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In August Disability Alliance launched a new advice service for members. The service has already proved popular and helped members answer particularly complex queries.
The service primarily focuses on HM Revenue & Customs matters, it also provides a generalist advice service covering all the areas of the Disability Rights Handbook.
Existing government help and support is unfortunately not always easy to access. Our project will:
• enable organisations to develop their workforce skills;
• provide a guide through the tax credits maze; and
• help tackle the potential barriers which lead to incorrect entitlement claims.
By helping answer complex enquiries, we hope the new service has become an invaluable tool for advisers at a time of increasing demand through general economic instability and rising unemployment.
Hosting the service is Joy Flynn . Joy's background in the advice sector spans over two decades. Joy worked her way through the ranks of the Citizens Advice Bureau, moving on to the Money Advice Unit in 2003 and recently supervised a team of welfare benefit law specialists working on a Legal Services Commission contract for Community Legal Advice. Joy has substantial casework experience at all levels including tribunal representation.
You can ask Joy your most taxing queries by emailing jflynn@disabilityalliance.org any time, or by calling our helpline on:
Tuesdays 10.30am - 1.00pm
Thursdays 2.00pm - 5.30pm
Recently, two member organisations asked Joy about a similar issue. In both cases, people had previously been in receipt of either incapacity benefit or severe disablement allowance but had started paid, full-time employment. For mixed reasons, the individuals were unable to sustain work and needed to re-claim the benefits under the existing linking rules.
In both cases, entitlement to a top-up of income support was initially refused. Joy advised that reclaiming was possible under the amended transitional provisions:
The Employment and Support Allowance (Transitional Provisions) (Amendment) Regulations 2008 No. 2783
4.3 The amending regulation operates so as to allow claims for income support from claimants who are entitled to incapacity benefit or severe disablement allowance after the introduction of employment and support allowance.
If you have also come across this issue then we hope you find the information helpful.
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