Workshop Details
Understanding Housing Benefit & Applying Best Practice
Getting Housing Benefit Started
Claims, Claim Dates, Backdating & Payments
A new Workshop aimed at Front Line Staff who deal with customers on general Housing Benefit and/or Debt Recovery matters. Dealing with initial HB claim matters correctly and following good practice principles will help ensure that customers can have their benefit assessed quickly and efficiently. The Workshop will help people to understand how to make a claim correctly, when and how benefit will be paid, who should be paid, when HB starts and whether or not there can be any backdating.
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No Regional Workshop dates currently planned.
IN-HOUSE WORKSHOPS - Do you have a lot of staff needing this training and would you like us to arrange this Workshop at your own training venue just for the staff from your own organisation? We would be pleased to arrange this - please contact us for further details and availabilty of dates.
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This popular Workshop topic looks at issues that can arise when a tenant wishes to appeal against a decision that has been made on their Housing Benefit claim. It will cover issues such as information, evidence and law, as well as providing an overview of the various matters that need to be considered for cases that reach the Tribunals process itself. Topics which will be covered during the day include:
• How claims may be made and what constitutes a complete claim;
• Revisions, supersessions and appeals - demystifying the terminology;
• Dealing with information and evidence;
• Reviewing cases – either as part of the intervention procedure or for other reasons;
• The effect of the rules about dates of changes;
• Overpayment appeals by claimants and landlords;
• Notifications – particularly relating to overpayments;
• Which cases can be appealed to a Tribunal?
• Practical issues to consider for appeal hearings, and rights of the parties;
• Appeals to the new First-tier Tribunals, which began operating in November 2008;
• What happens after a Tribunal hearing - Commissioners and Courts;
• Implementing appeal decisions and the impact of case law;
• Recent contentious and useful case law from the Courts and Commissioners;
• Commissioner appeals and practical issues to consider for Tribunals.
Delegates will be provided with a comprehensive and up-to-date overview of all the main issues. The course will provide an ideal opportunity to review the advice being given to tenants and to reflect on current practices and how these are being applied in different organisations. By means of presentations, discussions and exercises our presenter, John Zebedee (presenter of over 2,000 HB courses!), will provide a fact-filled day covering the most up-to-date information available. Comprehensive course notes and plenty of worked examples on key issues will be provided.
The course is suitable for those with a reasonable knowledge of the Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit system, and would not be appropriate for a new starter. Note - this course does not cover ‘presentation skills’ needed for a Tribunal.
