Welfare rights news and case law

26 March, 2021

Child disability payment eligibility criteria and claims and payment rules

New statutory instrument issued in Scotland

26 March, 2021

NHF highlights DWP work to simplify the universal credit verification process for April 2021 rent changes

Critical that tenants are supported in understanding the importance of telling the DWP about any change in rent, says membership body for housing associations in England

26 March, 2021

IIAC decides not to recommend prescription of cancer in firefighters for industrial injuries disablement benefit purposes

Council finds that there is no consistent evidence of more than doubled risk of cancer, apart from mesothelioma which is already covered by scheme

26 March, 2021

Scottish Government publishes discussion paper on the future development of Scottish Carer’s Assistance

Paper sets out three aims for the new benefit include maximising take-up, supporting carers to take up roles outside of caring, and recognising that carers have different needs

25 March, 2021 Open access

IIAC decides not to recommend prescription of Covid-19 for occupational exposure ‘at this stage’

However, Council confirms it will recommend prescription if and when there is strong enough evidence that occupational exposures cause disabling disease on ‘balance of probabilities’

25 March, 2021

Government consults on asylum reforms including new ‘temporary protection status’ with no recourse to public funds

New status for those who enter the UK illegally will also not carry an automatic right to settle in the UK, and family reunion rights will be restricted

25 March, 2021

Despite previous warnings, neither the MOJ or HMCTS have a firm grip on the data they need to understand the effectiveness or impact of the court reform programme

Public Accounts Committee says that there appears not to have been any tangible progress since the publication of the MoJ-commissioned Digital Justice Report in 2019

25 March, 2021

Number of children, pensioners and disabled households living in relative poverty was on the increase even before the start of the Covid-19 pandemic

New poverty statistics also show that 8 per cent of households were food insecure in 2019/2020

25 March, 2021

Scottish Government and local authorities agree new strategy to support people at risk of homelessness and destitution due to their immigration status under UK legislation

Agreed actions include piloting new hardship fund to support people with 'no recourse to public funds'

25 March, 2021

Uprating of benefits that Scottish Ministers have responsibility for in 2021/2022

New statutory instrument

25 March, 2021

Uprating of social security assistance in Scotland in 2021/2022

New statutory instrument provides for increased rates of Funeral Support Payment, Best Start Grant, Early Learning Payment, and Child Winter Heating Assistance

24 March, 2021

Adding telephone and video as channels for undertaking medical assessments for ESA, universal credit, PIP and industrial injuries disablement benefit

New DWP guidance

24 March, 2021

Introduction of reduced housing benefit personal allowance rates in Northern Ireland for claimants reaching pensionable age on or after 1 April 2021

New statutory rule

24 March, 2021

DHP contribution for English and Welsh local authorities in 2021/2022 taking into account reductions due to errors in calculating contribution for 2020/2021

New DWP guidance

23 March, 2021 Open access

DWP announces 80 new temporary jobcentre sites, with ‘dozens more’ expected to follow

However, Minister says that opening of new sites is 'not about reversing previous decisions' on renewal of DWP estate

23 March, 2021

Government piloting ‘single sign-on and digital identity service’ to succeed Verify

While best elements of Verify will be reused, all parties are keen to move on from its 'over-elaborate expectations trajectory', says Cabinet Minister

23 March, 2021

Standard interest rate charged on loans for mortgage interest drops to 0.3 per cent

Fall reflects reduction in OBR forecast gilt rates in its November 2020 fiscal outlook

23 March, 2021 Open access

Learning and Skills think tank highlights unequal impact of pandemic on employment and incomes of young people, BAME populations and single parents

New report calls on government to focus on building a better and more inclusive post-Covid economy for the future, not simply return to ‘business as usual’

23 March, 2021 Open access

Covid-19 likely to have ‘lasting consequences’ for spending on universal credit

OBR highlights implications of the pandemic on caseloads and awards, particularly in relation to the health-related elements of the benefit