Housing Benefit review - not a FCR?

Borgund

Hi, and I do hope someone can help with this as I'm worried sick.

I reached SP age 12 months ago and in receipt of full SP. I have no other pensions or similar, no earned or other income, savings less than 10k.

I didn't apply for HB/CT support until April of this year and received notification the following month it had been accepted (it was also backdated to January although I hadn't actually asked for this).

I've received three 4-weekly payments so far with the fourth due later this month but I've now received a letter from the council saying:

"....your claim has been selected for an audit check under the Housing Benefit Award scheme. The scheme requires that we review your claim to ensure that up to date information is being used to award you the correct amount of Housing Benefit."

I'd vaguely heard of these reviews from somewhere before and knowing no more I've since been looking further in to them. Amongst other info I've found is from the government website under, 'A5/2024: Housing Benefit Award Accuracy Initiative.'

32. From 1 April 2024, LAs will need to undertake FCRs on their share of the top 400,000 HB cases identified nationally by the HBAA risk score. LA can use local knowledge and intelligence to make better informed choices when choosing cases to provide the best return on investment.

33. The risk model predicts the probability of an HB case having a change of circumstance and is a good predictor of the likelihood that a case has an unreported change of circumstances. It also predicts that LAs will get the greatest return on investment by reviewing high risk cases.

Now my first question is would this be normal - or at least not unknown - for someone to be subject to this less than 4 months after applying for HB? I have absolutely no idea why I'd be deemed 'high risk' after such a short period of time, if at all.

More worrying for me, though, is this isn't a FCR from what I understand of them which is stressing me out even more.

There isn't a website link to visit or any form to complete included in the letter which seems to be the usual case for these. They've just asked three pretty basic questions which I can simply answer as in my original application and details of savings, investments, etc and to provide the past 2 months statements (I provided the past 3 months in April).

Can someone please help on this as it just doesn't seem normal to me from what little I've found out.

I'm in extremely poor health and struggle to get out apart from trips to the local supermarket. I've become something of a recluse to be honest and the slightest things just totally  stress me out now as I don't have too much to do with people any more.

I hope I've made sense as I don't have a computer and can find it difficult to edit on my phone.

Thank you for reading

Robbie64

As worrying as it is, I would just answer the questions you've been asked. FCR = Full case Review. It doesn't really sound like this is what is happening here. I'd probably be the same as yourself, and worry about why my case had been chosen for audit. The best thing to do is just answer the questions and provide the documentation as quickly as possible and get it out of the way.

It could be anything that's triggered the review. Maybe even not claiming HB at the time you reached pension age and instead waiting several months to do so. That's guesswork on my part. It could be nothing that triggered it. Maybe a % of new cases are chosen for audit.

The majority (if not all) of HB cases checked are now for people of pension age so possibly checks are now being done on cases which wouldn't have previously been checked.

Spoonie_Turtle

Unrelated but would your poor health perhaps entitle you to Attendance Allowance?
https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/benefits/sick-or-disabled-people-and-carers/attendance-allowance/
(If so and you live alone it may potentially then entitle you to Pension Credit.)

Borgund

Robbie64 said:

As worrying as it is, I would just answer the questions you've been asked. FCR = Full case Review. It doesn't really sound like this is what is happening here. I'd probably be the same as yourself, and worry about why my case had been chosen for audit. The best thing to do is just answer the questions and provide the documentation as quickly as possible and get it out of the way.

It could be anything that's triggered the review. Maybe even not claiming HB at the time you reached pension age and instead waiting several months to do so. That's guesswork on my part. It could be nothing that triggered it. Maybe a % of new cases are chosen for audit.

The majority (if not all) of HB cases checked are now for people of pension age so possibly checks are now being done on cases which wouldn't have previously been checked.

Thanks for the reply and I understand what you're suggesting but I'll need to get back on to this later or tomorrow as I'm up to my eyes in stuff at the minute.

Borgund

Spoonie_Turtle said:

Unrelated but would your poor health perhaps entitle you to Attendance Allowance?

Too much going on at the minute to consider it right now but I will bear it in mind for the future. Thanks for the suggestion though.