Savings accumulated from benefits

Hi,

I would be very grateful if anyone could offer any insight on my present situation. My background is briefly this: I am in receipt of higher rate pip for both daily living and mobility and additionally esa support group and housing benefit.

I have been recently called upon for a housing benefit review and am uncertain where I stand in regard to savings I have built up from benefits payments? I understand that any back pay is normally disregarded (I had a substantial back payment award as my pip claim took some time to reach a tribunal).

My questions are:

1) Are savings built up from normal benefits payments ever disregarded?

2) If not and the local council decide there was no entitlement to housing benefit either currently or at some date previously, will they close the claim? What if the amount of savings has fluctuated at various points?

3) If savings cannot ever be disregarded, is there any appeal to be made on individual circumstances? I was not aware there were any rules governing the time frame in which a claimant spends the money they are given. I only built savings out of necessity because I have private medical bills to pay both now and in the future as I have a permanent health condition.