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Showing results for tags 'jsa'.
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After one applies for jobseekers allowance, they are invited to their first appointment to sign their application. If there are topics that need to be expanded, or for example special circumstances that cannot be answered with a simple yes/no, can one attach a written statement to be sent to the decision makers? Thanks
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This is questionable, Some work coaches are saying the above whilst others claim they can use their own discretion , really that isn't what the DWP's official guidance says about EPS As someone who is very sceptical of the establishment & DWP Sounds like someone was in la la land or stoned maybe, or is there something more sinister at foot , why do this , to cause confusion for fun ? or are they testing the waters, to see how much opposition they meet, before they scrap eps , ? https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/470857/v4am47.pdf -
Hello really need help with this matter. I recently signed on was informed by my adviser that i would have to see someone from upstairs about 'intensive job search training'. I asked what it was she responded in saying its just **** from upstairs who will go through stuff on the computers, for a bit support. I asked if it was compulsory she said when you are told to come in you have to. i went to the appointment was met by lady upstairs, she then took me down onto the computers and asked me to log into my UJM account, i did that she asked me how i looked for jobs I said i log on here every day and use indeed, cv library etc. wanted to look at my CV and said it could be better ,i responded by saying my adviser was happy with it said nothing to do with her and this is the reason i was not getting interviews! told me i need to go on a CV building course. said log into your indeed account, i said i cant i dont know my password as i use it on my phone and its automaticly logged in all the time. demanded me to show me it on my phone, alarm bells were ringing at this stage! I said no as im sure there was a data protection law about that, asked what i was hiding, i replied nothing and asked her when my 'training' was going to start. she wanted proof of my job searches i asked why and she said because i need to see them. Ok i said look on my UJS as i have put them in the diary section bit i fill in every day. said that is not evidence as it could be made up!! I was furious how dare her accuse me of lying! We ended up back upstairs as she said we are going around in circles and i was being very un helpful. She give me an appointment for next monday and to bring evidence of my job searching or else. I asked what i have done wrong i was here for training which turned into a witch hunt, she told me interview over and got security to ask me to leave which i did but was left confused,shocked and angry. I have done everything they have asked since i signed up, im in my mid 40s and have worked all my life, i am frightened about sanctions etc and dont know where to turn. Please can you give me any advice on this matter, sorry to waffle but need to try and give you the full story. Cheers in advance. -
I am mightily confused. I have been signing on for 12 months, at the start of my claim I signed a claimant commitment stating I will do X number of steps each week to find work, IE look in papers, ask family and friends, use UJM etc. I completed my job search online and always filled in my activity history on UJM, ensuring I recorded X number of steps as required in my claimant commitment. Part way through the year I was told not to use UJM instead I was given a paper template to fill that stated I must do 35 hours job search per week, this had a section to fill stating the time each task took. Some time later I was issued with a pie chart diagram which showed different activities I could include in my 35 hour job search. Now I have been given another paper template form which states I have to apply for and record 10 vacancies jobs per week. What the heck as happened to my claimant commitment, no where in that did I agree to a 35 hour week job search nor did it state when I signed it that it was a requirement. Secondly, I would never agree to applying for X amount of vacancies per week , what if the only suitable vacancies are ones I have already applied for. And now they have just reissued me a new claimant commitment to sign which is basically same as my old one except they have added “ engage with the work program” Can they enforce this 10 job application rule and what is in place to prevent me from just jotting down bogus applications. Obviously I am fulfilling my claimant commitment still but as there is no actual way to record that activity any more am I even obligated to carry it out. From what I can gather the 35 hour per week is only a suggestion and not enforceable as long as client shows they have took reasonable steps they cannot be sanctioned but I cannot find any info at all regarding the 10 vacancies per week.
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Hi all, Bit of a long one! I left my store managers position in February due to a few issues in my personal life (caring for relatives). Since then I've been living off what I had saved from previous paychecks etc. I'm 23 and never been on JSA or the like before, and now my personal issues have cleared in the last 4 weeks or so I've been job hunting again. This is the first time I've had a gap on my CV in 7 years. I'm now at a point where I need the JSA to survive and transport to interviews etc and they've asked me to bring a bank statement and mortgage documents. I have a couple of questions: 1) I'm not going to be using the JSA for gambling, however my bank statement will and does indicate fairly regular outgoing deposits for B365. As recently as a few days ago. Will this be an issue? (I know it won't be an income issue, as I haven't withdrawn any winnings into my bank account or have any. My current balance is £15 in the bank!). 2) The mortgage details. This is actually my late mothers mortgage that me and a brother pay. The letters and documents just have ''The personal reps of _____'' on them. What usually happens is my brother pays for it with DD (he doesn't live at this address) and I transfer him the money for the mortgage, gas and electric each month. Therefore, I don't actually have proof of the mortgage going out as a DD on my account, but I felt this was the most viable option to choose when signing up between Rent, Mortgage, Own or Rent & Own. Will I have any issues here? Thanks!
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I signed on just this past Tuesday and today I checked my bank account and find that my JSA payment has not been issued. I am wondering as to why my work coach did not tell me at the time I signed on, as, surely there must have been some information on the system to say that it had been stopped ??? And why did he allow me to sign on if that is the case ???
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Hey, does anyone know if the final ESA payment is issued 2 weeks in arrears? I closed my ESA claim on Tuesday 19th, having got my payment this week on Monday 18th July. Is this my last payment? My doctors certificate ran out on the 19th too. I know with JSA you get the final payment on the next payment date as you normally would, so 2 weeks later. Or now more commonly within 5 working days. The advisor on the phone didn't mention the usual "you'll get any money due within 5 working days..." so I figure I won't get anything. Any help is appreciated, Thanks! EDIT: I went from JSA to ESA, never had any gaps in med certs etc. if this is of any use...
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Long time lurker on this site but now I need your advice please. Step daughter 23 has not worked for several months since she lost her job in a call centre for swearing under her breath (so she thought) while on the phone to a customer. She has recently been diagnosed with borderline personality disorder which may explain her actions. We have been looking after her to try to get her in a better frame of mind to move forward. We have not sought or received any financial assistance with this. We encouraged her to look for work and sign on for JSA as she seems to be improving. She had her interview today and they have told her that she has to attend the Job Centre for one hour every day for 5 weeks before she can claim. My question is is this situation typical?
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Hello if someone is in receipt of private pension and went on JSA would they receive the full weekly amount or would they reduce the amount due to the pension. Regards
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Morning All, Last tax year I was working over 30 hours a week for a pittance (self-employed) for 10 months and was on ESA for 2 months. Currently I am not working (though my company still exists but no work). This leads me to two queries. 1. I understand I can claim tax credits this tax year, for my work last tax year. Or have I misunderstood this and you get tax credits for the current month you are working over 30 hours 2. Assuming I understood question 1. Presumably I can get my tax credits every week this tax year (i.e. now) for last years efforts and ALSO apply JSA as currently in this tax year I'm not working (but obviously not claim tax credits next tax year)? If anyone can clarify this it would be appreciated. Thanks, Mark
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Hello, I had JSA for about four months total of £840 (approx). I knew at the start that I had around £28,000 in savings in a separate account. The savings are for university. full cost of course and living for three years. This was my plan. I was off work for 7 months with depression, still receiving an income. I went and signed on and received one week (£71) and never went back. I was off work at this time. I had an argument with HR at work who were complaining about me not being there. I told them that I quit and didnt want to go back. I assumed that I resigned there and then. I went and signed on, then a week or so later I got a call from my union rep who told me that I hadnt resigned, he spoke to them about my problems and I could come back. He told me that they were giving redundancy soon. I returned, a few months later I got redundancy. Fell a little more into depression. I had over £10,000 in my account. I transferred £5900 to ISA and then signed on. I took a few weeks, then quit. Then I went back again and got a few weeks more. This was a few years ago. I got a letter the other day asking for more information as inland revenue flagged up that I had more money in my account when I made a claim. They are asking for my financial situation of that time. I ncluding statements covering two years. I looked at my statements online and saw that the money transfer was maybe a week or two before applying for JSA. I am worried that I will go to prison for this. I am going to send the statements with the letter and answer the questions honestly. I have read about how they will try to prepare a prosecution if they could prove that I knowingly didn't tell them of my finances. It will look that way on the statement. I don't know what is going to happen. Could this lead to prison? I haven't told my parents, I am 35 and still live at home. I haven't been able to get a diagnosis for aspergers but believe that I have it. I am still struggling with depression. A result of my aspergers is that I really struggle to get on with people, I have had some very bad experiences at work and I am terrified of returning to that sort of situation. I have had threats of physical assault and have had fights with people. My things have been damaged/vandalised. I dont know what I can do, any help or advice would be appreciated. I have made a self-referal to talking change. My uni course is going down hill, I dont think I will be able to go onto year two. That is if I am not in prison. So much failure. Does anybody have any advice, I could really use some right now! Thank you -
Hi, my son is 21 & has been working since leaving college since last year. He is hearing impaired & wears hearing aids. Access to work sent someone out to his work at the begining to recommend & pay quite a large sum of money for equipment he needed to be able to use the phones there. The equipment has spent the last year occasionally breaking down, during that time the company sent him home on paid leave until it eventually comes back from the manufacturer with a note of not being faulty, but it would work again then for a few weeks. His employer paid for the company that made the equipment to come out & check things out recently & they can't figure out why the equipment just randomly stops working. So we are now at the end of the road. His employer doesn't have any other work he can do, that doesn't involve using the phones. It's unreal that a 21 yr old with A levels coming out his ears (pardon the pun) can't even keep the sort of job he has been in. Quite upsetting for him as none of it is his fault. But his employer has actually been very good really. He is once again on paid leave with the latest equipment failure, until an audiology appointment next week, although they aren't too familiar with the equipment anyway, so it won't make any difference. He has been using the time to frantically try & find a different job knowing that time is running out! His employer has now emailed & asked him to go in tomorrow for a meeting. There is no solution for the equipment, so it's likely they will be letting him go. What I am wanting to know is if he gets sacked, can he claim something like JSA? Or is there anything else anyone can think of. As soon as he started working he took on a phone contract, so does have payment commitments. I am self employed & literally just about get by, we'll struggle but until he manages to find something else, I wouldn't be able to afford his 40 a month contract phone.
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Hi there looking for an answer to a thing that's bugging me slighrly I last claimed JSA from April to September last year when I was made redundant. I picked up some contract work for a few months then in the new year decided to take some time out to work on some private projects. I made a new claim online for JSA recently and received a letter yesterday saying I was eligible for payments until October. Slightly surprised as I've read you only get 6 months maximum for two years of ni contributions. Job centre lady more or less told me not to question it when I went for my interview Any experts out there that can give me an idea of whether this is abnormal or whatever
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Hello, I went to sign at the Job Centre last Friday 8th April 2016 and was told that my claim had been ended. The adviser said that they had sent me a letter out on 23rd February 2016 requiring me to attend the Job Centre on the 31st March 2016. I told them that I had not received such letter and so was not aware of the request. The adviser suggested I do a rapid reclaim. I tried to do a rapid reclaim at on the internet and the DWP indicated that my area code requires me to claim Universal Credit now. So it looks like I will lose 8 days of my JSA plus a weeks 'waiting' for the Universal Credit as they don't pay for the first 7 days! Therefore I stand to lose at best 15 days of benefit. Do You think they are trying it on? I would greatly appreciate any advice you could give on this matter. Thank you, Nigel
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Hi everyone, I'm new here and after some advice. I was made redundant from my job last September through no fault of my own and been signing on ever since. However, before Christmas I had an appointment with my advisor at my local job centre and gave me details of a job to apply for but 2 weeks ago I received a letter saying that they are going to stop my job seekers allowance from the end of January to the middle of march. I have since appealed the decision in writing but when i went to the job centre today I had to fill in another form and explain again. I know it was my fault for not applying for the job, but I always complete the booklet and attend the job centre on a regular basis to sign on. Any advice? Thanks Louise
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I wanted to know what the new rules are with regards to withdrawing consent for the WP to share your info/contact people on your behalf/claim their fat payment for my hard work when I get a job .. as I am sure I read it had changed since last year, also coincidentally each time I attend a review meeting I get loads of spammy job/credit emails in the weeks after which seems a little timely!! Am getting increasingly fed up with the WP provider, by and large I have had a year of having to attend weekly job clubs with slow computers and the like but since I hit the year mark it seems to have ramped up big time, I have a good work history with good companies and a degree and the minute my latest advisor saw it his eyes lit up and I have been pestered left right and centre. I was upped to two job clubs a week and also appointments/training sessions/interview techniques etc on one or more additional days a week and it was getting silly and made me ill so I had two weeks off with stress symptoms. I then had more blinking appointments and changes to my job clubs and was told a few weeks back at 1pm on a Monday that I was to stay after job club that day for extra sessions looking into agencies and applying for more jobs for 2 hours each day that week (mysteriously my letter had 'got lost in the post' telling me this), I kicked up a bit of a stink as I am a single parent and said I had to pick my son up from school at 3 so those times were unsuitable, so with a bit of looking at bus timetables he relented to sessions from 1-2.30 each afternoon that week which was still pushing it as am reliant on public transport which is never the best, I attended the first and then had enough, got upset (I am on antidepressants and suffering severe anxiety at the moment relating to a thyroid condition I have just been diagnosed with) and I decided to get another doctors note for 2 weeks. During this two weeks I had a letter from them saying I had to come in during that time and I politely told him NO, the day my sick period ended there arrived a letter saying I had to attend a review appointment in 2 days time and I just knew he was going to mess me about, sure enough on the Friday afternoon at the appt he says I need to up my attendance to daily sessions of 4 hours, which means dropping my son at school, a 45 min bus journey there, then getting back in just enough time to pick him up, I protested that I had a PC at home and why did I need to do all this on their premises and he said I might 'get distracted' at home (as opposed to their noisy office of course!!), that I had appts to arrange and so on which were being neglected due to them calling me in all the time willy nilly saying they are mandatory and have to attend, and he said as I was a jobseeker I should jobseek during those hours, I have no prob doing this, my JSA agreement says 5 jobs a week and they say 10 which I do easily and have never not done, he is also pressurising me to do full time work/get a better off calculation for FT work, which my JSA flexibilities say I don't have to pursue due to being a lone parent, there is no mention of any beneficial training, and any suggestions for that or clothing for interviews have been shot down in flames, its just flaming jobsearching in their offices every day, presumably so I can't attend any interviews without them knowing and that I get fed up with the arrangement. Its not as if I am not trying to get a job, I have had about 6 interviews in the last few months but none successful, am really fed up with the situation with the WP and its making me feel worse, we are reviewing the situation tomorrow after my session and I know he is prob going to suggest the same again next week when I have 2 inset days at my sons school, I really just resent the fact that they think they can pressure me like this and assume I have no plans for the week or anything else to do, and then get a nice big payment for MY efforts at the end of it all so want to know what my rights are, unfortunately at the beginning I signed all their docs as I was being too blinking nice!! PS. Sorry this is a bit of a rant having looked at it, but felt good to vent!!
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8 weeks ago I missed an appointment at the job centre through sickness. I went in the next day to fill out the sickness form. I thought that was it sorted. I asked when my next signing time would be and they told me that they would be in touch. The day before my signing time I still hadn't heard from them, so I made a phone call to find out what was happening. They told me not to worry about it and they would arrange one for two weeks time. Just before the two weeks passed, I received a letter in the post, telling me that my claim had been closed the day I missed a signing due to sickness as I had failed to attend an appointment. I then opened up a claim again, backdating my claim to the day I was sick, giving the reason that I filled out a sickness form, but the staff at the job centre had failed to send it off, which was not my fault. I then told them that the reason I didn't reclaim immediately was because I didn't know that my claim had been closed until four weeks later. They have since replied telling me two things: 1. I have not satisfied the Labour Market conditions for Jobseeker's Allowance In total I checked three different websites for work during the week. Two of these were checked daily. One was checked three times a week. I contacted an agency once a week. I checked a local weekly newspaper each week. I applied for a minimum of one job per day. In total I took a minimum of 26 steps a week to look for work. This exceeds the steps laid out in my claimant commitment during my previous claim. How have I not satisfied the Labour Market conditions for Jobseeker's Allowance? 2. I have not shown good cause for the delay in making my claim. There was a delay in me making my claim because THEIR staff failed to do their jobs adequately. As I do not work for them, I cannot be blamed for this. I re-opened my claim as soon as they told me that they had closed it. I will be seeking a reconsideration over this. Is there anything I can cite in my letter to give me a better chance of winning against this?
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Hello All. Require a bit of advice on a strange situation I find myself in. I was previously claiming Income Support as I was a single mother with 3 children (2 under 5). My partner, a full-time student with no student funding (access course), was recently made homeless and has moved in with me. I declared this change and my Income Support claim was closed as it now counts as a couple not single person. I was told to apply for JSA Income based. I applied and had my interview today. The advisor explained that I needed to look for 40 hours work and that no exception could be made for me having to care for 2 children full-time. I was told I need to attend an interview with 24 hours notice. I explained that during the week, when most interviews take place, I had no childcare at such short notice. We have no local family and a shortage of childminders in the area. I was told it was my responsibility and that if I didn't attend any interviews they arrange my benefit would be stopped. So a couple of questions if anyone can help. Is it right that they can ask my partner not to attend college so he can look after kids whilst I attend interviews? Is it right to expect someone to have instant childcare? Do childminders with flexible schedules like this exist? Anything that may help me whilst I job search? The fear of having all money stopped is pretty scary! Thanks
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Hi all, I just heard this from my friend and I would be greatly appreciated if anyone could offer some suggestions of what other supports she could claim please. My friend was made redundant last year Sept, after spent months of searching for another job but to no avail, she started to claim for JSA in last year Nov. She has then tried very hard to cope with the demands from the JSA advisers in order to make sure that she received the basic fund supports from the gov. In Dec she was suddenly asked to sign on every week then every day instead every fortnight which she raised no objections. She was asked to attend various training & meetings which she did & on time & prepared, although she hardly found any of them really help. She has phone calls from the agencies all the time and had 4 interviews last year, 2 of which she reached the final stage. She really just needs an opportunity. Anyway around last year Christmas time, she went to the JC and prepared to sign on again. Everything was alright in the morning. However in the late afternoon she suddenly received a phone call from the adviser asking her to return to the JC because she had "some questions" about her claim and needed to see her again. Then when she got back to the JC she was told that they think "she did not do enough to look for a job" and decided to sanction her for that. She of course disagreed with the decision and raised an appeal immediately and submitted all the job searches proof to support her claim. - So far still waiting for an result for that. In January, although she received no funds from the gov she still went & signed on with JC on time, with the expectation that they would refund the money to her once her appeal won. However thing is actually getting worse. She now stops claiming the JSA because she could not cope with the pressure from the JC adviser anymore. When she went to JC the adviser always said that they did not think that she was actively looking for a job and asking her to fill out some forms to prove that she did (-they never really tell her why they think so, but just told her to fill out the forms). She did it in the very first instances and then finally she reached the point- Instead of filling out the forms provided by the JC she wrote on the form that she requested a written explanation of why she was given the forms, she also described what she did to look for a job and explained why she think she has tried her best to look for a job. Sadly the outcome for this was quite ..... The JC adviser after a quick read of what she'd wrote, she went& showed it to her manager(?), she then returned to her saying that it was rubbish, and then showed her some forms saying that either to fill out those forms again or sign the forms on the desk to confirm that she would like to stop her JSA claim (?!). She was so angry & sad for all of these, she refused to sign on the forms and since then she never return to the JC. She is a very lovely lady and to be honest I never saw her having any arguments with anybody. After I heard this I decided to type it up here & hopefully some of you could kindly offer some suggestions of what other supports she could possibly get without the JSA. Would she still able to claim help on rent etc? Thank you really much for your help on this in advance!
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My temp job ended a couple of weeks ago. I was receiving Working Tax Credits, so I rang the HMRC helpline to inform them of my change of circumstances. They told me I would receive 4 more weeks of WTC and then it will stop. So I made a rapid reclaim. When asked if I was also receiving other benefits, I ticked yes ( I am not sure if that was the correct thing to do). Then I received a letter from the DWP confirming that my claim was accepted, by the amount is just over £40 a week. I assume it's because of the WTC. My question is: once my WTC runs out, is it just as simple as calling the JSA helpline and informing them of my new circumstances or is there anything else I should do now? Any help will be appreciated.
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Anybody printed out and used the PDF version of the JSA28 form (the one that originated from a FOI request I believe) to inform the DWP of a period of sickness whilst on JSA? Reason I ask is that the form has a place for an office stamp etc., and I don't want them refusing to accept it on some technicality! Also, does anybody know what the actual procedure is regarding these forms? If I'm sick on my signing day, will I still receive payment on my usual day as long as they accept and have processed this form in time? Will it have any impact on when my next signing date is?
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Hello everyone, I recently stopped my claim for JSA, I am still unemployed and my wife works part time. However, my father died in July last year and between my brother and I we received inheritance from the house and savings etc. This money took my savings over the threshold for benefits. So, I stopped my claim as I wasn't receiving any money and it hardly seemed worth going through the Jobcentre motions to claim nothing! Now, my question is, (and I can't seem to get through on any number for the NI or Pensions that the JCP gave me) would my leaving the JSA stop or change my pension? I worked for 20 years paying Income based contributions and then signed on for the last 6 or 7. The JCP advisor said if there was a problem I could sign on for "credit only" JSA? Would I need to do this, or can I just pay NI contributions myself while I'm looking for work? Any advice and help appreciated, thanks in advance! Andy -
I am trying to do a JSA rapid reclaim online but after answering the first few questions im told i live in a Universal Credit postcode area and to click on the start now link to apply if you live in an eligable area. Do i simply go through and fill out the Universal Credit questions to do a Jsa rapid reclaim?
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Hello I lost my job last week, I hated it so it wasn't a big deal. I'd been there for 15 months but truth be told it felt like 15 years. I was almost glad when they told me I wasn't needed anymore. But it's left me in financially troubling times. I kind of walked out due to anxiety issues rather than being sacked. I wanted some advice before I go to the job centre tomorrow please - I've been told that if I walked out I can't claim Job Seekers, but if I can claim mental illness it's like a kind of catch all that can never be proved and they have to give me benefit. It's the truth that I get panic attacks when I get stressed or am forced to do jobs I don't want to. I'm very sensitive and don't appreciate working in environments that don't respect my individuality. Reading some of the threads here it means I've got anxiety and that's something I can get ESA for. So, truth be told. my anxiety is pretty crippling at times, not like a real disease like cancer, but is it bad enough to get ESA? I don't think I can get JSA but how am I suppossed to live? You all seem good at loopholes, so any advice would REALLLY be appreciated right about now! thanks
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Hello. I am currently getting income based JSA for about 1 year now. I stay with my mum, But all of a sudden my mum is saying i need to pay £27 towards to rent as the council will only pay £109. So why now do i need to pay. I have a brother who gets ESA, and my mum gets income support. What are causing the housing benefit deduction, My brother only started claiming ESA this year in march, And all of a sudden the housing benefit is cut. So could someone help me because i am getting the impression the cut is because of me but i have been getting jsa for around a year and my mum has been getting full housing benefit since untill now.
