Income Support frequency of work-focussed interviews

Income Support frequency of work-focussed interviews

ive picked this up while visiting kates site

http://www.katebelgrave.com/2017/06/while-were-talking-austerity-can-anyone-help-with-this-question-on-income-support-conditions-and-sanctions/#comments

The frequency of work-focussed interviews, which is what it sounds like she’s having to attend, are now at the discretion of her work coach aka personal adviser. See this from CPAG article http://www.cpag.org.uk/content/work-related-activity-lone-parents:

“Until the introduction of the 2014 regulations, lone parents claiming IS, whose youngest child had reached their first birthday, were required to attend a preordained number of WFIs. Furthermore employment advisers had the discretion to waive the WFI requirement for lone parents altogether.

The 2014 regulations remove the set timetable for WFIs and give employment advisers discretionary powers to decide the number and frequency of WFIs for each claimant.”

She should definitely challenge the sanction decision because these things can stack up – initially she simply asks for a mandatory reconsideration (which will almost inevitably be turned down) and then lodge an appeal with HMCTS. If she can get evidence that she was at the foodbank, that could help an appeal. Otherwise, it’s essentially a case of her word about not receiving notice of the appointment and that of her work coach that she was notified – to that end, it’s probably worthwhile asking DWP for evidence of the appointment letter they claim that she was sent.

As far as I can see the claimant is not required to attend any WFI until her youngest child is 1:

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/548733/islp-regime-aug-2016.pdf

Lone parents on Income Support with a youngest child under 1 are not subject to any conditionality and therefore should not be sanctioned.

from 31st October 2011, LPs with a youngest child under 1 do not have to attend any WFIs until their youngest child reaches 1.

Lone Parent Conditionality from 28th April 2014. From this point, lone parents who are in receipt of Income Support solely on the basis of being a lone parent with a youngest child aged one to four

Benchmarks are in place to ensure that lone parents with a youngest child aged one to three attend a minimum of two WFIs a year, and those with a youngest child aged four attend a minimum of four WFIs a year