Welfare rights news and case law

13 February, 2020

Whether a tribunal should proceed in claimant’s absence when ESA50 is missing from papers / whether a request for an all-female tribunal panel was reasonable

CB v Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (ESA)
[2020] UKUT 15 (AAC)
CE/238/2019

13 February, 2020

Lack of corroboration of evidence does not relieve tribunal of duty to assess that evidence and to explain any findings it may make in relation to it

NK v The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (DLA)
[2020] UKUT 14 (AAC)
CDLA/1733/2019

12 February, 2020

DWP confirms that it will return claimants who have inadvertently breached the universal credit SDP Gateway to legacy benefits where it is ‘in their best interests’

Response to freedom of information request also confirms that Department will consider compensation for claimants who have lost tax credits income

12 February, 2020

85 per cent of people surveyed by Salvation Army struggled to complete universal credit claim

New report warns that millions of vulnerable people risk being unable to access system that is 'complicated, bureaucratic and digital by default'

12 February, 2020

Importance of representatives indicating that special arrangements needed to help vulnerable adult participate in tribunal proceedings / need for representatives to make it clear if they wish to give evidence themselves

JE v Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (PIP)
[2020] UKUT 17 (AAC)
CPIP/1328/2019

11 February, 2020

Northern Ireland Executive confirms that a bill to extend existing bedroom tax mitigation payments will be included in its 2019/2020 Legislative Programme

Written statement also says that more legislative proposals will be added to the Programme as they become more fully developed

11 February, 2020

Around £28 million has been paid out as a result of PIP review exercise following Upper Tribunal decisions relating to ‘psychological distress’ and carrying out activities ‘safely’

Latest DWP progress report also confirms a change in methodology so those considered less likely to be entitled to increased benefit will be 'given an opportunity to request a review'

11 February, 2020

Circumstances where a tribunal may have a duty to telephone claimant to establish reasons for non-attendance before proceeding to hear a case in their absence

KD v Secretary for Work and Pensions (ESA and IS) KD v Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs (TC)
[2020] UKUT 9 (AAC)
CTC/9/2019, CE/10,11,12 & 13/2019, CIS/14 & 15 2019

11 February, 2020

£21.3 million paid out in the first year of Best Start Grants and Best Start Foods in Scotland

New statistics also show that around 92 per cent of applications were made online

11 February, 2020

40 per cent of Citizens Advice debt clients on means-tested benefits don’t have enough money to cover their living costs

New report on effects of benefit freeze calls on government to increase frozen benefits by CPI plus two per cent and increase LHA rates to cover 30th percentile

10 February, 2020

Department for Communities to implement new ‘Digital Debt Service’ to provide online self-service technology to Debt Management customers

Welfare changes across the UK, in particular universal credit, will 'significantly increase the Debt Management debt stock', Department says

10 February, 2020

Errors linked to student income in housing benefit costing £40 million a year

New DWP guidance identifies reasons for errors are failure of local authorities to ask students for funding evidence and not setting appropriate follow up actions

10 February, 2020

Miscellaneous amendments to Scotland’s council tax reduction scheme from April 2020

New statutory instrument

10 February, 2020

DWP confirms work is underway to collect Internet Protocol address data from housing benefit claimants

New guidance says anti-fraud measure, currently only used for DWP benefits, could lead to significant savings by detecting claims from a single address or from abroad

7 February, 2020

High Court rules that bereavement support payment eligibility criteria that exclude cohabiting parents from entitlement are incompatible with human rights law

Jackson & Ors v The Secretary of State for Work And Pensions [2020] EWHC 183 (Admin)

7 February, 2020

NAO finds that the 69 suicide cases investigated by DWP in the last six years is ‘highly unlikely’ to represent number it could have investigated

New report highlights lack of robust record of contacts from coroners which may have led to internal reviews not being initiated

7 February, 2020

More than a fifth of people in the UK live in poverty, says Joseph Rowntree Foundation

New report also finds that more than half of people in poverty are in a working family and almost half live in a household where someone is disabled

7 February, 2020

Scottish Government confirms that children will not need to attend face-to-face assessment to secure entitlement to Child Disability Payment

New position paper also confirms that parents, guardians and carers will be able to apply for new benefit online, in person or by phone

7 February, 2020

Scottish Government confirms that Disability Assistance for Older People will not include a mobility component

New position paper sets out decision based on financial impact, risk to passported benefits and risk of creating two-tier system

Welfare rights

CB v Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (ESA) [2020] UKUT 15 (AAC) CE/238/2019

Latest DWP progress report also confirms a change in methodology so those considered less likely to be entitled to increased benefit will be 'given an opportunity to request a review'

CB v Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (ESA)
[2020] UKUT 15 (AAC)
CE/238/2019