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Acknowledgement of the request

6.—(1) Subject to paragraph (2), a local authority must within five working days of the receipt of any request that complies with regulation 3 send the requester and any representative a statement stating–

(a)the date on which the request was received;

(b)the nature of the request;

(c)if the requester has not already appointed a representative, that the requester may appoint a representative to assist them and act on their behalf during the whole or part of the review period;

(d)how the local authority will carry out the review;

(e)that the requester need not pay the charge, reimbursement or contribution, or the part which is the subject of the review, during the review period;

(f)if the requester decides not to pay the charge, reimbursement or contribution, or the part which is the subject of the review, during the review period, that the requester or any representative must notify the local authority, either orally or in writing, of that decision;

(g)whether, in the event that the requester does not pay the charge, reimbursement or contribution during the review period, the local authority will seek to recover, after the review period, any amount that has accrued and not been paid during the review period;

(h)that if the requester has requested a review of a contribution and has notified the local authority that they will not pay the contribution during the review period, the local authority will make gross payments to the requester during the review period;

(i)what, if any, further information or documentation the local authority reasonably requires from the requester in order to carry out a review and the time limit for the provision of such information or documentation which is specified in regulation 8;

(j)that an appropriate officer of the local authority would be available to carry out a home visit for the purposes of collecting the further information or documentation;

(k)the procedure for requesting a home visit;

(l)the contact details of the appointed person who will be responsible for providing a response to any enquiries the requester may have about the review;

(m)the contact details of any organisation that might be able to assist the requester during the review period.

(2) Paragraph (1) does not apply where a local authority sends its decision on the review to the requester and any representative within five working days of the receipt of the request.