Welfare rights news and case law

29 April, 2021

Essential that lessons learnt from the Covid-19 pandemic inform decisions about the future direction of social security

Now is the time to start talking about the different options for reform and whether we are willing to pay for them, says Resolution Foundation

28 April, 2021

DWP says it hopes to lay proposal for draft Remedial Order extending entitlement to widowed parent’s and bereavement benefits to cohabitees with children before Parliament’s Summer Recess

However, Minister also cautions that there are still 'some challenging policy areas to navigate into legislation', including in relation to polyamorous relationships

28 April, 2021

Cabinet Office confirms that work is ‘well underway’ on the design of a new single sign-on and digital identity assurance system to succeed gov.uk Verify

However, written update to Parliament also advises that the current Verify service will remain operational until April 2023 while the new service is in development

28 April, 2021

DWP confirms initial funding allocations for the second year of its Housing Benefit Award Accuracy Initiative

New HB Circular advises on activities participating local authorities will be funded to carry out to proactively identify unreported changes of circumstances

28 April, 2021

Department for Communities publishes annual report on social security decision making and financial accuracy

Joint Standards Committee report provides a generally ‘good’ assessment of decision making but calls for new thought to be given to timetabling and resourcing of changes, such as the roll out of universal credit, to reduce impact on standards

27 April, 2021

DWP exploring an approach to ‘encourage’ those who will benefit from moving to universal credit to do so voluntarily

Secretary of State confirms that, at the same time, Department is 'reviewing options' to restart the managed migration process.

27 April, 2021

Between them, Scottish local authorities spent just over half of their Scottish Welfare Fund budget allocation in the first nine months of 2020/2021

New statistics show that while four councils had spent three quarters or more of their allocation by 31 December 2020, 13 councils had spent less than 50 per cent

23 April, 2021

Ten per cent of universal credit awards had a deduction for a tax credit overpayment in December 2020

New DWP figures also show that 33 per cent of awards had a deduction for a universal credit advance, and that 15 per cent had a deduction for a budgeting advance

23 April, 2021

Claimant qualifies for highest-scoring descriptors under Activity 8 and Activity 10 if they are unable to accomplish what is involved in next highest-scoring descriptor

SE v Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (PIP) (Final decision)
[2021] UKUT 79 (AAC)
Reported as [2021] AACR 5
CPIP/1653/2019 final decision

23 April, 2021

DWP issues further guidance to clarify the operation of the debt respite ‘Breathing Space’ scheme as it relates to deductions from welfare benefits

Update for local authorities relates to universal credit third party deductions and ongoing deductions from housing benefit payments

23 April, 2021

DWP’s response to pension underpayment issue affecting tens of thousands of women ‘is simply not good enough’

Too many cases have needed the intervention of journalists, professional advisers or high-profile figures to be resolved, says Chair of the Work and Pensions Committee

22 April, 2021

Government suffers defeat in the Lords on vote on recourse to public funds for victims of domestic abuse

Peers vote in favour of providing access to public funds for the duration of the pilot Support for Migrant Victims Scheme.

22 April, 2021

Miscellaneous amendments to tax credit and child benefit legislation

New statutory instrument

22 April, 2021 Open access

Further extension of period over which Covid-19-related easements to benefit rules in Northern Ireland remain in force

New statutory rule

22 April, 2021

Trussell Trust reports an alarming 128 per cent  rise in need for emergency food over the last five years

Government needs to commit to working to end the need for food banks as latest figures show that Trust provided more than 2.5 million emergency parcels in 2020/2021

21 April, 2021

DWP plans to complete review exercise to correct its failure to apply automatic state pension uplift to certain married people, widows and over-80s by the end of 2023

Pensions Minister updates Parliament advising that a further 360 staff are to be recruited in 2021 to speed up work to identify cases where arrears are owed

21 April, 2021

Public Law Project urges Office for Statistics Regulation to examine use of statistics in government’s ongoing judicial review reform

Letter to Director General for Regulation highlights 'incorrect and misleading' figures used by government and Independent Review of Administrative Law in relation to success of 'Cart' judicial reviews

20 April, 2021 Open access

Further extension of period over which Covid-19-related easements to benefit rules remain in force

New statutory intrument

20 April, 2021 Open access

Around half a million people entitled to universal credit at start of pandemic did not claim it

It's essential to make non-take-up visible, and to produce a clear strategy to try to tackle it, says new report