Welcome to the Bulletin’s regular section on the benefits system.

As well as highlighting some useful information regarding the benefits system, on occasion we will be raising awareness of some health and social care matters.
If you would like to discuss your benefit entitlement or have a social care query, please contact your Blesma Support Officer. Alternatively, you can contact Liz Watling
in the Independence and Wellbeing team by email at iwabenefits@blesma.org or by calling her on 020 8548 3516.

COVID-19 AND BENEFITS
In the last Bulletin we highlighted some changes to the benefits system as a result of COVID-19. Most of these changes remain in place. Most notably for our Members is the change to the assessment process for disability benefits, or the Work Capability Assessment for those who are unable to work due to ill health or disability.

 

Previously, these assessments would either be carried out on the paper-based evidence, or a faceto-face assessment would be required. As the face-to-face assessments are currently no longer possible, any claims for these benefits that are unable to have a paper-based decision will now have a telephone assessment. If you are requested to have a telephone assessment, it is possible to have someone on the call with you. If you require your Blesma Support Officer to assist by being on the call, please contact them as soon as possible to request this, as you will need to give the assessment provider and your Blesma Support Officer time to make the arrangements for
a third party to take part.

SOCIAL SECURITY SCOTLAND
We have previously reported on changes to the benefits system in Scotland as the Scottish Government has been given devolved powers for some benefits. This includes the Personal Independence Payment and Attendance Allowance.

The planning for the transfer of these two benefits to Scotland’s Disability Assistance should have been well underway by now. However, due to COVID-19, this has been delayed. Social Security Scotland is now reworking its timetable. The delay has been caused by the pressures on staffing, as many members of staff have been redirected to join other teams where there has been an increase in demand for benefit claims.

There also needs to be an availability of healthcare professionals to undertake the disability assessments that support the benefit decisions, and there has
obviously been an impact on the availability of these staff in recent months. Blesma remains a stakeholder for engagement with Social Security Scotland and we will update our Scottish Members once we have the revised timetable. In the meantime, our Scottish Members who are receiving Personal Independence Payment and
Attendance Allowance remain the responsibility of the Department for Work and Pensions.

HELP WITH HEATING COSTS
Now that the seasons have changed and the colder weather will be with us for some months to come, we can highlight some of the ways in which the Government can support you with your heating costs.
There are a number of initiatives, however entitlement to the support can depend on age or income.

WINTER FUEL PAYMENT
This is an annual lump sum payment of between £100 and £300 to help pensioners with heating costs. You qualify for a Winter Fuel Payment if both
the following apply:
• You were born before 05 October 1954
• You have lived in the UK for at least one day during the week of 21-27 September 2020 (known as
the qualifying week)

If you did not live in the UK during the qualifying week you might still get the payment if both the following apply:
• You live in Switzerland or a European Economic Area country
• You have a genuine link with the UK social security system, such as having lived or worked in the UK for most of your life. 

You cannot receive the payment if you live in Cyprus, France, Gibraltar, Greece, Malta, Portugal, or Spain because the average winter temperature is higher than
the warmest region of the UK.

You will not qualify if you meet one of the following excluding conditions:
• You are in hospital getting free treatment for more than a year
• You lived in a care home for the whole time between 29 June and 27 September 2020, and received Pension Credit, Income Support, income based Jobseeker’s Allowance, or income-related Employment and Support Allowance
• You were in prison for the whole week between 21-27 September 2020
• You need permission to enter the UK and your granted leave states that you cannot claim public funds

How to claim
You should automatically receive a payment without making a claim if either:
• You received a payment last year and your circumstances have not changed
• You are getting State Pension or another social security benefit (excluding Child Benefit, Universal Credit, Council Tax Reduction, and Housing Benefit)

For those who received a payment last year there has been a change in the way you are notified:
• You will receive a letter around three weeks before your payment. These letters will be sent between mid-October and November
• Your bank statement showing the payment will have the reference ‘DWP Winter Fuel’

If you are not entitled to an automatic payment but still meet the criteria, you must make a claim.

For a claim form, call 0800 731 0160. The form must be received by the Winter Fuel Payment
Centre by 31 March 2021.
If you are entitled to a Winter Fuel Payment and your only government-paid income is from a War Pension or War Widows Pension, your Winter Fuel Payment will be processed by Veterans UK.

WARM HOME DISCOUNT SCHEME
This is a £140 credit to your electricity bill. You can also qualify if you use a pre-pay or pay as you go electricity meter. There are two ways to qualify for the Warm Home Discount Scheme:
• You get the Guarantee Credit element of Pension Credit – known as the ‘core group’
• You are on a low income and meet your energy supplier’s criteria for the scheme – known as the ‘broader group’

How to claim
CORE GROUP
You qualify for the discount if, on 05 July 2020, all of the following applied:
• Your electricity supplier was part of the scheme
• Your name (or your partner’s) was on the bill
• You were getting the Guarantee Credit element of Pension Credit

If you qualify for the core group, you should receive a letter between October and December 2020 telling you how to get the discount. Your letter will inform you as to whether you need to call a helpline by 26 February 2021 to confirm your details. Your electricity supplier will apply your discount to your bill by 31 March 2021.

If you are eligible for the core group and do not receive a letter, contact the Warm Home Discount Team on 0800 731 0214.

BROADER GROUP
You may be able to apply directly to your electricity supplier for help if you do not qualify under the core group rules. You may qualify if, on 05 July 2020, all
of the following applied:
• You were on a low income
• You received certain means-tested benefits
• Your electricity supplier was part of the scheme
• Your name (or your partner’s) was on the bill

Your electricity supplier decides its own criteria for the scheme. Do not contact the Warm Home Discount Scheme. Check with your supplier to see if it is part of the scheme, if you are eligible, and how to apply. If entitled, your electricity supplier will apply your discount to your bill by 31 March 2021.

COLD WEATHER PAYMENT
This is an automatic payment of £25 for each qualifying week (between 01 November and 31 March) if the average temperature forecast over seven consecutive
days at the designated weather station for your area is 0°C or lower and you have been awarded one of the following benefits:
• Pension Credit
• Income Support or income-based Jobs Seeker’s Allowance and you have either:
• A disability or pensioner premium
• A disabled child
• Child Tax Credit that includes a disability or severe disability element
• A child aged under five living with you
• Income-related Employment and Support Allowance and you are in either the work related activity group or support group. If you are not in either group, you may
get a payment if you have either:
• A severe or enhanced disability premium
• A pensioner premium
• A disabled child
• Child Tax Credit that includes a disability or severe disability element
• A child aged under five living with you
• Universal Credit, as long as you are not employed or self-employed, and you have either:
• A limited capability for work element
• A disabled child element (whether you are employed or not)
• A child aged under five living with you
• Support for mortgage interest

You are not entitled to a Cold Weather Payment if you are living in a care home. You do not need to make a claim for a Cold Weather Payment. The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) should automatically pay you if you qualify, as it will be aware of your means-tested benefit entitlement.

CHALLENGING AN EMPLOYMENT AND SUPPORT ALLOWANCE DECISION
When a claimant wishes to challenge their benefit decision, they first have to request a mandatory reconsideration. This is where the Department for Work and Pensions will review its decision ‘in house’.

If the claimant is not satisfied with the result of the mandatory reconsideration, they can appeal to an independent tribunal. During the mandatory reconsideration stage, no payment of Employment and Support Allowance could be received. However, once an appeal was requested, then the claimant could have payment of the benefit.

On 24 July 2020, a tribunal ruled that the non-payment for some claimants of income-related Employment and Support Allowance while waiting for a mandatory reconsideration is unlawful as the gap in payment is deemed to be unfair.

You no longer need to go through the mandatory reconsideration process and instead can go straight to appeal if:
• You are getting income-related Employment and Support Allowance
• You are appealing a decision that says you are fit for work

The decision that you are fit for work is not based on you having failed to return your ESA50 questionnaire or having failed to attend an assessment.

It is either:
• The first time you have been found fit for work at an assessment or
• You have been found fit for work at a previous assessment but since then have had an assessment where you were found to have limited capacity for work

If this criteria is met, you are now able to go straight to appeal and can therefore continue to receive payment of Employment and Support Allowance (known as Payment Pending Appeal). You can still ask for the Department for Work and Pensions to review its decision, and both options can be run simultaneously. There will be a small number of claimants who can now retrospectively go straight to appeal. These will be claimants who had their first fit for work decision after the tribunal decision of
24 July 2020. The DWP will contact these claimants.

TV LICENCE
Are you aged 75 or over?
Previously, those over 75 years of age were able to apply for a free TV licence. It is now no longer possible to be automatically entitled to a free TV licence if you are over the age of 75.

In August 2020, the BBC introduced a new scheme that offers some over-75 households, who are on a low income, a free TV licence.

You can get a free TV licence if:
• You, as the licence holder, are 75 years or older and
• You, or your partner living at the same address, receive Pension Credit

To claim your free TV licence call 0300 790 6117 or visit www.tvlicensing.co.uk

Are you blind (severely sight impaired)?

If you are blind (severely sight impaired) you are eligible to apply for a 50% concession. Your licence will also cover anyone who lives with you. If you are partially sighted (sight impaired) you are not eligible.

To qualify, you will need to evidence that you are certified as blind (severely sight impaired) by providing one of the following:
• CVI (Certificate of Visual Impairment)
• BD8 Certificate
• A certificate or document issued by a Local Authority that shows you are registered as blind (severely sight impaired)
• A copy of a certificate from an ophthalmologist (eye surgeon) stating that you are blind (severely sight impaired)

For more information, please call 0300 790 6117 or visit www.tvlicensing.co.uk. To request the
information in an accessible format (email, Braille, large print, or audio) please call 0300 790 6117