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4 September, 2024

Amount of housing benefit overpayments identified by local authorities continued to rise in 2023/2024

However, new statistics also show that the total amount of overpayments outstanding continued to fall as councils recovered or wrote off more than they identified

4 September, 2024

Amendment of recent winter fuel payment regulations to correct minor errors

New statutory instrument

3 September, 2024

New research lays bare ‘shocking truth’ about failure of universal credit to fulfil its most basic duty

Trussell Trust says that hunger and hardship are out of control, and calls for a protected minimum floor in universal credit to safeguard incomes against deductions, and for links between rents and benefits to be restored

2 September, 2024

DWP confirms that it is ready to support vulnerable tax credit households through the managed migration process who it had previously deferred due to unmet support needs  

Department's Touchbase update advises that all affected claimants will now be issued a migration notice to ensure that they can safely move to universal credit before tax credits close in April 2025

2 September, 2024

Prior to removal of the £20 universal credit uplift, government analysis showed that it would put an additional 800,000 individuals into absolute poverty

In addition, response to FOI request reveals that analysis confirmed that, for many families, universal credit is insufficient to keep them above the absolute poverty line, with or without the £20 uplift

2 September, 2024

CPAG joins with school leaders and teachers to call for two-child limit to be scrapped

Letter to Education Secretary highlights that removing policy would single-handedly lift 300,000 children out of poverty overnight, and mean 700,000 children are in less deep poverty

2 September, 2024

Household Support Fund extended for further six months until the end of March 2025

Work and Pensions Secretary confirms that more than £420 million will go to local authorities in England, with a further £79 million for the devolved administrations, to help vulnerable people with the cost of their energy, food and water

2 September, 2024

Tribunal should have ensured that an unrepresented claimant who felt unable to attend a face-to-face hearing due to anxiety was aware of the alternative forms of oral hearing available

GMcA [Appointee] v Department for Communities (PIP)
[2024] NICom 23
C7/24-25 (PIP)

30 August, 2024

Northern Ireland Executive announces that it will restrict entitlement to the winter fuel payment despite its ‘deep concerns’ about the detrimental impact its decision will have

Communities Minister says that maintaining universal entitlement to the payment for winter 2024/2025 would cost more than £40 million even without taking into account any additional delivery or staffing costs

30 August, 2024

Claimant had right to reside on basis of having taken sufficient steps towards setting up business to be considered self-employed or, alternatively, on basis of 'Brey' analysis of self-sufficiency

Secretary of State for Work and Pensions v VB and another (UC)
[2024] UKUT 212 (AAC)
UA-2021-000531-USTA

30 August, 2024

Claimant’s ‘salary sacrifice’ pension contributions did not form part of earnings when establishing if they exceeded the permitted work earnings limit for ESA

Secretary of State for Work and Pensions v NC
[2024] UKUT 251 (AAC)
UA-2023-001781-ESA

30 August, 2024

More than 8 out of 10 claimants were satisfied with DWP services in 2023/2024

However, DWP customer experience survey also finds that a third of claimants had to contact the Department more than once to explain the same information

29 August, 2024

DWP publishes research that former Employment Minister referred to as a ‘building block’ in evidence base to support increases in the administrative earnings threshold

However, while research suggests that claimants in the Intensive Work Search regime increased their earnings more, the DWP concludes that the ‘optimal’ value of the AET is not known and that, the larger any increase in the AET, the less applicable are the findings

29 August, 2024

Northern Ireland Commissioner rules that tribunal that determined a WCA appeal in the absence of the claimant and without the UC50 questionnaire was procedurally unfair

DJ v Department for Communities (UC)
[2024] NICom21
C4/24-25(UC)

28 August, 2024

Department for Communities in Northern Ireland publishes universal credit, benefit cap and PIP statistics for period to May 2024

New figures include that for universal credit almost 30 per cent of households that had reached their managed migration deadline did not make a claim

27 August, 2024

Restricting entitlement to the winter fuel payment was a difficult but necessary decision, Prime Minister says

However, while Keir Starmer warns of more unpopular decisions ahead, reports in the media suggest that the Household Support Fund may be extended beyond the end of September 2024

23 August, 2024

Tribunal erred in conflating test of whether claimant could carry out activity safely with test of whether descriptor satisfied more than 50 per cent of the time

JT v Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
[2024] UKUT 211 (AAC)
UA-2023-001449-PIP

22 August, 2024

Winter fuel payment changes should be put on hold until pension credit has a 95 per cent take-up rate

While the DWP has launched a new take-up campaign, NAWRA warns that it has insufficient resources to process the inevitable influx of claims and risks leaving pensioners unable to heat their homes this winter