Welfare rights news and case law

3 December, 2020 Open access

Extending the £20 universal credit uplift to legacy benefit claimants is the ‘right thing to do’, JRF says

New briefing highlights that disability benefit claimants, the majority of whom claim legacy benefits, are facing extra costs and greater risks to employment income in the pandemic but have been 'cut adrift' without extra support

2 December, 2020

Tribunal rule 29 requirements to give notice of tribunal hearing also apply to changes in the time of hearing

MB v Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (PIP)
[2020] UKUT 296 (AAC)
CPIP/2416/2019

2 December, 2020

Ensuring that current position is maintained after Brexit in relation to access to benefits and housing for family members of EEA Citizens granted limited leave to enter UK under EUSS family permit

New statutory instrument

1 December, 2020

Ministry of Justice consults on limiting extent to which unsuccessful litigants can apply for permission to appeal from Upper Tribunal to Court of Appeal

Consultation sets out proposals designed to 'improve the efficiency of the unified tribunal system'

1 December, 2020 Open access

Government says it is right to freeze local housing allowances as rents are ‘potentially going down’

Work and Pensions Secretary says that decision means people have 'certainty' in the amount of cash they have

1 December, 2020

Whether new evidence is admissible in Upper Tribunal appeal in circumstances where First-tier Tribunal misdirected itself about an uncontentious anatomical fact

SM v Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (II)
[2020] UKUT 287 (AAC)
CI/1395/2019

1 December, 2020

DWP confirms that more than a quarter of a million DLA claimants are still to be reassessed for PIP

Minister also tells parliament that, while some activity on PIP reassessments was resumed in July 2020, new claims and changes of circumstances cases 'remain our priority'

1 December, 2020 Open access

‘Press pause’ on making deductions from people’s benefit during pandemic, urges Trussell Trust

New report from charity highlights that almost three out of four food bank users in receipt of universal credit are repaying an advance

1 December, 2020

Scottish Government has paid out more than £540 million in devolved benefits since Social Security Scotland established in September 2018

Social Security Scotland's annual report for 2019/2020 also shows that more than 80 per cent of claimants who rated their experience of applying for Scottish benefits said it was 'good'

30 November, 2020

Scottish Government announces £100 million ‘Winter Plan for Social Protection’

Funding developed to mitigate social harms posed by the concurrent risks of COVID-19, winter cost of living increases and Brexit, as well as to promote equality and human rights

30 November, 2020 Open access

Scottish Government announces extension of Self-Isolation Support Grant to new groups

Changes, that include extending entitlement to parents whose children are required to self-isolate, will come into effect from 7 December 2020

30 November, 2020 Open access

Ministers urged to fill ‘glaring omissions’ from last week’s Spending Review by making £20 benefit uplift permanent and extending increase to legacy benefits

Public statement from JRF and more than 60 charities and faith leaders says there is ‘no conceivable scenario in which this lifeline will not be necessary'

30 November, 2020 Open access

Government’s emergency response to the COVID-19 pandemic is not enough to paper over cracks of UK’s ‘threadbare safety net’, says New Economics Foundation

Highlighting that more than 20 million people are falling below a 'minimum socially acceptable standard of living', think tank calls for introduction of a Minimum Income Guarantee

27 November, 2020 Open access

Discussions are ‘very much ongoing’ with the Treasury on the best way to support low-income families from April 2021, says DWP Minister

However, Will Quince says that it is right to wait for more clarity on the national economic and social picture before decisions are taken

27 November, 2020

DWP confirms it is restarting pre-COVID-19 renewal processes for attendance allowance claimants

Department advises that awards that are due to expire after 8 March 2021 will receive renewal packs in the coming weeks

27 November, 2020 Open access

DWP publishes guidance on administration of COVID Winter Grant Scheme, and sets out allocation of £170 million funding for scheme by local authority

Aim of scheme is to ensure that 'every child will be warm and well-fed this winter', says Department

27 November, 2020 Open access

Welsh Government announces extra £2.6 million in funding for local authorities to meet increased demand for council tax reduction scheme due to COVID-19

New funding brings total amount of coronavirus-related support for scheme up to almost £5.5 million

27 November, 2020

New burdens funding to cover additional housing benefit administration costs for implementing the severe disability premium gateway

New DWP guidance confirms funding for costs up to the abolition of the SDP gateway from 27 January 2021

27 November, 2020

More than eight out of ten claimants mandated to the Work and Health Programme have not achieved a ‘job outcome’

New DWP statistics also show that more than a quarter of all claimants referred to the programme then failed to start it