Welfare rights news and case law

8 October, 2015

Tribunal obliged to preserve record of proceedings until statement of reasons issued / DWP should issue new claim form, rather than change of circumstances form, after award has ended

CI/1215/2014

7 October, 2015

Scottish Government to have power to reverse tax credit cuts

Scotsman reports 'senior Whitehall source' as saying that UK Government will issue statement confirming power which is to be set out in changes to Scotland Bill

7 October, 2015

Scotland’s First Minister calls for ‘significant additional powers’ in relation to carer’s allowance

Ability to define who is a carer should rest with Scottish Parliament, not with Westminster, says Nicola Sturgeon

7 October, 2015

Mobilising with significant discomfort or exhaustion should be disregarded for the purposes of Activity 1

CE/5661/2014

6 October, 2015

Government will reform ESA to stop people being treated as 'passive victims', says Iain Duncan Smith

Work and Pensions Secretary tells Conservative Party Conference that welfare reforms need to 'rekindle self-reliance, rebuild self-worth and reawaken responsibility'

5 October, 2015

Descriptor 1 of Activity 15 requires investigation of whether claimant can go to a place outside the immediate vicinity of their home

CSE/236/2015

5 October, 2015

Prime Minister confirms that Chancellor will not revise tax credit cuts in next month's autumn statement

David Cameron tells BBC that 'the changes we have put forward are right'

2 October, 2015

Government urged to mitigate proposed tax credit cuts by maintaining current threshold and taper for the poorest households

In a letter to George Osborne, Chair of the Work and Pensions Committee says cost could be offset by increasing the taper for higher earners

2 October, 2015

Reassessments for PIP to be rolled out across Great Britain from October 2015 following initial small scale trials

DWP update to housing benefit staff

1 October, 2015

Importance of ensuring proper processes are met when making a decision that will lead to income ceasing

CJSA/1073/2015

30 September, 2015

DWP confirms that entitlement to housing benefit should continue without interruption during a sanction

New HB guidance

30 September, 2015

Just over one in four individuals in the troubled families programme have achieved a 'P45 employment start'

New DWP statistics show that, of these, just under two-thirds sustained the employment for at least 13 weeks

30 September, 2015

Disallowing child benefit because a disabled young person starts home education after the age of 16 contravenes human rights

CF/5472/2014

29 September, 2015

Government’s social rent reduction policy expected to lead to housing benefit savings of £2bn a year by 2020/2021

New impact assessment also highlights that policy will lead to an average rent reduction of 12 per cent in the social housing sector

28 September, 2015

Labour Party will oppose the Welfare Bill ‘line by line’

Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary undertakes to make the case for an 'efficient and compassionate' welfare state

28 September, 2015

Burden of proof is on HMRC when terminating a tax credits award / shared responsibility for children should not be presumed in absence of evidence to contrary

CTC/160/2015

25 September, 2015

Nature of evidence required to show difference of view between EEA Member States as to which one is responsible for paying a benefit

CG/1697/2014

24 September, 2015

Scottish Government to change rules on free school meals, early learning and childcare to mitigate effect of tax credits reforms

'We will protect this essential support for many vulnerable children in Scotland', says Nicola Sturgeon

24 September, 2015

Welfare benefits legal aid caseload for April to June 2015 down by more than 50 per cent on previous year

New MoJ statistics also show that just one welfare benefits case was awarded exceptional case funding