Welfare rights news and case law

4 February, 2021

Digitisation of the Healthy Start Scheme in Northern Ireland

New statutory rule

3 February, 2021

DWP contracts with Serco to deliver new ‘Job Finding Support’ service to complement the work being done by jobcentre work coaches

To be delivered by a team of 325 Job Search Advisers, the new service will provide support and advice to 160,000 jobseekers who 'already have the skills and experience needed to move into a new career'

3 February, 2021

DWP Permanent Secretary tells Work and Pensions Committee that additional support markers to identify vulnerable claimants will become ‘watermarks’ in IT system later this month

In addition, Work and Pensions Secretary confirms that, while no decisions have been made on retaining universal credit uplift, replacement by a one-off payment is 'not one of the Department's preferred approaches'

3 February, 2021 Open access

Lack of adequate social security support is a key driver of ‘mental health income gap’ of more than £8,000

Final Mental Health and Income Commission report calls for immediate measures and systemic reforms including increasing SSP, suspending conditionality and longer, more generous ESA awards

3 February, 2021 Open access

Two-thirds of disabled claimants have had to go without essential items during Covid-19 pandemic, says Disability Benefits Consortium

Coalition of charities urges government to keep the £20 'uplift' in universal credit and working tax credit and extend it to legacy and other benefits

3 February, 2021 Open access

Demand for self-isolation payments is ‘significantly outstripping’ the funding available to English councils

TUC highlights that 7 in 10 applications to the scheme end up without payment, and that more than 1 in 4 councils have run out of or are close to running out of funding

3 February, 2021 Open access

More than a third of calls to DWP’s attendance allowance and PIP telephone lines went unanswered in October 2020

New figures also show that percentage of calls answered in the whole of the period from August to December 2020 remained well below ‘acceptable’ service level target of 80 per cent

3 February, 2021

Local Welfare Assistance Provision (Review) Bill read for first time

Bill requires Government to undertake a review of the adequacy of local welfare assistance schemes provided by local authorities.

2 February, 2021 Open access

Scottish Government announces changes to Self-Isolation Support Grant to provide support to more people on low incomes

Additional 200,000 people expected to be eligible for help from the scheme as a result of changes being introduced from 16 February 2021

2 February, 2021 Open access

Welsh Government announces extension of Self-Isolation Support Scheme to people who have been notified of exposure to Covid-19 by NHS contact tracing app

Scheme extended to app users from today, with applications to local authorities to open from Friday 5 February 2021

2 February, 2021

More generous social security policies are associated with positive mental health outcomes and lower inequalities

Review undertaken by Newcastle University highlights that findings provide evidence-base for developing policies to aid post Covid-19 recovery

1 February, 2021

DWP looking into how it can use financial data to identify vulnerable claimants at source so it can tailor its debt collection strategies

In addition, any claimant experiencing financial hardship can contact Debt Management to request a reduction or suspension of repayment, Department says in response to Select Committee report

1 February, 2021 Open access

APPG on Poverty highlights disproportionate effect that removing the £20 universal credit ‘uplift’ would have on vulnerable groups

All-Party Group of MPs calls for uplift to be maintained and extended to legacy benefits, and for the benefit cap to be suspended

1 February, 2021

Uprating of council tax reduction allowances and premiums in Scotland

New statutory instrument

1 February, 2021

Relationship between descriptors, and definition of key terms, in activity 8 ‘Reading and understanding signs, symbols and words’ and activity 10 ‘Making budgeting decisions’

SE v Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
[2021] UKUT 1 (AAC)
CPIP/1653/2019

1 February, 2021

Ensuring EEA nationals can continue to be awarded a funeral expenses payment in Northern Ireland where funeral takes place in the UK

New statutory rule ensures parity with the social fund scheme as amended in England and Wales

29 January, 2021

Master of the Rolls sets out vision for ‘single online funnel’ for civil law disputes to pass through before being directed to appropriate resolution process

Speech to Law Society outlines benefits of online system, including 'far greater transparency, better data, and access to justice'

28 January, 2021

Acute distress caused as a result of 28 failings by the DWP and Capita materially contributed to death of claimant who took overdose, inquest finds

As a result of findings, coroner to issue a 'prevention of future deaths report' calling for the DWP to consider and address mental health training for call handers, record keeping and assessment processes, and that correspondence issued is accurate and does not create further stress

28 January, 2021 Open access

Almost 4,000 calls to DWP Debt Management went unanswered in first week of January 2021

However, following spike in blocked and unanswered calls in November 2020, Minister confirms plan to deploy around 450 new staff to answering calls in next three months