Welfare rights news and case law

3 September, 2015

End of year adjustment of Fraud and Error Reduction Incentive Scheme payments

New HB guidance following feedback that local authorities concerned about 'cliff edge' nature of payments

2 September, 2015

‘No sensible rationale’ for state pension triple lock, says new JRF report

Policy is 'poorly designed' concludes new research carried out by the Institute for Fiscal Studies

2 September, 2015

LGA calls for 'risk and reward' system to encourage local partners to 'offer more services to' ESA and long-term JSA claimants

Local Government Association highlights that, currently, even if local areas are successful at reducing claimant numbers, only 7p in every £1 saved is retained locally

2 September, 2015

'Little support' for the view that welfare reform is having important and positive impacts on the labour market in Scotland

Scottish Welfare Reform Committee publishes new report from Sheffield Hallam University and the University of Glasgow

2 September, 2015

Scottish Government to bring forward a Social Security Bill in first year of the new Parliament

Bill will include measures to 'address weaknesses' in universal credit and the abolition of the bedroom tax

1 September, 2015

Government rejects SSAC’s recommendation to draw up clear guidelines for local welfare assistance

Response to review of localisation and social security also confirms that there will no further analysis of whether the new system is delivering better outcomes than the social fund

1 September, 2015

Activity 7 / claimant needs to be impaired in understanding either spoken or written communication but not both

CE/3086/2014

28 August, 2015

Grounds for revision must be established before a DLA decision may be changed

CDLA/5310/2014

28 August, 2015

Arriving ten minutes late for an appointment does not, in isolation, amount to a failure to carry out a jobseeker's direction

CJSA/4684/2014

27 August, 2015

DWP release statistics on mortality rates for those on out-of-work working age benefits

'Information cannot be used as evidence to support a link or otherwise between mortality and benefit receipt' says DWP

27 August, 2015

Turkish national with 'no recourse to public funds' stamp in passport was not excluded from entitlement to income-based jobseeker's allowance / European Convention on Social and Medical Assistance

CJSA/1158/2015

26 August, 2015

Iain Duncan Smith signals reform of WCA to focus 'on what a claimant can do and the support they'll need - and not just on what they can't do'

In speech today, Work and Pensions Secretary also pledges to halve gap between employment rate of disabled and non-disabled people

24 August, 2015

Tribunal errred in not considering adjournment to allow claimant with agorophobia to give evidence and gave undue prominence to view that it had sufficient evidence to make reasoned decision on papers

CDLA/5300/2014

21 August, 2015

Whether a tenant can challenge landlord's title to grant tenancy / calculation of rent arrears where set-off is claimed

CH/530/2015

Welfare rights

End of year adjustment of Fraud and Error Reduction Incentive Scheme payments

New HB guidance following feedback that local authorities concerned about 'cliff edge' nature of payments

‘No sensible rationale’ for state pension triple lock, says new JRF report

LGA calls for 'risk and reward' system to encourage local partners to 'offer more services to' ESA and long-term JSA claimants

'Little support' for the view that welfare reform is having important and positive impacts on the labour market in Scotland

Scottish Government to bring forward a Social Security Bill in first year of the new Parliament

Government rejects SSAC’s recommendation to draw up clear guidelines for local welfare assistance

Activity 7 / claimant needs to be impaired in understanding either spoken or written communication but not both

CE/3086/2014

Grounds for revision must be established before a DLA decision may be changed

Arriving ten minutes late for an appointment does not, in isolation, amount to a failure to carry out a jobseeker's direction

DWP release statistics on mortality rates for those on out-of-work working age benefits

Turkish national with 'no recourse to public funds' stamp in passport was not excluded from entitlement to income-based jobseeker's allowance / European Convention on Social and Medical Assistance

DWP confirms details of further roll out of PIP to those with long term or indefinite DLA award

Almost 240,000 young people took up work experience between April 2012 and May 2015

43,800 sanctions imposed on lone parent income support claimants in year to March 2015

Calculation of overpayment due to undeclared wages where hours of work fluctuated and hourly rate of pay varied

Scottish local authorities awarded 84,000 discretionary housing payments betweeen April and June 2015

Iain Duncan Smith signals reform of WCA to focus 'on what a claimant can do and the support they'll need - and not just on what they can't do'

Tribunal errred in not considering adjournment to allow claimant with agorophobia to give evidence and gave undue prominence to view that it had sufficient evidence to make reasoned decision on papers

Whether a tenant can challenge landlord's title to grant tenancy / calculation of rent arrears where set-off is claimed