Welfare rights news and case law

16 March, 2020 Open access

Temporary reforms to employment and support allowance and universal credit to support claimants during the coronavirus outbreak

New statutory instrument introduces measures announced in Budget 2020, including removal of waiting days, treating affected claimants as having limited capability for work, and changes to the minimum income floor

16 March, 2020

National Insurance earnings limits and thresholds for 2020/2021

New statutory instrument

16 March, 2020

Human Rights Committee welcomes revised draft Jobseekers (Back to Work Schemes) Act 2013 Remedial Order

Once approved, the Order will restore rights of appeal for certain jobseeker's allowance claimants who had pending sanctions appeals when the 2013 Act entered into force

13 March, 2020 Open access

DWP sets out range of measures it will put into place to support employees and claimants affected by coronavirus

Government confirms that forthcoming legislation to make SSP payable from day one for people affected by the coronavirus will apply retrospectively from 13 March 2020

13 March, 2020 Open access

Regulations deeming people who are self-isolating as a result of coronavirus to be incapable of work for SSP purposes come into force today

Emergency legislation introduced to reduce the risk that employees will continue to work despite advice that they should self-isolate

13 March, 2020 Open access

Temporary reforms to employment and support allowance and universal credit in Northern Ireland to support claimants during the coronavirus outbreak

New statutory rule introduces measures announced in Budget 2020, including removal of waiting days, treating affected claimants as having limited capability for work, and changes to the minimum income floor

13 March, 2020

Government identifies 24,000 families that have been underpaid disabled child element of child tax credit, the third time in four years that the error has occurred

OBR Economic Outlook reports that the cost of correcting the error will be £50 million in 2020/2021 alone

13 March, 2020

Joint Committee on Human Rights issues call for evidence on Immigration and Social Security Coordination (EU Withdrawal) Bill

Views sought on significant human rights issues raised by Bill and whether it could do more to enhance protection of human rights

13 March, 2020

Tax credits, child benefit and guardian’s allowance uprating 2020/2021

New statutory instrument

13 March, 2020

Uprating of social security benefits

New statutory instrument also increases the earnings limit for carer's allowance to £128 net per week

13 March, 2020

Continuation of housing benefit transitional addition beyond 4 April 2020

New regulations issued in relation to claimants receiving additional ESA following conversion from previous incapacity benefits

13 March, 2020

DWP confirms that practice of seeking new information at mandatory reconsideration stage in PIP cases has been adopted in ESA and universal credit

Written answer in parliament from Minister for Disabled People

13 March, 2020

Consequential amendments to secondary legislation in relation to the introduction of statutory parental bereavement pay

New statutory instruments

12 March, 2020

OBR predicts that rollout of universal credit will take until September 2026 - two years longer than DWP currently assumes

In addition, it highlights that full PIP rollout is also delayed by a further two years - until July 2023

12 March, 2020

Right to independent advocacy for disabled people needing assistance in relation to Scottish social security system

New statutory instrument

12 March, 2020

In January 2020, 48 per cent of mandatory reconsiderations relating to an ESA work capability assessment resulted in a changed decision

New DWP statistics also show that, in the latest quarter, 62 per cent of those completing their first work capability assessment were assigned to the support group

12 March, 2020 Open access

Minister confirms that claimants infected with coronavirus (COVID-19) or required to self-isolate will be treated as having limited capability for work for both ESA and universal credit

Written answer advises there will be no requirement for medical evidence or to undergo a work capability assessment

12 March, 2020

More than 100,000 council tax support claimants in London have had their debts referred to bailiffs for enforcement since 2013

New analysis from CPAG and Z2K also finds that around half a million council tax support claimants have been charged £47.6 million in court costs

12 March, 2020

HMCTS continues to reduce backlog of social security appeals as number of cases outstanding falls by almost a quarter compared to same point in previous year

However, new MoJ statistics also show that average age of cases disposed of has increased by two weeks compared to same period in 2018