Welfare rights news and case law

10 October, 2018

Healthy Start Vouchers to be replaced by Best Start Foods in Scotland

Introduction of pre-paid digital smartcards aims to 'reduce stigma and increase uptake'

10 October, 2018

Time limit for claiming a Sure Start maternity grant extended to six months in Northern Ireland

New statutory rule

10 October, 2018

Clarification of time limits for submitting notices of appeal to the decision maker in housing benefit and council tax benefit cases

New statutory instrument

9 October, 2018

UK Government should mitigate adverse impacts of social security reforms on disabled people

Human rights organisations highlight that government has shown 'continued reluctance' to accept and act on recommendations to improve lives of disabled people

9 October, 2018

Claimants who were underpaid ESA on conversion from incapacity benefit will not be compensated for other losses such as passported benefits

Responding to recommendation from Public Accounts Committee, DWP says it 'does not consider it practical' to implement it

9 October, 2018

Vulnerable customers have access to ‘assisted digital’ support by telephone as part of its modernisation programme, says HMCTS

Accepting all the recommendations put forward by the Public Accounts Committee, government says it is also piloting face-to-face support

9 October, 2018

Housing benefit is a specified benefit for the purposes of transitional protection from right to reside test / tribunal must exercise inquisitorial jurisdiction where 'clearly apparent' that protection may apply

CIS/1798/2018

9 October, 2018

Full time student in receipt of DLA should have been treated as having limited capability for work for the purposes of income-related ESA

CE/1272/2018

5 October, 2018

Commencement of miscellaneous provisions relating to Scotland’s devolved social security system

New statutory instrument

5 October, 2018

Housing benefit subsidy funding to support local authorities with costs of reviewing ‘non-passported’ self-employed caseload

New DWP guidance

4 October, 2018

Director General of Universal Credit confirms funding arrangements for local authorities providing universal support will cease at the end of March 2019

Letter to LA Chief Executives says current model 'is not delivering the support for vulnerable claimants as effectively as it could have been'

4 October, 2018

Whether tribunal had taken sufficient care in identifying the date and assessing the location of a missed assessment in determining if claimant had good reason for failing to attend

CPIP/1347/2018

Welfare rights

Healthy Start Vouchers to be replaced by Best Start Foods in Scotland

Introduction of pre-paid digital smartcards aims to 'reduce stigma and increase uptake'

Time limit for claiming a Sure Start maternity grant extended to six months in Northern Ireland

Clarification of time limits for submitting notices of appeal to the decision maker in housing benefit and council tax benefit cases

UK Government should mitigate adverse impacts of social security reforms on disabled people

Claimants who were underpaid ESA on conversion from incapacity benefit will not be compensated for other losses such as passported benefits

Vulnerable customers have access to ‘assisted digital’ support by telephone as part of its modernisation programme, says HMCTS

Housing benefit is a specified benefit for the purposes of transitional protection from right to reside test / tribunal must exercise inquisitorial jurisdiction where 'clearly apparent' that protection may apply

CIS/1798/2018

Full time student in receipt of DLA should have been treated as having limited capability for work for the purposes of income-related ESA

Commencement of miscellaneous provisions relating to Scotland’s devolved social security system

Housing benefit subsidy funding to support local authorities with costs of reviewing ‘non-passported’ self-employed caseload

Director General of Universal Credit confirms funding arrangements for local authorities providing universal support will cease at the end of March 2019

Interaction of daily living activity 3 - as in force before 16 March 2017 - with other descriptors

Second payment of Scotland's carer's allowance supplement to be made in December 2018

DWP carrying out local authority insight survey focusing on discretionary housing payments

Awarding a Schedule 3 descriptor that is inconsistent with points awarded under Schedule 2 amounts to an error of law

Reason for departing from a previous ESA award must be ‘reasonably obvious’ from a tribunal’s other reasoning

Revocation and re-enactment of benefit uprating 2018/2019 regulations in Northern Ireland

Room contaminated with asbestos cannot be treated as a bedroom for the purposes of assessing under occupation

Whether tribunal had taken sufficient care in identifying the date and assessing the location of a missed assessment in determining if claimant had good reason for failing to attend