When a Carer’s Allowance award that ended at the point of case transfer is retroactively changed
There may be cases where the Carer’s Allowance award that was ended by the case transfer process is changed after the Carer Support Payment determination is made, due to the following:
- Revision made by the Department for Work and Pensions or the Department for Communities in Northern Ireland,
- Supersession made by the Department for Work and Pensions or the Department for Communities in Northern Ireland, or
- Decision made by a tribunal or court on appeal
These are the ways in which a Carer’s Allowance award can be changed in the UK system. Where the Carer’s Allowance award that was ended at the point of case transfer is changed sometime after the case transfer process has completed, the case manager must make a determination without application of the individual’s Carer Support Payment award. This determination is made on the basis that the original determination was made correctly but on the basis of an assumption that proves to be wrong (Part 6, regulation 37 & 38).
This determination without application does not need to result in the Carer Support Payment award mirroring the changes made to the Carer’s Allowance award. Case managers should consider the information and make a wholly new determination based on the information available. Like when making any determination, the case manager should ask for further supporting information to make an accurate determination, if they feel they need it.
Where a case manager makes a determination without application for this reason, the date the change takes effect should be the first day of the award week in which the earlier determination took effect, which in this case is the point of case transfer (Part 4, regulation 27(b) & 28(b)).
Example: Carer’s Allowance award ended at point of transfer is retroactively changed
Angus receives Carer’s Allowance and has earnings from his part-time work in a bakery. He earns less than the earnings threshold so is still eligible for Carer’s Allowance.
Three weeks before Angus’ award is set to transfer to Carer Support Payment, Angus takes on more hours, which increase his pay above the earnings threshold.
Angus does not report this to the Department for Work and Pensions, so his award transfers to Carer Support Payment.
After Angus’ Carer Support Payment transfer determination is made, the DWP complete a review of Angus’ earnings and find that his entitlement to Carer’s Allowance should have ended before the transfer to Carer Support Payment completed.
DWP retroactively end Angus’ entitlement to Carer’s Allowance and notify Social Security Scotland of this change.
A case manager begins reviewing Angus’ award and requests further information.
The case manager reviews the information Angus has provided and makes a determination without application to give Angus a nil-award to Carer Support Payment as his earnings exceed the earnings threshold.
This determination is made on the basis that the original determination was made correctly but on the basis of an assumption that proved to be wrong (Part 6, regulation 38 (3)(a)(ii)(bb)).
As Angus’ earnings have exceeded the threshold for the duration of the Carer Support Payment award, the effective date of this determination is the beginning of his Carer Support Payment award (Part 4, regulation 27(b)).
Example: A Determination without Application is made for a closed period
Robyn had her case transferred two months ago and is currently in receipt of Carer Support Payment.
Before Robyn’s transfer completed, she contacted the Department for Work and Pensions and reported that her award for Contribution-based Job Seeker’s Allowance had ended, meaning her Carer’s Allowance payments should increase.
However this was not processed by the Department for Work and Pensions on her Carer’s Allowance award until after the case transfer completed.
The Department for Work and Pensions decides that Robyn’s Carer’s Allowance award was incorrect and she should have been receiving the full amount of Carer’s Allowance before the transfer to Carer Support Payment completed.
The Department for Work and Pensions will notify this change to Social Security Scotland.
A case manager must now look at Robyn’s Carer Support Payment award and make a determination without application.
After reviewing the information received from Department for Work and Pensions, the case manager decides that Robyn’s transfer determination was made on the basis of incorrect information, and she should have received the full amount of Carer Support Payment when her award transferred.
When looking at Robyn’s case, the case manager notices Robyn has reported that her earnings have exceeded the earnings threshold.
The case manager decides that Robyn should be awarded the full amount of Carer Support Payment from the transfer determination to when she reported that her earnings had exceeded the earnings threshold.
Robyn’s award will then be nil-rated until her earnings return below the earnings threshold.