Interim payments and short-term advances
If your claim or payment of child benefit or guardian’s allowance is delayed, you can ask for an interim payment. If your claim for another benefit is delayed, you can ask for a short-term advance. The rules do not apply to tax credits, attendance allowance, disability living allowance, personal independence payment, statutory adoption pay, statutory paternity pay or statutory shared parental pay. See here for the rules about payments on account of housing benefit (HB). An interim payment of child benefit or guardian’s allowance can be made if it seems you are, or may be, entitled to benefit and:
•there is a delay in your making a claim, including being able to satisfy the national insurance number requirement straight away; or
•you have claimed it but not in the correct way (eg, you have filled in the wrong form, or filled in the right form incorrectly or incompletely) and you cannot put in a correct claim immediately; or
•you have claimed correctly, but it is not possible for the claim, or for a revision or supersession request which relates to it, to be dealt with immediately; or
•you have been awarded benefit, but it is not possible to pay you immediately other than by means of an interim payment.
A short-term advance (for universal credit, a ‘universal credit advance’) can be made where there is a delay in dealing with your claim or paying your benefit and, because of the delay, you are in financial need. Financial need means that because you have not received your benefit, there is serious risk of damage to the health or safety of you or of your family.
You cannot appeal to the First-tier Tribunal if you are refused an interim payment or short-term advance. It may be possible to apply for judicial review (see here). You could contact your MP to see if s/he can help get the decision to refuse you an interim payment or short-term advance reconsidered. An interim payment or short-term advance can be deducted from any later payment of benefit. If it is more than your actual entitlement, the overpayment can be recovered.