What is a Short Term
Benefit Advance?
1. A Short Term Benefit Advance (STBA) replaces an Interim Payment
from 1st April 2013. Interim payments MUST NOT be made from this
date. The Interim Payment functionality will still exist on the JSAPS
system. This MUST NOT be used under any circumstances.
2. A Short Term Benefit Advance is processed via the STBA Template,
which may be accessed via the Handover Telephony Tool (HOTT) icon
available on your computer Desktop screen. All action taken is recorded
on the various tabs of the template.
3. A Short Term Benefit Advance (STBA) is designed to provide financial
support for claimants in the form of an advance of some or all of their
benefit.
4. An STBA is an advance of JSA made to a claimant who declares a
financial need which may result in a serious risk to their health and/or
welfare of them or their family.
5. Advances will be limited to 60% of their personal allowance prior to
their first benefit week ending date and 100% of their personal allowance
from their first benefit week ending.
6. Any advance paid at the 60% rate will be expected to be repaid over a
twelve week period, by deductions from ongoing benefit payments.
Advances paid at the 100% rate will be recovered immediately from
arrears.
Financial Need
7. STBA’s are an important way of alleviating financial need which may
result in a serious risk to our claimant’s health and/or welfare of them or
their family.
8. In the context of STBA’s, our intervention means that the claimant or
any family member in respect of whom the claim is made may avoid
financial difficulties.
9. When considering an urgent need request, think especially about:
any physical or mental health issues that might increase the risk of their
urgent need; and
establish the likely date a payment of normal benefit can be made and
the claimant understands the knock on effect the interim payment will
have on their next benefit payment.
Who can decide to make a Short
Term Benefit Advance
10. The assessment will be made by:
a Benefit Processor for assessing the likelihood that the claimant
satisfies the conditions of entitlement for benefit and can afford to repay
the advance in the normal timescale
a Decision Maker for deciding on Financial need, the amount to advance
and agreeing the repayments with the claimant.
Deciding whether to make a Short
Term Benefit Advance or refer for
local crisis support
11. If the only reason that the claimant is in urgent need is the time
taken to action their JSA claim ensure the claim is processed as soon as
possible.
12. If a decision to award benefit is about to be made, give this priority.
13. The case could be 'Live' but payment not due because they haven’t
reached their pay week.
14. In these cases a Short Term Benefit Advance may still be considered
if the claimant has declared a financial need which may result in a
serious risk to their health and/or welfare of them or their family.
15. You must be satisfied that the claimant is or may be entitled to JSA
once all information has been gathered.
16. Do not wait until all the evidence to support the claim has been
provided,
unless the claimant is refusing to provide information without
good reason. 17. If it is likely the conditions for benefit entitlement will be met continue
to process as in the Short Term Benefit Advance Guidance (link is
external).
18. If the delay in deciding the claim is due to administrative delays in
Jobcentre Plus, for example delays in arranging interviews, give the
claimant the benefit of the doubt about any information they have not yet
had the chance to provide.
19. An STBA may be considered if:
a claimant has not had a New Jobseeker Interview; and/or
documentary evidence of ID has not yet been produced and/or
a specialist decision is outstanding.
20. Always
consider if an immediate payment of JSA or a Short Term
Benefit Advance can be made in addition to providing information about
other support available locally from the
District Provision Tool. Note: If during the course of a conversation the claimant enquires about
the possibility of an urgent payment consider the possibility of an STBA.
Their enquiry and plea for help may lead to an offer, depending on the
circumstances, for an STBA, or information about other support.
Request made at First Contact
21. If the claimant makes contact through the service centre telephony,
all emergency payment requests for new claims will result in the
completion of the STBA Template via HOTT for referral to the service
centre processing.
22. Service centre telephony are not able to advise whether the STBA
request will succeed. The benefit centre processor must
establish if
benefit entitlement is likely.
When to consider a Short Term
Benefit Advance
23 An STBA may be appropriate when:
the claimant declares a financial need which may result in a serious risk
to their health and/or welfare of them or their family; and
a claim for benefit has been made but it cannot be determined
immediately, for example further information is needed; or
a decision to award benefit has been made but benefit cannot be paid
immediately, for example a breakdown in the computer payment system.
24. A STBA payment may be considered where the claimant has made a
new claim or reported a change of circumstances at any point in the
claim process.
25. This may be;
when a claimant writes into or attends the local office to make a claim for
benefit rather than telephoning the service centre telephony
if the claimant expresses urgent need during the FA/PA interview.
26. A claimant does not need to make an application for an STBA in
writing but as soon as it is evident an STBA may be applicable, the
STBA template, accessed via HOTT should be completed.
27. If a claimant states they will be in urgent need if they do not receive
an immediate payment consider making an STBA, unless it is clear that
there would be no entitlement to benefit.
28. When considering an STBA, treat each case on its own merits. Take
an objective common sense approach when deciding whether benefit is
likely to be awarded.
29. For an STBA to succeed you must also
assess the affordability of
the claimant to make repayments within the required timescale.
30. This action is important to both your own and the Decision Maker s
assessment of whether an STBA may be allowed or not. If you decide
from information gathered that an award cannot be made continue action
to make
Initial contact with the claimant to update them.
When may a Short Term Benefit
Advance be payable
31. When it is established that the conditions of entitlement and the
affordability of repayments is likely arrange the
handover to the DM for
processing.
32. The
DM will make a decision whether to approve an advance. The
decision makers will be based at four sites around the country. They will
not have access to the HBS systems.
33. Once their decision is made the case will be referred back to the
benefit processor to make any due payment and update HBS. See
making an STBA payment and action to record STBA. Note: The minimum amount of money which should be paid via CPS
Local Payment is £10, unless both the Decision Maker and the approver
are satisfied that failing to make this payment will lead to the claimant
being in a crisis situation. Advances for amounts under £10 may
therefore be considered.
Setting a reminder to enter recovery
action.
34. Set a “user set case control” in
JA530 Maintain Case Control on
JSAPS or a clerical control in a separate run for clerical cases to ensure
the STBA template is retrieved after payment.
35. The control needs to record when the recovery action should
commence.
36. This should be the second full benefit week following the STBA, set
the case control in advance, if possible, to give time for rec0overy action
to be implemented.
When may a Short Term Benefit
Advance not be payable
37. When considering a Short Term Benefit Advance the following must
be considered which may show that an advance could not be paid ;
if conditions are satisfied for the actual benefit award to be made and
benefit can be paid which would resolve the crisis situation (if the first
payday has not been reached but an award has been made – consider
an STBA if appropriate)
where it is unlikely that the claimant will be entitled to JSA. To decide
that benefit is not likely to be awarded there would need to be a
significant level of doubt.
if the claimant cannot afford to pay back the advance in the repayment
period
an STBA will not be appropriate if the claimant has been asked for
information to support the claim but has not provided that information
and there is nothing to prevent it being provided.
if a claimant has been suspended, sanctioned or has appealed against a
decision to disallow JSA, an STBA should not, in any circumstances, be
considered. The purpose of an STBA is not to avoid the effects of the
normal decision-making and appeals process. In this event consider the
possibility of a
JSA Hardship Award. Note: Benefit processors have discretion when completing the STBA
template. Always consider each case on its individual mer its and provide
all relevant information on the template to aid the decision makers’
determination.
38. Where a claimant is not eligible for an STBA or no contact could be
made with the claimant or the claimant has refused the STBA offered,
print the STBA request template and store it in line with
JSA document
retention guidance.
Appeal Rights
39. There is no right of appeal against:
the amount of an STBA payment; or
refusal to pay an STBA payment.
40. However, the claimant can ask for the decision to be reconsidered
and ultimately the decision can be challenged through the courts by
judicial review.
Effect on accuracy targets
41. Short Term Benefit Advances are not payments of benefit and are
not subject to the accuracy rules relating to individual benefits.
42. Once a benefit claim is fully processed any accuracy check will
examine whether the STBA payment has been correctly assessed and
recovered.
43. The dates and repayment periods of STBAs themselves are not part
of the benefit specific accuracy checks.
44. Checks will be made on the quality of decision making and
telephony.