
Identifying appointee cases when HCTB1(PCA) issued 1
Outbound calling exercise 2
New claims from 5 December 2005 4
HCTB1(PCA) received but no ETD 5
Date of contact on HCTB1(PCA) to be used as date of claim 7
Deskaid: Information on ETDs/RATs to help when
assessing from HCTB1(PCA) Appendix A
Adjudication and Operations circular
December 2005
HB/CTB Circular A22/2005
Identifying appointee cases when HCTB1(PCA) issued
1 Claimants who have an appointee or Power of Attorney for Pension Credit will have undergone a rigorous process to enable this. Local Authorities (LAs) can use the same appointee details for the claimant when processing HB/CTB.
Outbound calling exercise
2 During the outbound calling exercise up to March 2006, you will be sent a screen print showing appointee details for claimants who have an
· appointee
· Power of Attorney
3 The screen print is annotated with the name of the claimant and should be linked with the Electronic Transfer of Data (ETD) to await the claim form. It is important that this information is retained as it is not included on the
· HCTB1(PCA)
· ETD
New claims from 5 December 2005
4 From 5 December 2005 when HCTB1(PCA) forms are issued at the same time as a new Pension Credit application, there will be a flyer attached to the HCTB1(PCA) with details of the person to whom the correspondence was sent. If these details are different to the claimant details on the HCTB1(PCA), it is likely that there is an appointee or Power of Attorney, you should
· check the details by accessing the Remote Access Terminals (RATs) RP30 and RP31. Appointee details are displayed here for claimants who are in receipt of
- Retirement Pension
- Incapacity Benefit
· contact your pension centre if the details are not held here
HCTB1(PCA) received but no ETD
5 From 5 December 2005 there may be an increase in the number of HCTB1(PCA) forms that are received before the ETD. This may be due to the claimant not returning their Pension Credit form as quickly as their HCTB1(PCA) because of it’s larger size. In order to make sure the claimant is not asked for duplicate information, our advice is to hold the case for 14 days to await the ETD. If the ETD is not received within that time contact The Pension Service.
6 The Performance Indicators (PIs) will be closely monitored to assess any impact this procedure may have on them.
Date of contact on HCTB1(PCA) to be used as date of claim
7 HB/CTB Circular A21/2005 provides the details of the new regulations that came into force on 10 November 2005 regarding the date of claim. On form HCTB1(PCA) the date the form was requested and the date the form was issued should be the same date during the outbound calling exercise. The date is populated automatically on new claims taken via the Pension Credit application process from 5 December 2005.
8 Use this date as the initial date of contact and treat it as the date of claim. If in exceptional circumstances neither of these dates are completed, contact your pension centre through existing channels.
Adjudication and Operations circular
December 2005
HB/CTB Circular A22/2005
Appendix A
Deskaid: Information on ETDs/RATs to help when assessing from HCTB1(PCA)
Non-dependant codes
Non-dependant codes can be viewed next to the non-dependant’s name. The codes are
01 / Aged 18 or over in remunerative work, gross income £101.00 - £149.99
02 / Aged 18 or over, gross income under £101.00
03 / Getting Pension Credit/Income Support (IS)/ income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA)(IB) (not boarder) – aged
· under 25
· 25 or over
04 / Youth Training (YT), full-time student, customers/partners who are blind or getting Attendance Allowance (AA)/Disability Living Allowance (DLA) care component
05 / Boarder or in receipt of Pension Credit
06 / Age 18 or over in remunerative work, gross income under £150, or not working
07 / Age 18 or over in remunerative work, gross income £150 - £193.99
08 / Age 18 or over in remunerative work, gross income £194 - £257.99
09 / Age 18 or over in remunerative work, gross income £258 - £321.99
10 / Age 18 or over in remunerative work, gross income over £322
Note: If the claimant or partner is in receipt of AA/DLA, code 04 will override the other non-dependant codes. This information can be used in conjunction with non-dependant supplementary form to identify whether code 04 relates to the claimant, partner or
non–dependant. If the non-dependant is not on Youth Training Scheme (YTS) or a full time student, the claimant or partner will be blind or getting AA/DLA care component.
Change of circumstances delay code
When an existing claim is subsequently reviewed, the reason for delay code will display as P, C or N.
P = Departmental
C = Claimant
N = No delay
Severe Disablement Premium (SDP)
If Pension Credit has awarded an SDP then this can be viewed on RATs. Access JA526 customer details screen. If SDP has been awarded, a flag will be displayed on this screen.
Accessing useful information
Pension Credit processing staff will sometimes put useful information in Notepad. LA staff can view this in dialogue IS510.
Adjudication and Operations circular
December 2005