Too many young adults go from ‘in care’ directly to jail – The Independent

Posted December 8th, 2014 in benefits, care homes, homelessness, news, prisons, young offenders, young persons by sally

‘Young adults leaving care are being let down by the justice system, according to a new academic study. Despite up to a third of the current prison population having experienced the care system, criminal justice professionals are ignorant of ways to help young care leavers stay out of jail, it warns.’

Full story

The Independent, 7th December 2014

Source: www.independent.co.uk

The elephant in the bedroom – NearlyLegal

Posted December 8th, 2014 in appeals, benefits, housing, news by sally

‘Finally, the long awaited Upper Tribunal decision on room size and the bedroom tax has been released.’

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NearlyLegal, 7th December 2014

Source: www.nearlylegal.co.uk

Southwark: Not appealing – NearlyLegal

‘It is not unknown for losing parties in a case to not be happy, indeed very upset. There are two basic options. To shut up and put up with it, or appeal. Rather unusually, faced with one of the most coruscating High Court judgments I can recall, in AA V LB Southwark [our report here], the senior officers of Southwark Council have chosen to do neither. Instead, Southwark’s Housing and Communities Strategic Director has chosen to publicly announce that the judgment was ‘unjust’ and ‘clearly wrong’, but that Southwark aren’t going to appeal it.’

Full story

NearlyLegal, 25th November 2014

Source: www.nearlylegal.co.uk

Panic room woman challenges bedroom tax – The Guardian

Posted November 19th, 2014 in assault, benefits, domestic violence, harassment, housing, news, rape, stalking by sally

‘A woman whose council home has been fitted with a secure panic room to protect her from a violent ex-partner is going to court on Wednesday to challenge the government’s so-called bedroom tax.’

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The Guardian, 18th November 2014

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Dano v Jobcenter Leipzig – WLR Daily

Posted November 18th, 2014 in benefits, EC law, freedom of movement, law reports, social security by sally

Dano v Jobcenter Leipzig (Case C-333/13) EU:C:2014:2358; [2014] WLR (D) 477

‘Article 24(1) of Parliament and Council Directive 2004/38/EC, in conjunction with article 7(1)(b), and article 4 of Regulation No 883/2004 (as amended by Regulation No 1244/2010) allowed legislation of a member state under which nationals of other member states were excluded from entitlement to certain “special non-contributory cash benefits” within the meaning of article 70(2) of Regulation No 883/2004, although those benefits were granted to nationals of the host member state who were in the same situation, in so far as those nationals of other member states did not have a right of residence under Directive 2004/38 in the host member state.’

WLR Daily, 11th November 2014

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

Liverpool family jailed for £200,000 benefit fraud – BBC News

Posted November 17th, 2014 in benefits, fraud, news, sentencing, video recordings by sally

‘A woman who claimed she was too ill to walk, yet was filmed surfing in Australia and swimming with dolphins, has been jailed for benefit fraud.’

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BBC News, 14th November 2014

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Asbestos, recoupment of compensation, and the Pneumoconiosis (Workers’ Compensation) Act 1979 – Zenith PI Blog

Posted November 17th, 2014 in asbestos, benefits, compensation, damages, employment, news by sally

‘Defendants in asbestos-related claims should be careful to ensure that compensation paid under the Pneumoconiosis (Workers Compensation) Act 1979 (“the Act”) is properly deducted from a claimant’s damages, before an order for damages is made against them.’

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Zenith PI Blog, 13th November 2014

Source: www.zenithpi.wordpress.com

EU court moves against ‘benefits tourism’ in landmark ruling – The Independent

Posted November 12th, 2014 in benefits, EC law, immigration, news, taxation by sally

‘The European Court of Justice has issued a historic ruling against Romanian woman living in Germany that could set a major precedent blocking so-called “benefits tourism” across the continent.’

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The Independent, 11th November 2014

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Removal of subsidy for spare room not unlawful – UK Human Rights Blog

Posted October 31st, 2014 in benefits, children, housing, human rights, judicial review, news, residence orders by sally

‘Whether you call it the “spare room subsidy” or the “bedroom tax”, the removal of this type of housing benefit has been nothing short of controversial. There have been several previous legal challenges to the Regulations, as well as to the benefit cap introduced as part of the same package of welfare changes. The outcome of these cases was not promising for these claimants, in particular the decision of the Court of Appeal in R (MA) v Secretary of State for Work & Pensions [2014] EWCA Civ 13. Another important case is R (SG (previously JS)) v Secretary of State for Work & Pensions [2014] EWCA Civ 156.’

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UK Human Rights Blog, 29th October 2014

Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com

Single mother-of-five made homeless by benefits cap turns to Supreme Court over Westminster Council’s attempts at ‘social cleansing’ – The Independent

Posted October 29th, 2014 in appeals, benefits, families, homelessness, housing, news, Supreme Court by sally

‘A single mother-of-five who was made homeless after resisting Westminster Council’s attempt to move the family 50 miles from the capital is applying to the Supreme Court to review her case.’

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The Independent, 29th October 2014

Source: www.independent.co.uk

The Long and Winding Road – NearlyLegal

Posted October 27th, 2014 in appeals, benefits, homelessness, housing, local government, news by sally

‘The facts in Nzolameso v Westminster CC are pretty unremarkable, but the effects of the Court of Appeal’s judgement are likely to reverberate through every new homelessness application, especially in the London area.’

Full story

NearlyLegal, 26th October 2014

Source: www.nearlylegal.co.uk

Separated families and bedroom tax – NearlyLegal

Posted October 24th, 2014 in benefits, children, families, housing, human rights, news by sally

‘This was the Liberty backed judicial review of the bedroom tax regulations on the basis that the regulations amounted to an article 8 breach, or an article 14 breach read with article 8, or that the regulations were irrational. At issue was the status of separated families where there was shared care.’

Full story

NearlyLegal, 23rd October 2014

Source: www.nearlylegal.co.uk

Cellar slave girl: Salford couple must pay victim £100,000 – BBC News

‘A deaf girl from Pakistan kept as a slave for nine years by a millionaire couple from Salford is to receive £100,000 in compensation.’

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BBC News, 15th October 2014

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Bedroom Tax: Upper Tribunal on Article 14 – NearlyLegal

Posted October 7th, 2014 in benefits, disability discrimination, news, Scotland, social security, tribunals by sally

‘Following my plaintive cry here, I now have copies of the two Upper Tribunal judgments from Scotland referred to by the DWP. And, while the judgments do do something rather more and rather different to the outcomes suggested in the DWP Circular, sadly, what they actually do is worse.’

Full story

NearlyLegal, 6th October 2014

Source: www.nearlylegal.co.uk

Bedroom tax and human rights FTT miscellany – NearlyLegal

Posted August 26th, 2014 in appeals, benefits, disabled persons, human rights, news, social security, tribunals by sally

‘No less than four FTT bedroom tax appeal decision have come my way lately. Three of them concern successful appeals on human rights Article 14 discrimination or Article 8 family life grounds. One is a clear room size decision with an interesting footnote on tenancy agreements.’

Full story

NearlyLegal, 24th August 2014

Source: www.nearlylegal.co.uk

Private landlords and article 8 – Are we there yet? – Hardwicke Chambers

Posted August 7th, 2014 in benefits, housing, human rights, landlord & tenant, mortgages, news, repossession by sally

‘At the time of the decisions in Manchester City Council v Pinnock [2011] 2 AC 104 and Hounslow v Powell [2011] 2 AC 186 it was thought that a seismic shock wave would be sent through the Courts requiring them in every claim for possession of residential premises by a public sector landlord to undertake a time consuming balancing exercise to assess the “proportionality” of making an order for possession. The Courts, it was thought, would be overwhelmed. This has in fact not proved to be the case. The County Court has become adept at weeding out the weak cases early on and even where the article 8 point is run to trial the Court has, by and large, been robust in its approach. The one issue which has remained unresolved for a surprisingly long time is the question of the extent to which the principles set out in Powell and Pinnock would apply in a possession claim where the land owner is a private individual and not part of the public sector.’

Full story

Hardwicke Chambers, 4th August 2014

Source: www.hardwicke.co.uk

Dewsbury couple win spare bedroom housing benefit fight – BBC News

Posted August 7th, 2014 in benefits, disabled persons, housing, news by sally

‘A couple from West Yorkshire who went to court to challenge a cut to their housing benefit have won their case.’

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BBC News, 7th August 2014

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

The gaps in the welfare ‘safety net’ and the scope for using judicial review – Halsbury’s Law Exchange

‘Desmond Rutledge considers the use of judicial review as a remedy of last resort in welfare benefits cases where the claimant is in financial crisis.’

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Halsbury’s Law Exchange, 6th August 2014

Source: www.halsburyslawexchange.co.uk

Regina (Winder and others) v Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council (Equality and Human Rights Commission intervening) – WLR Daily

Posted August 1st, 2014 in benefits, council tax, domicile, law reports, local government, news, ultra vires by sally

Regina (Winder and others) v Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council (Equality and Human Rights Commission intervening) [2014] EWHC 2617 (Admin); [2014] WLR (D) 349

‘The provisions of the Local Government Finance Act 1992 did not empower a billing authority for an area to impose a condition of residence on individuals seeking to utilise a council tax reduction scheme created under section 13A(2) of the Act.’

WLR Daily, 30th July 2014

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

Local authority’s ‘benefit tourism’ rule discriminated against residents – The Guardian

‘A local authority acted illegally when it introduced strict residency criteria designed to prevent it becoming a magnet for “benefit tourists” priced out of high-cost areas of London and the south-east by welfare reforms, a judge has ruled.’

Full story

The Guardian, 30th July 2014

Source: www.guardian.co.uk