Welfare rights news and case law

22 September, 2023

DWP confirms that it plans to conduct more Department-led work capability reassessments as its capacity recovers post-Covid

Department says that it wants to ensure claimants who can work are supported to do so and 'reassessments help us do that'

21 September, 2023

General public believes that benefit claimants are more deserving than at any point in the last 40 years

Latest British Social Attitudes report also finds that more than a third of people think the government should spend more on welfare benefits for the poor, even if it leads to higher taxes

21 September, 2023

Disregarding compensation payments relating to the Grenfell fire, the Post Office Horizon scandal and to vaccine damage in the calculation of council tax reduction in Scotland

New statutory instrument also makes minor amendments in relation to second adult rebate, non-dependant deductions and residence rules

20 September, 2023

Qualifying day to establish entitlement to the second cost of living payment for 2023/2024 set as 17 September 2023

New statutory instrument

20 September, 2023

Government confirms that next cost of living payment will be issued between 31 October and 19 November 2023

DWP adds that, to qualify for the £300 payment, claimants must have been in receipt of a qualifying benefit in the period between 18 August and 17 September 2023

20 September, 2023

HMRC to begin contacting the ‘several hundred thousand’ people who may be entitled to £1.3 billion of underpaid state pension caused by national insurance records error

MPs advised that the exercise expects to identify an estimated 210,000 people who claimed child benefit before May 2000 who may have errors in records that affect their pension entitlement

20 September, 2023

Determining competency where an economically inactive claimant is resident in one Member State and their economically active family member is resident in another Member State

New DWP guidance following the Court of Appeal decision in 'Harrington'

20 September, 2023

DWP issues guidance on change to underlying entitlement conditions for widowed parent’s allowance due to Bereavement Benefit (Remedial) Order 2023

New guidance advises that underlying entitlement will cease when surviving spouse, civil partner or cohabiting partner enters new cohabiting partnership on or after 9 February 2023

20 September, 2023

DWP announces start of second phase of its ‘enhanced daily support’ pilot for universal credit claimants

Minster says Additional Jobcentre Support Pilot will now test provision of an additional week of daily support for eligible claimants after their first assessment period

20 September, 2023

Chair of Standards Committee in Northern Ireland warns that ‘considerable thought’ needs to be given to implementation of managed migration to avoid a decline in decision-making standards

DfC Annual Report on decision-making and financial accuracy also highlights continued increased pressure on staff, and difficulties in recruiting and training new workers

19 September, 2023

Number of households subject to benefit cap decreased by more than 20 per cent in three months to May 2023

New DWP statistics also show that almost three-quarters of capped households were single parent families

19 September, 2023

More than 200,000 PIP claims were registered in England and Wales in the three months to July 2023, the highest level since the benefit was introduced

Meanwhile in Scotland, more than 125,000 claims for adult disability payment were registered between 21 March 2022 and 31 July 2023 with 93,880 people currently in receipt of benefit

19 September, 2023

Most universal credit telephone claimants report that moving to an online claim is not a realistic option for them

New DWP research finds that claimants often face multiple barriers to applying online, which together make the digital option 'prohibitively difficult'

19 September, 2023

Scottish Government sets out policy recommendations to ensure that its commitment to using supporting information to help determine disability benefit claims achieves anticipated outcomes

Research used to inform recommendations explores claimants' understanding of what supporting information should be provided and whether they feel it is considered fairly, in addition to looking at the impact it has on decision-making

19 September, 2023

Minister welcomes successful take-up of Basic Income for Care Leavers in Wales pilot

New figures show that 97 per cent of eligible care leavers signed up to pilot, with more than a quarter of participants opting to have payments made directly to landlords

18 September, 2023

Permission granted for judicial review challenge of HMRC rules for awarding child benefit where parents have 50/50 custody of their child

Law Centre Northern Ireland highlights that case concerns a low earning parent whose child benefit award was transferred to her ex-spouse who was subject to the high income child benefit tax charge

15 September, 2023

DWP releases operational guidance on considering hardship before refusing claims for universal credit from people with pre-settled status under EU Settlement Scheme

Information supplied in response to FOI request on how Department considers whether Upper Tribunal decision in SSWP v AT applies, and whether to unstay cases and pay universal credit pending outcome of its appeal to Court of Appeal

15 September, 2023

First-tier Tribunal applied correct test when deciding what were ‘essential’ repairs for a disabled claimant under temporary absence provisions of regulation 7(4) of Housing Benefit Regulations 2006

SH v London Borough of Southwark
[2023] UKUT 198 (AAC)
UA-2021-001818-HB

14 September, 2023

HMCTS had more than 70,000 social security and child support appeals outstanding at June 2023, up almost a third on the previous year

New statistics from the Ministry of Justice also highlight that the average time to dispose of a case is 27 weeks