Welfare rights news and case law

15 May, 2024

Employment Minister provides undertaking that AET will not be increased further without a ‘sound evidence base’

However, Minister's evidence to Lords Committee fails to address its dissatisfaction with DWP's explanation for not publishing robust evidence to support previous increases in the threshold

15 May, 2024

DWP confirms that it is developing an ‘enhanced notification strategy’ to alert carer’s allowance claimants to possible overpayments

Notifications designed to encourage claimants to report changes in income and so reduce the risk of being overpaid

15 May, 2024

Number of emergency food parcels distributed across the UK by the Trussell Trust has increased by more than 90 per cent over the past five years

Food charity reports that it distributed more than three million parcels last year, with more than a million of them going to children

14 May, 2024

Less than half of legacy benefit claimants sent a migration notice between July 2022 and March 2024 have made a claim for universal credit

However, new DWP statistics also show that 60 per cent of households that claimed universal credit have been awarded transitional protection

14 May, 2024

57,000 adverse universal credit sanction decisions were made in January 2024

New DWP statistics also highlight that around 95 per cent of decisions are as a result of failure to attend or participate in a mandatory interview

14 May, 2024

‘Move to UC’ rollout in Northern Ireland expands to include those receiving tax credits along with housing benefit

Department for Communities also confirms that claimants in receipt of other legacy benefits will be issued with migration notices 'in the coming months'

13 May, 2024

Work and Pensions Secretary sets out DWP’s plans to scale up its ‘fight against fraudsters’

New measures include using machine learning to detect and prevent fraudulent claims, as well as introducing a new Bill to enable benefit fraud to be treated like tax fraud

13 May, 2024

Consequential amendments to secondary legislation to reflect the transition from attendance allowance to pension age disability payment in Scotland

New statutory instrument

13 May, 2024

Department for Communities has ‘big questions to answer’ over carer’s allowance overpayments caused by ‘opaque’ earnings rules

Carers NI says it is surely a 'no-brainer' for the Department to have a system in place to automatically intervene when a carer earns more than they’re allowed

10 May, 2024

Select Committee calls on National Audit Office to investigate problems with carer’s allowance system

Committee chair says investigation merited given the scale of the problem, the cost to the taxpayer of a system that fails to prevent or rectify overpayments, and the lack of progress being made to address the issue

10 May, 2024

Any future early legal advice pilot should be co-designed with advice stakeholders, and acknowledge value of existing services

Evaluation says that valuable lessons were learned despite the pilot having had very low uptake and being stopped before progressing to a full trial

10 May, 2024

Scottish Parliament consents to UK Parliament legislating for DWP’s new powers to access claimants’ bank account data on its behalf

Social Justice Minister says providing legislative consent ‘allows us to maintain the Agency Agreements for the delivery of social security payments in Scotland and safeguard the important work that Social Security Scotland does’

9 May, 2024

Transfer of tax credits claimants over state pension age to universal credit or pension credit

New statutory instrument

9 May, 2024

Preserving existing protection for mixed-age couples on them being issued with a universal credit migration notice

New statutory instrument

9 May, 2024

DWP confirms that it plans to begin notifying ESA claimants of their move to universal credit in September 2024

Department says however that its delivery approach and timelines will be informed by detailed planning and engagement with stakeholders

9 May, 2024

DWP confirms that Work and Health Programme will continue to be delivered until July 2026

Update follows news that programme is being 'quietly scrapped' to be replaced by elements of the government's new Back to Work Plan

9 May, 2024

While Restart Scheme provides tailored support for some participants it is less able to help those with physical or severe mental health conditions, the long-term unemployed and the more highly skilled

Evaluation of the scheme also reports mixed views about the value of mandatory participation, and presents clear evidence that the administrative process of mandation did not work effectively

9 May, 2024

Administrative exercise to correct state pension payments has not uncovered widespread error caused by DWP’s failure to take action when notified of a claimant’s divorce

Permanent Secretary also says that in the majority of cases where there was an error relating to divorce 'it was due to the claimant not notifying the change of marital status'

9 May, 2024

DWP undertaking research to explore options for enabling appointees to complete PIP forms online

Evidence sought from local authorities, charities and support organisations to better understand appointees’ current processes and difficulties