Sample Letter to DWP to Make an Urgent Request for a Short-Term Benefit Advance

Sample letter to DWP to make an urgent request for a short-term benefit advance.

Please replace/delete words and phrases in CAPITALS as necessary.

ADVICE AGENCY ADDRESS

INCLUDING FAX NUMBER

DATE

DWP ADDRESS

OUR REFERENCE

Dear Sir or Madam

Urgent request for a short-term benefit advance:

APPLICANT NAME, ADDRESS, NINO AND DATE OF BIRTH

We write on behalf of our above-named client and we attach or enclose written authorisation to act on his/her behalf in this matter.We understand that our client made a claim for

BENEFIT NAME on DATE OF CLAIM.

Please could you make a short-term benefit advance to our client in accordance with the Social Security (Payments on Account of Benefit) Regulations 2013 (SI 2013/383), which we refer to from now on as the “Payments on Account Regs”? The rest of this letter explains why we consider the conditions for making a short-term benefit advance are met.

Why we are asking for a short-term benefit advance

1.The DWP has a power to make a “short term advance of benefit” in certain situations.

2.For an applicant to get a short-term benefit advance the conditions in the Payments on Account Regs must be satisfied. In summary these are that:

1.A claim for benefit has been made but not determined.

2.The Decision Maker is satisfied the claimant is likely to meet the conditions of entitlement for the benefit in question.

3.The claimant is in financial need.

1: Claim for benefit has been made but not determined

The Payments on Account Regs 5(1)(a) and (2) provide that a person can get a short-term benefit advance if (as well as meeting the conditions in Reg 5(1)(b) and (c)) they have made a claim for benefit which has not been determined.Our client made a claim as detailed above.As far as we are aware this claim has not been determined. If the claim has been determined, but payment is not yet due, Reg 6(1) and (2) allow for the making of a short-term benefit advance provided condition 3 below is met.

2: Decision Maker is satisfied as to likely entitlement

Payments on Account Reg 5(1)(b) provides that (in addition to meeting the other conditions) a person can get a short-term benefit advance ifit appears likely that the conditions of entitlement for benefit are satisfied.In the present case, we believe the Decision Maker should be satisfied that the claimant is likely to be entitled to benefit.

The only possible doubt about entitlement, so far as we understand is …

EXPLAIN POTENTIAL PROBLEMS WITH CLIENT BEING ENTITLED

However, our client is not in fact precluded from entitlement due to this issue because …

EXPLAIN WHY CLIENT SHOULD BE ENTITLED ANYWAY

3: Claimant is in financial need

Payments on Account Reg 5(1)(c) requires the claimant to be in “financial need” to get a short-term benefit advance. “Financial need” is defined in Reg 7 as a situation where further delay would lead to 'serious risk of damage to the health or safety of [the claimant]or any member of their family'. “Family” is defined in Reg 5(2) to (3) as “benefit family” (that is, the claimant and any partner or child(ren)/qualifying young person(s) for whom the claimant is responsible).It is our view that this test is also met.

EXPLAIN HOW CLIENT WILL SUFFER IF STBA NOT MADE

Summary of what we are asking for:

1. Please could you make a short-term benefit advance and advise us of your decision by 4:30pm on the third working day after you receive this letter?

2. If you decide to refuse the short-term benefit advance please could you put your reasons in writing?

3.Please could you notify us in either case by fax? (Our fax number is at the top of this letter.)

Yours faithfully,

ADVISER NAME, ETC