Welfare rights news and case law

13 January, 2022

Miscellaneous amendments to council tax reduction schemes in England for 2022/2023

New statutory instrument also provides for the uprating of figures used to calculate reductions under the scheme for pensioners

12 January, 2022

Increasing benefits by 6 per cent in April 2022 would prevent a £290 real fall in ongoing benefit income for 10 million households

Alternatively, IFS suggests now would be an 'opportune moment' to change the benefit uprating process in the long term by waiting until closer to April each year to use the latest inflation figures available

12 January, 2022

DWP made almost 4,000 consolatory payments to claimants during 2020/2021

Minister advises that these payments acknowledge the non-financial impact of DWP maladministration

11 January, 2022

Court of Appeal rules that suspension of DLA after 28 days in hospital did not breach severely disabled adult’s rights under Article 14 ECHR

MOC v Secretary of State for Work And Pensions [2022] EWCA Civ 1

11 January, 2022

MPs vote in favour of resetting welfare cap to almost £140 billion in 2024/2025 and increasing its margin for fluctuation to 2 per cent

With SNP MPs objecting in principle to the cap and the majority of Labour MPs abstaining, motion passes by 306 votes to 6

6 January, 2022

Almost three-quarters of work capability assessments are still carried out over the telephone

However, Minister reports a slight increase in the number of video and face-to-face assessments over last 18 months

6 January, 2022 Open access

Work coaches to continue to offer telephone interviews where claimants do not feel ‘comfortable or safe’ to come into the jobcentre

PCS union welcomes DWP decision to continue measures adopted in December 2021 in response to rising number of Covid-19 cases

6 January, 2022

Circumstances in which a person for whom tax credits have not been abolished may make a fresh claim following termination of an award

Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs v RS (TC)
[2021] UKUT 310 (AAC)
CTC/1514/2020

6 January, 2022 Open access

Reintroduction of Covid-19-related Statutory Sick Pay Rebate Scheme where employee’s incapacity for work falls on or after 21 December 2021

New statutory instruments allow employers with fewer than 250 employees to make claims for rebate from 14 January 2022

5 January, 2022

Claimant who moved into property after tenant went to prison could not be treated as liable to make payments for housing benefit purposes

ZD v London Borough of Hillingdon (HB)
[2021] UKUT 305 (AAC)
CH/990/2020

5 January, 2022

Tribunal correct to treat pay in lieu of notice as employed earnings for universal credit purposes rather than as a termination of employment payment that could be excluded from calculation

RMcE-v-Department for Communities (UC)
[2021] NICom 59
C3/21-22(UC)

4 January, 2022

DWP confirms details of 6-month pilot project across 15 jobcentres to test a new autism framework

Work and Pensions Minister says that initiative, along with new specialist work coach training, will help deliver more employment opportunities as government works towards target of one million more disabled people in work by 2027

4 January, 2022

Department for Communities announces £2 million funding for Emergency Fuel Payment Scheme

Scheme will open on 6 January 2022 and run until 31 March 2022 and aim to benefit 20,000 families, Minister says

24 December, 2021

Disregarding payments from schemes compensating victims of historical institutional child abuse and from the Windrush Compensation Scheme in the assessment of means tested benefits

New DWP guidance

22 December, 2021

Determining entitlement to Scottish child payment and best start grants when competing claims in respect of the same child are made

New statutory instrument

22 December, 2021

Independent review of welfare mitigation measures in Northern Ireland will consider scope of existing package and whether to extend protection to cover additional welfare cuts

Newly published terms of reference include recommendation to consider if welfare cuts, including the two child policy and removal of the £20 universal credit uplift, should be mitigated under a revised scheme

21 December, 2021 Open access

Government to reintroduce Statutory Sick Pay Rebate Scheme as part of package of support for businesses impacted by the Omicron variant

Chancellor advises that employers will be eligible for the scheme from today and that they will be able to make claims retrospectively from mid-January 2022

21 December, 2021

Government confirms option for people entitled to HMRC ‘benefits’ to receive payments in the form of a PayOut voucher following closure of the Post Office card account

DWP Minister says that vouchers can be sent by mail or SMS to those who do not have or cannot open a transactional account

21 December, 2021

DWP estimates that up to 40,000 claimants could gain from PIP review exercise relating to Activity 9

Writing to the Work and Pensions Committee, Minister also sets out measures the Department is taking to ensure claimants do not lose out due to missing communications