ESA(IR) back payment and deliberate deprivation ru

Hi, I receive ESA(CB) and was recently sent a letter from the DWP to claim several years' worth of underpaid ESA(IR). I've now received a letter to say that I've been awarded a lump sum back payment of over £6.000 but under £16,000. I'm of working age.

The letter says: "We will not add the £xx payment to any capital or savings you have already told us about until your claim ends. If you make a new claim for benefits after x/5/19 your benefit may be affected by this payment."

It sounds like this sum is going to be disregarded as capital or savings for a year or until I make a new claim, whichever comes first. Is that correct? If so, when my capital and savings are next assessed, will they investigate if I've spent a lot of this money? Could doing so be classed as deliberately depriving myselfl? Also, should I contact my council about my HB claim? (I'm due to be reassessed for ESA early next year.)

Any clarity on this would be gratefully received. I don't want to get into trouble for "deliberately" depriving myself of capital just for spending money that was owed to me due to the DWP's error.

Thank you

out of interest Gordon, if this person migrates eventually onto UC ( as all ESA claimants will have to eventually) might that trigger the new claim scenario and would it then be taken into account?

Gordon wrote: Drizzle

I actually read it as

"this sum is going to be disregarded as capital or savings for the life of your current claim, if you make a new claim for benefit after x/5/19 then your benefit may be effected by this payment"

I would contact your Local Authority just to make sure that they know of the payment, it should be disregarded by them in the same way as for your ESA.

Gordon

Thank you so much for your reply, Gordon - your interpretation makes more sense than mine! I'll contact my LA asap.

Do you (or anyone else) know whether - if I'm forced to make a new claim for some unforeseen reason in the near future - I'll be regarded as having deliberately deprived myself of this money if I've spent most of it? Would how I spent it be investigated?

Thanks