‘The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) is facing a court case which alleges a human rights breach that could see the Government ordered to pay £1,560 each to over two million benefits claimants.’
Each Other, 29th November 2021
Source: eachother.org.uk
‘The London Borough of Newham is to pay more than £8,000 to a mother of four after failing to move her and her family from “overcrowded and hazardous” accommodation for almost two years, following an investigation by the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman.’
Local Government Lawyer, 23rd November 2021
Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk
‘This is a case about the payment of childcare costs under Universal Credit. Universal Credit claimants can claim an element reimbursing them up to 85% of the costs of childcare while they go to work.’
UK Human Rights Blog, 15th November 2021
Source: ukhumanrightsblog.com
‘The Department for Work and Pensions has unlawfully told “significant” numbers of people who legitimately claimed universal credit at the start of the pandemic to repay money often totalling thousands of pounds, a charity has claimed.’
The Guardian, 13th November 2021
Source: www.theguardian.com
‘Financial requirement for the partner visa is satisfied if the sponsor, the British partner, has income of at least £18,600 per year or if the couple have savings of at least £62,500 (slightly more if there are non-British children to be sponsored in the same application). It is possible to meet the financial requirement through a combination of savings and income. The rules are quite prescriptive about the sources of income and the documentary evidence required in support of the application. The evidential requirement depends on the source of income and one of the most common reasons for refusal of an application is failure to meet the evidential requirement.’
EIN Blog, 8th November 2021
Source: www.ein.org.uk
‘A government contractor has paid out “substantial” compensation following the death of a young mother who took an overdose after her disability benefits were removed.’
The Guardian, 3rd November 2021
Source: www.theguardian.com
‘Childcare costs can threaten the right to a family life, but the UK government has rejected calls for an independent inquiry into soaring prices.’
Each Other, 20th October 2021
Source: eachother.org.uk
‘A disabled woman is to challenge the Department for Work and Pensions in court over what she calls its “immoral” policy of allowing landlords and utilities companies to automatically make deductions from monthly benefits payments without the claimant’s consent.’
The Guardian, 15th October 2021
Source: www.theguardian.com
‘In Dove v HM Assistant Coroner to Teeside and Hartlepool & Anor [2021] EWHC 2511, the High Court considered the State’s obligations under article 2 ECHR with respect to those in receipt of welfare benefits as well as the scope of coronial inquiries both where article 2 is and isn’t engaged. Although it was argued that failings by the Department of Work and Pensions were relevant to a death by suicide, a fresh inquest was refused in the circumstances.’
UK Human Rights Blog, 13th October 2021
Source: ukhumanrightsblog.com
‘The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions v Hockley & Anor (2019) EWCA Civ 1080. A quick note because I somehow missed this at the time. The Court of Appeal overturned the Upper Tribunal decision on whether assessment of entitlement to bedrooms for the bedroom tax was connected to the actual occupiers and their actual or potential use of the rooms. (Here there were two children and two bedrooms, neither of which could accommodate two children.)’
Nearly Legal, 3rd October 2021
Source: nearlylegal.co.uk
‘Seven out of ten people who appealed in court against a decision to deny them disability benefits were successful, analysis shows.’
BBC News, 24th September 2021
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
‘The London Borough of Sutton has lost a case in the Upper Tribunal over whether a tenancy arrangement was a sham to increase housing benefit.’
Local Government Lawyer, 16th September 2021
Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk
‘Universal credit claimants are about to lose £20-a-week from their payments, equivalent to £1040 a year. Introduced as a temporary measure at the start of the coronavirus pandemic in 2020, Chancellor Rishi Sunak said the extra payment would stop in October. Removing the uplift, which has helped claimants make ends meet during the pandemic, could infringe on the right to a private life enshrined in Article 8 of the Human Rights Act.’
Each Other, 15th September 2021
Source: eachother.org.uk
‘When the unanimous judgment in R (SC) v Secretary of State for Work and Pensions [2021] UKSC 26 was handed down, it felt like a bit of a sea change had occurred. We had seen indications that the Supreme Court were becoming increasingly concerned with the perception that they were interfering in political matters in the Begum [2021] UKSC 7 case. However, the decision in SC and in R (AB) v Secretary of State for Justice [2021] UKSC 28 (handed down on the same day) gave a warning from the President of the Supreme Court about “campaigning organisations” litigating what Lord Reed perceived to be failed political campaigning for the rights of children. His concern was that this, coupled with the wide discretion left to courts when considering ECHR obligations left courts vulnerable to undue interference in the sphere of political choices.’
Doughty Street Chambers, 27th July 2021
Source: insights.doughtystreet.co.uk
‘The UK Supreme Court has delivered its long-awaited judgment in R (on the application of SC, CB and 8 children) (Appellants) v Secretary of State for Work and Pensions and others (Respondents) on the two-child rule (in the Welfare Reform and Work Act 2016) limiting key subsistence benefits to two children per household, and it wastes no opportunity to disappoint.’
Oxford Human Rights Hub, 26th July 2021
Source: ohrh.law.ox.ac.uk
‘The High Court has allowed four disabled individuals to bring a judicial review challenge of how the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, Thérèse Coffey, conducted the consultation on a proposed new national strategy for people with disabilities.’
Local Government Lawyer, 23rd July 2021
Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk
‘The government has admitted it put disabled benefit claimants under pressure to accept lower welfare support than they were legally entitled to.’
The Independent, 14th July 2021
Source: www.independent.co.uk
‘Cases where a person claiming benefits died or came to serious harm have now prompted 268 internal reviews since 2012, it can be revealed. The Department for Work & Pensions holds reviews when it is alleged its actions had a negative impact, or when named at an inquest.’
BBC News, 14th July 2021
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
‘Two campaigners have lost a challenge against the government’s “two-child limit” for welfare payments – an austerity measure brought in by former Tory chancellor George Osborne and one which critics have described as “desperately unfair”.’
The Independent, 9th July 2021
Source: www.independent.co.uk
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