Welfare rights news and case law

12 September, 2022

DWP’s Way to Work regulations are a ‘poor example of legislative practice’, say peers

Secondary Legislation Scrutiny Committee highlights that, while the Department says its policy was a success, it is unable to identify the degree to which the regulations had any effect in achieving their target

12 September, 2022

Miscellaneous amendments to council tax reduction schemes and single person discount in Scotland

New statutory instrument

12 September, 2022

Extension of exemptions from LHA shared accommodation rate in Northern Ireland to include victims of domestic abuse and victims of modern slavery

New statutory rule introduces amendments equivalent to those introduced in Great Britain

8 September, 2022

Government rejects MPs’ recommendation to pause deductions from benefits to help ease financial pressures during cost of living crisis

Response to Work and Pensions Committee report also rejects recommendations to address wider issues with the adequacy and uprating of benefits

8 September, 2022

Government confirms delay in launch of Early Legal Advice Pilot Scheme in Manchester and Middlesbrough

Pilot will begin in 'late summer' following the conclusion of a feasibility study to inform its final design and how it will be evaluated

8 September, 2022

Extension of exemptions from LHA shared accommodation rate to include victims of domestic abuse and victims of modern slavery from 1 October 2022

New statutory instrument

8 September, 2022

New DWP guidance requiring presenting officers to let appeals proceed without contacting claimant if decision revised partially in their favour close to hearing date

Practice of contacting claimants to give option to continue with appeal or have decision revised is amended 'to avoid placing claimants under undue time pressure close to the hearing date’

8 September, 2022

Two-thirds of ESA work capability assessments result in a support group award

New DWP statistics also show that, while end-to-end clearance times for initial claims have fallen from their peak in July 2021, they remain at more than six months

8 September, 2022

Number of social security and child support appeal receipts in April to June 2022 was up by more than 80 per cent compared to same period in 2021

New MoJ statistics also show that disposals were down by 16 per cent and that the outstanding caseload was up 63 per cent compared to previous year

7 September, 2022

High Court rules that denial of bereavement support payment to spouse of deceased woman who had been unable to work and pay national insurance contributions due to severe disability breached ECHR

Jwanczuk, R (On the Application Of) v Secretary of State for Work and Pensions [2022] EWHC 2298 (Admin)

7 September, 2022

Value of housing benefit overpayments recovered or written off by local authorities exceeds value of overpayments identified for third year running

DWP statistics highlight that the trend since 2019/2020 has brought down outstanding housing benefit debt from a peak of £2.12 billion in March 2018 to £1.78 billion in January 2022

7 September, 2022

TUC sets out series of proposed reforms to universal credit designed to create a ‘fairer, more effective system’

Implementing reforms would provide for a new system, while making use of existing IT to avoid disruption to claimants

6 September, 2022

Chloe Smith appointed new Work and Pensions Secretary as Thérèse Coffey moves to Health and Social Care

New Prime Minister's Cabinet reshuffle also sees a new Chancellor, Home Secretary and Secretaries of State for Housing and Justice

6 September, 2022

Scottish Government confirms that it will increase Scottish child payment to £25 and expand eligibility to those aged between six and 15 from 14 November 2022

2022/2023 Programme for Government also confirms that two further bridging payments worth minimum of £130 will be made in October and December 2022

6 September, 2022

More than 40,000 universal credit work capability assessments were carried out per month in the year to February 2022

However, while Minister provides figures from 'unpublished management information', DWP still has 'no plans' to develop official statistics despite concerns raised by both the OSR and Work and Pensions Committee

6 September, 2022 Open access

Tribunals reach different conclusion on substantially the same facts as DWP decision makers in almost 60 per cent of successful PIP appeals

However, Minister says that improvements have been made 'to help ensure we make the right decision as early as possible in the claim journey'

6 September, 2022

DWP confirms that it has not made any assessment of the number of claimants who would have moved into work in the absence of the Way to Work campaign

Written answer to Parliament follows statistics regulator having expressed concern about the standard of data used to support Department's claim that more than half a million claimants were helped into work by the campaign

6 September, 2022

Scottish Government publishes final evaluation of pilot to help people with health problems get into or stay in work

Report concludes that, while majority of participants reported positive effects on health and employment, those benefits were not experienced by participants with complex needs due to mental health problems

2 September, 2022

DWP confirms it is increasing the automatic extension period for existing PIP awards awaiting review from three months to up to 12 months

Longer extension period will 'provide greater certainty for claimants' and help to maintain access to other support linked to their awards