hb adjudication: BenefitS DECISION MAKING

A Workshop For Benefits Advisors & Benefits Assessment Staff 

ONLINE WORKSHOP

Tuesday, 20th September, 2022.

Full-Day Workshop (9:30 - 4:30) 

Workshop Fee:   £240 + VAT.    4th Place Free .   

HB ADJUDICATION:  BENEFITS DECISION MAKING:

Revision, Supersession & Effective Dates 

The focus of the day is the HB adjudication framework, but we cover decision making on the DWP side as well, especially in Universal Credit. 

Correct decision making is an important part of benefits administration. Apart from calculating the amount of the claimant’s benefit correctly it is important to make sure that it is awarded from the correct date. This includes not just the start of a new award, but changes to existing entitlement. It is an area in which Councils and DWP frequently make mistakes, with implications ranging from the relatively trivial (implementing a superseding decision from the following week instead of the current week) to the more serious: making a superseding decision from the current week instead of revising a decision made some time ago. And any error can have subsidy implications when extrapolated across a large caseload.  

It is also important to recognise the limitations of the revision mechanism: The Council or DWP cannot arbitrarily change their mind about something and “cancel” or “close” benefit awards HB – proper grounds for revision or supersession must be established.  In this Workshop we will look at all the available grounds for revision and identify those which carry a time limit and those which do not. Similarly, we will look at grounds for making a superseding decision and identify those situations where the claimant is required to report an event within a time limit and those where s/he is not. Where a time limit does apply, when can it be extended? What are the consequences if the time limit is not extended?  

Where an HB superseding decision is required, it must be implemented from the correct date. Getting the date wrong is an error frequently picked up on by external auditors.  Common errors include Pension Credit upratings; multiple events falling in the same benefit week; supersession instead of out-of-time revision; and changes affecting other state benefits. The default action of applying all changes and adjustments from the following Monday is often the wrong one.  

On the DWP side, common issues include: does the DWP make a new UC decision every month, and does this refresh the claimant’s right to appeal?  When must additional elements be backdated in a UC award, and when must the claimant show good reasons for delay?  What happens to a carer’s benefit when the person they are caring for successfully appeals against the PIP ending? Matters covered during the day include the following:  

• The basics: Revision v Supersession – what is the difference between the two? Why are there two different mechanisms anyway? 

• Revising and superseding multiple decisions over a period of time: how many decisions have you made?  Is the annual uprating a decision? 

• Can a decision be revised by the Council after the case has been to a Tribunal? 

• What if the Council refuses to revise or supersede: Is that a decision in itself and can it be appealed? 

• Getting the date right when making a superseding decision. 

Presented by Peter Barker, this Workshop will clarify all the issues involved in a detailed and fact-filled day.     

Topics covered:

The Adjudication framework

· Legal sources

    o HB: 2000 Act, 2001 D&A Regulations

    o DWP benefits: 1998 Act, 1999 & 2013 Regulations

· Decisions of the Tribunal

· Exercise: Identify the relevant decision(s)

Revising A Decision

· Establishing grounds for revision

    O “Any time” revision on limited grounds

    O “Any grounds” revision within limited time

· When the time limit can be extended

Superseding Decisions  

·   Available grounds

·  Time limits

Effective dates of superseding decisions

· Important examples including:

    o Annual uprating

    o More than one change in a week

    o Pension Credit cases

    o Changes to other benefits

    o Too late to revise

Group Exercises:

•      Real life case studies involving some complex adjudication problems involving both HB and UC 

Contact us for In-House 'Zoom' booking information  for this topic.