At the moment Employment and Support Allowance can only be backdated for three months due to The Social Security (Claims and Payments) Regulations 1987 Act. There is no leeway or consideration for illness that rendered the claimant unable to act during that timeframe.
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Change the legislation to allow further backdating in the event of inability to speak to the DWP, especially as talking to the DWP is often cited as a highly stressful activity. We believe allowing a greater time for backdating would make it much fairer on the claimant, helping them to recover before needing to go through a potentially very stressful application process.