Benefits Waiver

No payments received from the Skipton Fund need be declared when applying for state benefits from Job Centre Plus, or to Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs when claiming Tax Credits or for the purposes of calculating Income Tax. Further to this any income generated from the investment of payments from the Skipton Fund are also exempt from declaration to Job Centre Plus and HMRC. 

It is strongly advised that all payments and investments are kept and maintained in separate accounts to other household income. 

The Skipton Fund is continually working with Job Centre Plus, HMRC and government ministers to ensure that the waiver for Fund payments is well documented and remains part of any ongoing changes to the Welfare Reform Bill. In this regard we have provided a number of letters and documents, both in the panel to the right and in the resources section for recipient use when communicating with Job Centre Plus or HMRC. 

Skipton Fund and Job Centre Plus

Available  in the panel to the right and in our resources section is a joint letter between the Skipton Fund and the Job Centre Plus Fraud Investigation Unit. You can show this to frontline staff if you are asked to attend an interview under caution. If you are approached please contact the Skipton Fund for advice. Thankfully instances of interviews under caution are unlikely and are well handled once investigating staff are made aware of the Skipton Fund. 

Welfare Reform Bill

The Skipton Fund is working to ensure that the exemption status of Fund payments is not lost in any welfare reform legislation. In the panel to the right is a joint letter from the Skipton Fund and its sister organisations to the Department of Health seeking assurances that new legislation will retain the Skipton Fund's current exemption status.

We have received a letter of assurance in response from Lord Freud, Minister for Welfare reform, also downloadable from the Resources panel/page.

Also in the Resources panel is a copy of Draft Statutory Instruments: The Universal Credit Regulations 2013 (Capital and Income). Part 17 is the relevant information that may need to be supplied to frontline staff at Job Centre Plus or HMRC. 

If you wish to be sent paper copies of any of the above documents please contact us.