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High Court orders urgent hearing to challenge reduced benefit cap

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Stuart
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MPs debated the High Court judgment yesterday, includes stock responses from government that benefit cap policy was subject to adequate impact analysis and has sufficient safeguards via DHPs…..

https://hansard.parliament.uk/commons/2017-07-04/debates/129E2864-85F3-41F2-91DB-207A9FFF73D4/HighCourtJudgmentBenefitCap

chacha
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Benefits dept - Hertsmere Borough Council

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stuart - 05 July 2017 12:55 PM

MPs debated the High Court judgment yesterday, includes stock responses from government that benefit cap policy was subject to adequate impact analysis and has sufficient safeguards via DHPs…..

DHPs….....

Like everyone keeps saying!

But

Taking a pain killer, putting a plaster on a serious wound, does not negate the problem. Just eases the pain.

Ros White
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Billy - 04 July 2017 11:49 AM

Being very lazy , has anybody drafted pro-forma appeal letter which they would share as per CPAG advice ?

Yes indeed - our legal officer, Carla Clarke, has drafted the two attached appeal letters, one for lone parents with a child or children aged under two and one for those whose child or children are two or over.

Hope that helps.

Also to say that we’re still looking for cases for our test case challenge and would like to hear from you if you have a lone parent client with a child or children aged two or over who is affected by the benefit cap, particularly but not exclusively if they are on JSA. Here’s our test case referral page with a link to the referral form -

http://www.cpag.org.uk/test-case-referrals

Cheers Ros

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Stainsby
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Welfare rights adviser - Plumstead Community Law Centre

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Just to take up the point from HB Anorak re appeal rights.

I agree that there is a right of appeal when HB is capped (seen Anorak’s analysis for reasons.), but if the cap was imposed more than 13 months ago, and there has been no further changes in the award, there is a way round it.

Uprating decisions in HB are effectively supersessions and carry a right of appeal, even if the award remains unchanged.  With other social security benefits , uprating decisions are prescribed decisions with no right of appeal (Regulation 27 and Sch 2 para 25 Social Security and Child Support (Decisions and Appeals) Regulations 1999 SI1999/221).

There is no equivalent to this in the HB/CTB (Decisions and Appeals) Regulations

It may be argued that where the claimant is getting a “passporting” benefit, there is no change in the applicable amount and effectively no uprating decision, but even if that argument is correct, a person may still apply at any time for a supersession..  A refusal to supersede carries a right of appeal (Wood v SSWP reported as R(DLA)1/03)

adele
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Can I ask what organisations are doing about this (particularly Local Authorities)? Have any of you had the capacity to try and target large numbers of claimants and help them lodge appeals? Any tactics or tips that anybody would be willing to share?

Thanks,
Adele

Daphne
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Appeal against the High Court ruling that application of benefit cap to lone parents with children under two is unlawful is being heard in Court of Appeal today

[ Edited: 24 Oct 2017 at 10:16 am by Daphne ]
davidsmithp1000
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Hi, is this still ongoing?

Elliot Kent
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I think the Court of Appeal reserved judgment, so a reasoned decision will be handed down in the following weeks/months.

JoW
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What do you mean by “reserved judgement” and a “reasoned decision”?

Elliot Kent
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Reserved judgment means that they aren’t going to make a decision there and then but will think about it and issue a judgment/decision further down the line.

Reasoned decision means that they will probably issue a full decision in prose giving reasons rather than just saying “so and so wins”.

 

JoW
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Great. Thanks

Stuart
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Government’s appeal against the decision will not be heard until next June, according to Frank Field…

http://www.frankfield.co.uk/latest-news/press-releases/news.aspx?p=1021543

 

Elliot Kent
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I don’t claim to be as well informed as Frank Field, but I’m a little sceptical given that the Court of Appeal is saying it already heard the appeal:

https://casetracker.justice.gov.uk/getDetail.do?case_id=20171930

Stuart
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thanks Elliot - should have checked there first but let’s hope it’s positive and soon…

Elliot Kent
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Just for anyone worried about the wait - I don’t know where Frank Field is getting his information, but I have received an email as follows from listings at the Court of Appeal;

“Thank you for your email, I can confirm that judgment was reserved, the court has three months in which to hand down the judgment.”