UC claim 'closed' due to failure to attend a Jobcentre claimant commitment meeting

You can use this template if all of the following apply:

• your client had an award of UC
• your client was called to a commitments meeting and did not attend
• your client had a good reason for not attending but was not provided with opportunity to explain to the DWP
• the DWP 'closed' your client's 'claim'. Ie, made a decision ending your client's entitlement for 'failure to accept your claimant commitment'
• your client has requested a mandatory reconsideration of the decision

This letter assumes (so can be edited if it does not apply) that your client:

your client’s UC payments were not suspended before their award ended. 

Do not use this letter if:

• your client has not previously accepted a claimant commitment which was still in place when they were called to the meeting
• your client has not already requested a mandatory reconsideration

The main legal arguments in this template are:

• Accepting a claimant commitment is a basic condition of entitlement to UC under the Welfare Reform Act 2012 (WRA).
• The claimant was in receipt of UC and had therefore already accepted a claimant commitment.
• Section 14(5) WRA provides that a claimant commitment is only ‘accepted’ if the claimant “accepts the most up-to-date version”.
• Under section 23 WRA SSWP may require a claimant to participate in an interview relating to their claimant commitment; known as a ‘connected requirements’ meeting.
• Under section 27 WRA the consequence of non-attendance of a connected requirements meeting is a sanction, unless the claimant has a good reason for not attending.
• DWP’s power when a claimant fails to attend a commitments meeting is confirmed by the Secretary of State’s submissions, accepted by Judge Wikeley, in FO vs SSWP (UC) [2022] UKUT 56 (AAC): DWP only has power to sanction if "the claimant failed to comply with the interview requirement for no good reason".
• DWP's decision to end the claimant's entitlement is unlawful.

Information about your client (and their partner):

• name
• address
• national insurance number
• date of birth

Background facts relating to your client, such as:

• date claimed UC and date last accepted a claimant commitment
• disability, health conditions, other vulnerability
• date of commitments meeting, how this was communicated to your client and why they could not attend, how they told the DWP they could not attend (or why they did not tell them) and what evidence they have provided
• whether your client has previously not attended meetings and how DWP have responded
• what financial hardship your client is experiencing as a result of the termination of the UC, any risk to their being able to afford to pay for their housing, heating or food
  • any need to use food banks
  • any detriment to their health and welfare or to any of their family member’s health and welfare

Information relating to the decision:

• the date DWP decided your client is not entitled to UC and how they notified this to your client  and whether the notification included appeal rights
• the date your client requested a mandatory reconsideration
• how DWP have responded including dates and exactly what was said (ideally direct quotations from your client's UC journal)

We've created this guide to help you successfully use our judicial review pre-action letter templates: Guide to using CPAG's judicial review pre-action letter templates

Once you've finished your letter, please email it to us at: [email protected] before you send it to the lawyers acting for DWP/HMRC/your local authority. We'll try to reply as quickly as possible and will do so within 7 days.

Requesting mandatory reconsideration

A mandatory reconsideration request should also be made as 'closing' a claim or award is an appealable decision (see PP v SSWP (UC) [2020] UKUT 0109 (AAC) for confirmation. In this case the Secretary of State had further not advised of appeal rights, and mandatory reconsideration was not required to exercise the claimant's right of appeal).

Your client can also re-claim UC, but note before they do so, they should download any documents relevant to their mandatory reconsideration request / appeal and take screen shots of their UC journal, as they are likely to lose access to their original journal as soon as a new claim is made.