For many people the thought of going to appeal is quite scary, and it is a quite emotional experience. The emotional side of things really kicks in when you are in the process of going to appeal. Firstly you are aware and afraid that by appealing you could actually lose benefit. However it is my contention that going to appeal should always be considered. Look at it this way. Imagine you are going to court and you are preparing your defence when you are first filling out your ESA or PIP/DLA claim form. Present your claim as a case would be presented in court. Gather the evidence about your illness, the medical evidence and the social evidence. By social evidence I mean things like statements from people who know you, letters about appointments etc. By medical evidence I mean a photocopied prescription of your medication, back up from social workers or occupational therapists that treat you. If you think it will help put it in there. When filling out your form, make sure you are clear in what you write, and do not assume the reader of your form knows anything about you, even from previous claims. This is not always the case. Send off your form and wait for their decision.
If their decision in your view is wrong then you can challenge it. This now has to be done through mandatory reconsideration, before appeal can take place. During this mandatory re consideration you may get a phone call from the assessor if he or she feels that something in your claim is not clear. Explain what they need to know. Before I would have recommended going straight to appeal as they must look at your claim again before appeal anyhow. Some are saying that the department has its own preference on this and that they try to do the mandatory re assessment in around ten days. Don't hold your breath, theres no time limit and it will take as long as it takes.If you find yourself having to submit extra evidence about your illness this will hold things up. Once the decision about your mandatory re consideration comes back then you must decide if you are satisfied or if you would like to appeal their decision.
You will receive letters about your appeal, and a bundle of stuff that they keep about you after you have notified them that you want to appeal their decision. As for the appeal process its self, its not as intimidating as you may think. I know of many people who once they decide to appeal and have received their 'bundle' simply put the bundle into the drawer and wait on their appeal date. But like going to court there are some preparations you need to make. Dress appropriately and be ready to tell about your illness. I wouldn't recommend going for a paper hearing, the success rate is not great, its much more of a successful outcome if you go along there and state your case. Bring someone with you if you are uncertain of going alone, or need help when out and about.
This video shows the process perfectly, I recommend watching it to see what actually happens.
ESA appeals process.
(video)
Monday, 10 March 2014
Saturday, 8 March 2014
Legal aid reforms and how they will affect the average citizen in N Ireland.
A few days ago a friend of mine drew my attention to a comment on facebook from a prominent enough journalist who writes on N Ireland related issues. Henry McDonald, who has written extensively about issues here made this comment on his facebook page. "I see the lawyers are on strike in Britain - mark that story under who gives a flying F***!"
It may not be all that interesting a story but really we should all give a flying f***!
The changes to the legal aid budget brought in by David Ford amount to lesser justice for those here dependent upon legal aid. Apparently the lawyers here are furious. According to the blog 'A Barristers wife! they are very much misunderstood
Whether that is the case or not, the legal aid budget in N Ireland is one of the highest in the world, and there is a very strong case that it needs to be cut, but how will this affect the ordinary person on the street not involved in a huge media or terrorism case?
For the unemployed or low paid person living in N Ireland, who is accused of any infraction of the law the first thing they will be asked when they go to visit a solicitor is how will they pay? And if they are dependent upon legal aid they will have to abide by the new rules.
If an individual is dependent upon legal aid, the solicitor will fill a form out on your behalf and send it to the legal aid assessment office in Derry. This is a form that pries into all of your financial affairs, and is extremely intrusive in my view. You will need to provide to the solicitor a print out of your bank statement, and if your partner has a bank account he or she will also have to provide your solicitor with a bank statement for the assessment office in Derry to see whether or not you are able to make a contribution toward your legal aid costs.
Very few people will not make some contribution toward their cost and these can be substantial depending on what it is you need to defend yourself against, and how long your case will run.
For those on benefits, for example on Job seekers, this benefit begins at around £71 per week, but you may have in your account or that of your spouse/partner some savings, or if you are disabled a premium, or if you are a pensioner you may have a pensioners' premium, and you will be expected to make a contribution from this towards the cost of your case.
If in the view of the assessment office you are unlikely to win your case this could have a bearing on whether or not they will pay for your legal aid. They could turn it down, saying you have no chance of success and therefore could not justify your costs to the public purse. You could always represent yourself in court, theres basically nothing stopping any of us and many have done so, but one then must ask is this a lesser form of justice for those without funds. I put it to you that it is..
For the unemployed or low paid person living in N Ireland, who is accused of any infraction of the law the first thing they will be asked when they go to visit a solicitor is how will they pay? And if they are dependent upon legal aid they will have to abide by the new rules.
If an individual is dependent upon legal aid, the solicitor will fill a form out on your behalf and send it to the legal aid assessment office in Derry. This is a form that pries into all of your financial affairs, and is extremely intrusive in my view. You will need to provide to the solicitor a print out of your bank statement, and if your partner has a bank account he or she will also have to provide your solicitor with a bank statement for the assessment office in Derry to see whether or not you are able to make a contribution toward your legal aid costs.
Very few people will not make some contribution toward their cost and these can be substantial depending on what it is you need to defend yourself against, and how long your case will run.
For those on benefits, for example on Job seekers, this benefit begins at around £71 per week, but you may have in your account or that of your spouse/partner some savings, or if you are disabled a premium, or if you are a pensioner you may have a pensioners' premium, and you will be expected to make a contribution from this towards the cost of your case.
If in the view of the assessment office you are unlikely to win your case this could have a bearing on whether or not they will pay for your legal aid. They could turn it down, saying you have no chance of success and therefore could not justify your costs to the public purse. You could always represent yourself in court, theres basically nothing stopping any of us and many have done so, but one then must ask is this a lesser form of justice for those without funds. I put it to you that it is..
ESA mandatory considerations and appeals.
Previously if you were asking for an appeal of your ESA claim as you disagreed with their decision you had the option of asking the department to look at it again, or you could go straight to appeal.
The appeals process was relatively simple although most people were frightened of it. If you had been confident of your situation, and believe the decision was wrong then my advice would have been to go straight to appeal. This was of course not without risk. The decision could have gone against you at appeal, but the success rate of ESA appeals was very encouraging. If your medical evidence was strong and you felt that the risk is worth taking then it was better to go for it. But things have changed again relatively recently, perhaps because the system was backlogged and due to the success of the appeals process. Now instead of going for an appeal and lodging your appeal with the ESA office in Belfast new changes will mean that you will first have to go for a mandatory reconsideration, and if you are unhappy with that decision you will need to appeal directly to the courts and tribunal service here. That is quite a frightening thing for people to consider doing.
Now before you can go to the appeals process you must ask for a mandatory revision of your claim. If you have been found fit for work no ESA benefit will be paid during this phase, you will be sent back to job seekers and paid at a lower rate. If however you have been placed in the WRAG group and want to be placed in the support group then you will be paid the WRAG group rate of ESA.
There is no time limit for mandatory considerations, basically this will depend upon how busy the office dealing with your claim is. Once you have been notified of the decision about your ESA claim if you want a mandatory reconsideration there will be details of how to go about this in the letter you receive. The letter will tell you who to contact and how. If you are still unsatisfied with the result of the mandatory reconsideration and wish to challenge it you must do so within one month of the receipt of the letter, enclosing in it your mandatory reconsideration notice and complete a SSCS1 (pdf) form, and lodge your appeal directly to Her Majesty's courts and Tribunals service rather than with the ESA office in Belfast. More can be found here
The appeals process was relatively simple although most people were frightened of it. If you had been confident of your situation, and believe the decision was wrong then my advice would have been to go straight to appeal. This was of course not without risk. The decision could have gone against you at appeal, but the success rate of ESA appeals was very encouraging. If your medical evidence was strong and you felt that the risk is worth taking then it was better to go for it. But things have changed again relatively recently, perhaps because the system was backlogged and due to the success of the appeals process. Now instead of going for an appeal and lodging your appeal with the ESA office in Belfast new changes will mean that you will first have to go for a mandatory reconsideration, and if you are unhappy with that decision you will need to appeal directly to the courts and tribunal service here. That is quite a frightening thing for people to consider doing.
Now before you can go to the appeals process you must ask for a mandatory revision of your claim. If you have been found fit for work no ESA benefit will be paid during this phase, you will be sent back to job seekers and paid at a lower rate. If however you have been placed in the WRAG group and want to be placed in the support group then you will be paid the WRAG group rate of ESA.
There is no time limit for mandatory considerations, basically this will depend upon how busy the office dealing with your claim is. Once you have been notified of the decision about your ESA claim if you want a mandatory reconsideration there will be details of how to go about this in the letter you receive. The letter will tell you who to contact and how. If you are still unsatisfied with the result of the mandatory reconsideration and wish to challenge it you must do so within one month of the receipt of the letter, enclosing in it your mandatory reconsideration notice and complete a SSCS1 (pdf) form, and lodge your appeal directly to Her Majesty's courts and Tribunals service rather than with the ESA office in Belfast. More can be found here
The differences between a WRAG group and a support group in ESA.
The employment and support allowance (ESA) is made up of two groups, the WRAG group and the Support group, with most people going in to the WRAG group. Its also a benefit that is based on physical health grounds and mental health grounds depending upon which category you fall into. WRAG stands for work related activity group, and in this group you are assessed as being able for some kind of work. There are also two different types of ESA benefit, that means your claim for ESA can be based on contributions that you have if you have been in employment, or your ESA claim could be reliant upon no contributions at all. This makes a difference as after one year your contributions may run out and your benefit stopped without warning in a lot of cases. If this happens we will deal with that situation in another post.
In most cases you may have been given time off work from your doctor and need to make a claim in order to live while you are off work sick. ESA (contribution based) is intended for this purpose as it can be looked at again and again by the department. At its most basic- it is a benefit intended for short term illness and not really for long term illness, this is the support groups function, but for now we can focus on the work related activity group and what you can expect if you are placed in that group. Please bear in mind that your claim for ESA is not automatic, you could be turned down and sent back to JSA depending upon what you say is wrong with you and the medical evidence you can provide. Everything about these new changes will be based on evidence and you will be expected to provide evidence, your word won't be taken for anything. Evidence is something to back up your claim and we will deal with what is evidence and what is not in a further post upon this subject.
Returning to the WRAG group and how it differs from the support group in ESA. In the WRAG group, you will be expected to go for work focused interviews. You will have to attend a work focused interview around eight weeks after you have made your claim for ESA. After your initial interview you will then be expected to take these interviews more or less once a month but if you don't and do not have a valid reason your ESA will be sanctioned, and these sanctions are harsh in many cases leaving you with only around ten pence, as 100% of your single person allowance can be taken. When this happens you can apply for a hard ship payment, but you will have to pay these hardship payments back.
If you are claiming for housing or other dependants this element will not be sanctioned but make no mistake, sanctions are harsh on ESA like any other benefit, so it is in your interest to attend these interviews unless you have a valid excuse, like a hospital appointment and you will be expected to provide evidence of this.
If you are placed in a work related activity group then you must have taken part in the work capability assessment test, discussed elsewhere in this blog. These are simple tests carried out by a health professional at the capita assessment centre suitable for you, and last around fifteen minutes based on automated questions, a possible physical examination and the medical evidence provided in our original ESA claim
On the other hand being placed in a support group means that you will not have to attend these work focused interviews, as you will be judged to be too unfit to be able to work. It is much more difficult to be place in this group, and only around 9 percent of people are judged to be in this group after their first assessment where as almost thirty percent of people will be assessed to be in the WRAG group with the remainder sent back to the JSA benefit. In the support group you will receive a bit more money, around five pound per week, at £108 pound, whereas in the WRAG group it is around a fiver less.
What group you are placed in will also have an effect upon DLA if you are in receipt of it. For example if you are on full DLA benefit but judged capable of some work at the assessment phase of ESA this could mean that your benefit for DLA could be looked at again. This should be expected rather than not given any thought to. DLA for most claimants will be changing to PIP (personal independence payments) and that too will be looked at in a further post over the coming weeks.
In most cases you may have been given time off work from your doctor and need to make a claim in order to live while you are off work sick. ESA (contribution based) is intended for this purpose as it can be looked at again and again by the department. At its most basic- it is a benefit intended for short term illness and not really for long term illness, this is the support groups function, but for now we can focus on the work related activity group and what you can expect if you are placed in that group. Please bear in mind that your claim for ESA is not automatic, you could be turned down and sent back to JSA depending upon what you say is wrong with you and the medical evidence you can provide. Everything about these new changes will be based on evidence and you will be expected to provide evidence, your word won't be taken for anything. Evidence is something to back up your claim and we will deal with what is evidence and what is not in a further post upon this subject.
Returning to the WRAG group and how it differs from the support group in ESA. In the WRAG group, you will be expected to go for work focused interviews. You will have to attend a work focused interview around eight weeks after you have made your claim for ESA. After your initial interview you will then be expected to take these interviews more or less once a month but if you don't and do not have a valid reason your ESA will be sanctioned, and these sanctions are harsh in many cases leaving you with only around ten pence, as 100% of your single person allowance can be taken. When this happens you can apply for a hard ship payment, but you will have to pay these hardship payments back.
If you are claiming for housing or other dependants this element will not be sanctioned but make no mistake, sanctions are harsh on ESA like any other benefit, so it is in your interest to attend these interviews unless you have a valid excuse, like a hospital appointment and you will be expected to provide evidence of this.
If you are placed in a work related activity group then you must have taken part in the work capability assessment test, discussed elsewhere in this blog. These are simple tests carried out by a health professional at the capita assessment centre suitable for you, and last around fifteen minutes based on automated questions, a possible physical examination and the medical evidence provided in our original ESA claim
On the other hand being placed in a support group means that you will not have to attend these work focused interviews, as you will be judged to be too unfit to be able to work. It is much more difficult to be place in this group, and only around 9 percent of people are judged to be in this group after their first assessment where as almost thirty percent of people will be assessed to be in the WRAG group with the remainder sent back to the JSA benefit. In the support group you will receive a bit more money, around five pound per week, at £108 pound, whereas in the WRAG group it is around a fiver less.
What group you are placed in will also have an effect upon DLA if you are in receipt of it. For example if you are on full DLA benefit but judged capable of some work at the assessment phase of ESA this could mean that your benefit for DLA could be looked at again. This should be expected rather than not given any thought to. DLA for most claimants will be changing to PIP (personal independence payments) and that too will be looked at in a further post over the coming weeks.
ESA and the work capability assessment in N Ireland.
Most people who are on benefit in N Ireland will be fully aware of all the changes and how they have been affected by them, but the other day at the doctors' office, I met an older man that I knew. He was 64 and had had his ESA cut by thirty pounds per week. This was due to the work capability assessment- part of the benefit that is administered by capita. Technically the only way to pass the work capability assessment part of the ESA is to be completely bed ridden in my view. However I did ask him why at 64 he was even on ESA instead of pension credit, and that pension credit would excuse him from a lot of these changes that are taking place. His answer was he didn't know and had not been given the right advice. Good advice is the key to understanding these changes and how to best go about minimising their effects upon you.
The best piece of advice any one can give you is to appeal any decision that has not been made in your favour and that doing this is much easier than you think.
For example if you are on ESA due to sickness, and find yourself in a position where you cannot work, or if you are being migrated from income capacity benefit on to ESA then you will find that you are going to be assessed. After the letters advising you of this come through the door, there will be phone calls to ascertain if you can get up stairs by your self or if you need assistance. If you need assistance then you will be asked to travel to Ballymena to the centre there which is on ground level and suitable for wheel chair users. Theres no point in saying you cannot get there, you will have to get there no matter what unless your doctor says that you cannot travel and excuses you. You will find most doctors won't do this unless you are bed ridden.
Once you get there you will be asked how you got there. Did you travel by bus, car or taxi. This is under the guise of paying back any monies you may have spent on travel to the centre, but is also used in the assessment of you. Basically if you can travel by bus or public transport from Belfast to Ballymena then they will say there isn't much wrong with you...depending upon what it is your illness is... For example if you say you are depressed and cannot leave the house but travel to t he assessment centre then it is most likely your benefit will be stopped. However, illness like that are more complicated than simply travelling to an assessment centre and your case should be put and argued.
Once you're called you will be asked a series of automated questions that are fired at you thick and fast, and are read off a computer screen by the health professional assessing you. Then you will be asked to perform some basic tests, such as can you pick up this pound coin from the floor or push the buttons on a telephone. Basically most will fail this test and either be put back on to JSA or end up in a WRAG group rather than a support group depending upon the seriousness of your condition.
When the decision comes out and if you feel that it does not accurately reflect your situation then you may appeal the decision. Changes taking place now will mean that there will have to be a mandatory review which can in theory take up to one year before the decision they made can be looked at again.
Once you get to this stage you can appeal. How to go about this process will be looked at in another post later today.
The best piece of advice any one can give you is to appeal any decision that has not been made in your favour and that doing this is much easier than you think.
For example if you are on ESA due to sickness, and find yourself in a position where you cannot work, or if you are being migrated from income capacity benefit on to ESA then you will find that you are going to be assessed. After the letters advising you of this come through the door, there will be phone calls to ascertain if you can get up stairs by your self or if you need assistance. If you need assistance then you will be asked to travel to Ballymena to the centre there which is on ground level and suitable for wheel chair users. Theres no point in saying you cannot get there, you will have to get there no matter what unless your doctor says that you cannot travel and excuses you. You will find most doctors won't do this unless you are bed ridden.
Once you get there you will be asked how you got there. Did you travel by bus, car or taxi. This is under the guise of paying back any monies you may have spent on travel to the centre, but is also used in the assessment of you. Basically if you can travel by bus or public transport from Belfast to Ballymena then they will say there isn't much wrong with you...depending upon what it is your illness is... For example if you say you are depressed and cannot leave the house but travel to t he assessment centre then it is most likely your benefit will be stopped. However, illness like that are more complicated than simply travelling to an assessment centre and your case should be put and argued.
Once you're called you will be asked a series of automated questions that are fired at you thick and fast, and are read off a computer screen by the health professional assessing you. Then you will be asked to perform some basic tests, such as can you pick up this pound coin from the floor or push the buttons on a telephone. Basically most will fail this test and either be put back on to JSA or end up in a WRAG group rather than a support group depending upon the seriousness of your condition.
When the decision comes out and if you feel that it does not accurately reflect your situation then you may appeal the decision. Changes taking place now will mean that there will have to be a mandatory review which can in theory take up to one year before the decision they made can be looked at again.
Once you get to this stage you can appeal. How to go about this process will be looked at in another post later today.
Thursday, 6 March 2014
Punititive austerity is coming to N Ireland.
I read that a labour MP for Oldham writes that benefit sanctions are brutalising the poor. He has good grounds for this conviction, and they can be seen here . What sanctions and austerity have we here in northern Ireland, as yet nothing. Although we have been affected badly by the cost of living crisis and 'efficency savings' in our front line services. The commentator Newton Emmerson has said previously that there were no cuts in N Ireland, and technically he is right. Instead of cuts to services we have had efficiency savings, and some ring fenced budgets still have to make these savings, one particular budget that I know of that is ring fenced still has to make eighty million in efficiency savings. But back to benefit sanctions..
The first I saw of these benefit sanctions first hand was in the channel four programme benefits street, where the young couple were living off fifty pounds a week. The sanctions haven't reached us, and Sinn Fein is grand standing for electoral purposes, saying they are protecting the poor and the needy. The DUP on the right of the political spectrum, say they have got some very good guarantees that much of the harsher measures we see across the water will not affect N Ireland, and in one television programme, the former finance minister Sammy Wilson, let slip that around sixty million has been set aside to help people fight capita when benefits have not been awarded. Capita operate here rather than ATOS who operate mainly in Great Britian, but both serve the same purpose.
We haven't yet seen here the blossoming of food banks the way we have seen them mushroom in Britain and to a lesser extent in the Irish republic, where tomorrows papers report anti austerity protests turned violent, and that the recession there is to blame for up to 560 suicides.
Meacher outlines here the punitive measures of sanctions and how they affect people. I believe we will see this in N Ireland, after March when the welfare reform bill must be signed off on here, or hefty fines paid. Even if this bill is not signed off on in March, it will have to be signed off on soon, and the block grant we are given cannot buffer the poor and jobless in n Ireland from all of these harsh measures.
As N Ireland is so heavily dependent upon the tax payer the austerity measures will hit here hardest. With the black hole in the governments figures worse than thought, reported today by the FT, Osborne has promised some tough decisions on budget day in two weeks.
We are heading for this here in N Ireland and bread and butter issues are as usual being ignored by our politicians, instead they fight over the past and flegs even football scarves, they are truly fiddling while we head towards financial disaster for many families.
The first I saw of these benefit sanctions first hand was in the channel four programme benefits street, where the young couple were living off fifty pounds a week. The sanctions haven't reached us, and Sinn Fein is grand standing for electoral purposes, saying they are protecting the poor and the needy. The DUP on the right of the political spectrum, say they have got some very good guarantees that much of the harsher measures we see across the water will not affect N Ireland, and in one television programme, the former finance minister Sammy Wilson, let slip that around sixty million has been set aside to help people fight capita when benefits have not been awarded. Capita operate here rather than ATOS who operate mainly in Great Britian, but both serve the same purpose.
We haven't yet seen here the blossoming of food banks the way we have seen them mushroom in Britain and to a lesser extent in the Irish republic, where tomorrows papers report anti austerity protests turned violent, and that the recession there is to blame for up to 560 suicides.
As N Ireland is so heavily dependent upon the tax payer the austerity measures will hit here hardest. With the black hole in the governments figures worse than thought, reported today by the FT, Osborne has promised some tough decisions on budget day in two weeks.
We are heading for this here in N Ireland and bread and butter issues are as usual being ignored by our politicians, instead they fight over the past and flegs even football scarves, they are truly fiddling while we head towards financial disaster for many families.
Welfare changes in N Ireland will be over whelming.
The bedroom tax did not materialise here as yet, it is to be delayed for four years, with the exception of new claimaints. They will have to pay the spare room subsidy immediately. However Stormont still has not signed off on the welfare 'reform' bill yet, and when it does the amount of changes that will take place will be over whelming.
Firstly and foremost will be the introduction of Universal credit. Universal credit is one claim per house hold, and it will have elements to it for children, spouses/partners etc. Housing benefit will be done away with and folded into this new credit, which will be done on line rather than face to face in an interview. If you do not have access to a computer then you will be accommodated with an interview, but this is really designed for you to access on line.
You will first make the claim for benefit on line, and set up your claim, and this will be available to the department, and to the tax office, and government agencies, so that it can be scrutinised in order to avoid fraud. You won't even have to tell the department about changes, they will be able to see from your claim and monitor and change things accordingly.
The benefit cap will also apply here, this will take into account all monies you have coming in. Your JSA claim, or what ever benefit it is you are claiming will be added to your housing benefit and added together and given to you each month. This means that when you first apply there will be a months delay before you receive any money, you can apply for a hardship fund, but you will have to pay this back. If you give false information in your claim or mistaken information you will be sanctioned, and your benefit can be stopped altogether depending on how serious your infraction was.
On job seekers, you will have to prove that you are looking for work, and attend any interviews at the jobs and benefit office because if you don't you can be sanctioned and lose money. This applies even if you are late for an interview at the jobs and benefits office. Its the sanctions that are hurting the most in England and Scotland and Wales, because you can be left completely without money and have to visit a foodbank. We are told that in northern Ireland, this will not apply, as we will be allowed more than one claim per house hold, so that if one person is sanctioned the whole family will not go without, if so this is a major thing in our favour. We shall have to wait and see.
Housing benefit here will also be available to be paid directly to the landlord or housing body rather than given to the claimaint personally, and hopefully this will not lead to as many evictions and rent arrears as we have seen across the water.
Theres more on all of this so I will keep you posted...
Firstly and foremost will be the introduction of Universal credit. Universal credit is one claim per house hold, and it will have elements to it for children, spouses/partners etc. Housing benefit will be done away with and folded into this new credit, which will be done on line rather than face to face in an interview. If you do not have access to a computer then you will be accommodated with an interview, but this is really designed for you to access on line.
You will first make the claim for benefit on line, and set up your claim, and this will be available to the department, and to the tax office, and government agencies, so that it can be scrutinised in order to avoid fraud. You won't even have to tell the department about changes, they will be able to see from your claim and monitor and change things accordingly.
The benefit cap will also apply here, this will take into account all monies you have coming in. Your JSA claim, or what ever benefit it is you are claiming will be added to your housing benefit and added together and given to you each month. This means that when you first apply there will be a months delay before you receive any money, you can apply for a hardship fund, but you will have to pay this back. If you give false information in your claim or mistaken information you will be sanctioned, and your benefit can be stopped altogether depending on how serious your infraction was.
On job seekers, you will have to prove that you are looking for work, and attend any interviews at the jobs and benefit office because if you don't you can be sanctioned and lose money. This applies even if you are late for an interview at the jobs and benefits office. Its the sanctions that are hurting the most in England and Scotland and Wales, because you can be left completely without money and have to visit a foodbank. We are told that in northern Ireland, this will not apply, as we will be allowed more than one claim per house hold, so that if one person is sanctioned the whole family will not go without, if so this is a major thing in our favour. We shall have to wait and see.
Housing benefit here will also be available to be paid directly to the landlord or housing body rather than given to the claimaint personally, and hopefully this will not lead to as many evictions and rent arrears as we have seen across the water.
Theres more on all of this so I will keep you posted...
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