Welfare rights news and case law

17 August, 2016

Bedroom tax is failing to achieve its aim of freeing up larger homes

Three-year study by g15 group of housing associations finds that only a handful of residents affected said that they had moved as a direct result of the policy

17 August, 2016

Number of people claiming universal credit exceeds 300,000 for first time

However, new DWP statistics also highlight that almost 25,000 claimants are 'working - with requirements'

17 August, 2016

Universal credit claimants’ access to discretionary housing payments

DWP issues reminder to local authorities that those with an entitlement to housing costs for rental liability can apply for a payment

17 August, 2016

DWP confirms changes to benefit cap levels to be introduced from 7 November 2016

Letters informing claimants that they may be impacted to be posted out from 19 September 2016

17 August, 2016

New Burdens payments for local authorities to help them cope with temporary accommodation funding pressures

New DWP guidance

16 August, 2016

Secondary legislation being presented 'without meaningful analysis of impact', says Social Security Advisory Committee

Absence of evidence underpinning some of the government’s policy choices 'a significant concern', says Committee chair

12 August, 2016

Merging disability benefits with local social care services is 'too big a risk to take with such a vulnerable group'

New report from the Joseph Rowntree Foundation recommends that disability benefits be adapted to match the costs of disability more closely

11 August, 2016

Nearly half of poverty in the UK is directly associated with disability

New report from the NPI concludes that high rates of material deprivation among disabled people suggests a failing of the social security system in mitigating costs

11 August, 2016

Select Committee expresses concern about continued lack of DWP support to target unemployment amongst Muslim people

DWP should offer tailored support and provide local budgets in areas with high levels of Muslim unemployment, say MPs

10 August, 2016

Supreme Court refers to CJEU for guidance on whether EU directive precludes UK from requiring that transgender woman be unmarried in order to receive state pension at 60

[2016] UKSC 53

9 August, 2016

Scottish Government launches consultation on new Child Poverty Bill

Proposed targets for tackling child poverty will be ‘significantly more ambitious than the original income targets scrapped by the current UK Government’

8 August, 2016

Treatment of postgraduate master’s degree loans and special support loans for means-tested benefit purposes

New DWP guidance

8 August, 2016

Youth Obligation to be introduced from April 2017 only in areas with the full universal credit service

However, the DWP is still planning to remove the 'automatic entitlement' of 18-21 year-olds from housing benefit from next spring, reports Homeless Link

5 August, 2016

Chair of Work and Pensions Committee welcomes DWP ‘change of heart’ on benefit underpayments

Department 'can and should' introduce a global target for underpayments, says DWP's Permanent Secretary

5 August, 2016

Tribunal should have regard to claimant’s change of residence when deciding whether to proceed in her absence

CH/1124/2016

4 August, 2016

Ability to mobilise to ‘an acceptable standard’ must include an assessment of the effects of pain

CPIP/665/2016

4 August, 2016

17 per cent of long-term unemployed claimants were sanctioned while undertaking the Supervised Jobsearch Pilot

Evaluation also finds that only 52 per cent of participants reported that the pilot helped equip them for coping with the routine of going to work

4 August, 2016

Claimants could have been better prepared for Intensive Activity Programme, says DWP

Evaluation of programme also finds that some work coaches only checked activities were completed rather than offering feedback and support

4 August, 2016

15 per cent of households affected by the benefit cap were claiming jobseeker's allowance in May 2016

DWP publishes new statistics