Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the timeframe is for her Department to terminate a claim for Support for Mortgage Interest in cases where Serco has been unsuccessful in contacting a claimant by phone about the offer of a loan.

Where Serco has been unsuccessful in contacting a Support for Mortgage interest benefit recipient they will write to the claimant advising they contact DWP and return the case to DWP. DWP will then write to the claimant to confirm their phone number and availability for informed discussion, they will issue a reminder if required. The claimant can continue to receive SMI as a benefit for up to 10 weeks following the date the loan offer is made or from when DWP write to them requesting information, to give them time to decide whether to accept the offer and for the loan payments to be put in place.

Where an existing claimant lacks mental capacity to make decisions about entering into the loan agreement, the regulations enable SMI benefit to continue until an appropriate person is appointed to act on the claimant’s behalf.