For a claim to be valid it must be made in writing on a form approved by the Council such as the Council’s own form or the HCTB1 provided by the Jobcentre or Pension Service, or in some other written form that the Council accepts as sufficient, such as a letter from the claimant. Claim forms are provided free of charge by Worthing Borough Council for this purpose.

If you make a claim using a form than on a Worthing Borough Council approved application form you will normally be asked to complete one of our forms. This is because the HCTB1 form often doesn't contain sufficient information to enable us to calculate your benefit entitlement.

Follow the link below to download a Council claim form.

Information and evidence

The second condition for a valid claim is that it must be accompanied by documentary evidence and information to confirm the identity, national insurance number, income, capital, residency, rent and household composition of the claimant and their family.

We are only able to accept original documents (not photocopies).  If you bring documents to the Town Hall we will photocopy them immediately and give them back to you.  If you send documents by post, we will photocopy them and return them to you the same day.

It is very important that all the information and evidence requested on the form is provided at the time the application is submitted.  The most common reason for claims being delayed is because information and evidence has not been provided with the form.  If we do not receive proof within one month, we will cancel your claim.

Please check what evidence and information we will require when making a claim.

The Verification Framework

The Verification Framework (VF) was introduced by the DSS (now the Department for Work and Pensions) in 1998 and is a code of practice that has been adopted by many, but not all, councils with the objective of preventing fraud and error. Worthing Borough Council has adopted The Verification Framework in its administration of the Housing and Council Tax Benefit scheme.

For councils that adopt VF, the Department for Work and Pensions has given a set of instructions relating to all aspects of the claim. The council must follow these instructions and all claimants must abide by the rules contained within them.

In broad terms, the VF gives detailed instructions about the type of evidence that the council may seek about the claimant and their family’s identity, residency, rent, household composition, income and capital etc. and how this evidence should be verified before Housing or Council Tax Benefit is awarded.

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