Read the latest social welfare news from around the UK.
Benefit Cap and Bedroom Tax Appeals lost in Court of Appeal
Bedroom Tax- MA and others [2013] EWHC 2213(QB)- Judicial Reviews in the High Court and further appeal to the Court of Appeal.
Government Closes Bedroom Tax ‘loophole’
From 3/3/2014 the government has changed the law and closed the bedroom tax loophole that we explained in the last edition of this newsletter.
ESA Good Cause Guidance- not turning up for medicals
If a client does not attend and participate in their ESA medical then their beneft will be stopped unless they can show 'good cause'. The law doesn't defne this. Extra guidance to DWP decision makers has been issued. Of help may be para.
2 thirds of PIP Claims Turned Down
The first statistics on PIP claims are out. The figures show that on new claims nearly two thirds are turned down. If those on the grounds of terminal illness are included then the figure is around a half.
Benefit Cap- Handy Map
Click on the map to view where the Benefit Cap is hitting hardest.
Latest statistics about the Benefit Cap show ‘Since the introduction of the benefit cap on 15th April 2013 to December 2013:
PIP decisions- where to complain further
Mike Penning, MP, has given a little more information on delays to PIP-
Lord Freud: no work allowance for second earners in a couple under Universal Credit
Higher work allowances have a positive impact on work incentives allowing a claimant to keep more of their earnings before Universal Credit starts to be reduced.
Universal Credit- no Paper Forms
Esther McVey'There are no plans to produce a paper version of the Universal Credit application form.'
Bedroom Tax Loophole
Bedroom Tax- Pre 1996 claims- Arrears of Housing Beneft should now be due to perhaps 40,000 households. Transitional protection should have applied, meaning that the bedroom tax was wrongly implemented for some households.
Sanctions-'Jobcentre must be incentivised to get people into work, not just off benefits'
A report by the Work and Pensions Committee has found-
PIP- Handy Map Detailing Roll Out
Personal Independence Payments(PIP) started for new claimants last year, but when does the roll out of the reassessment old claims start? Well it has in some areas- click on the map to show dates o fthe commencement of natural migration.
Benefit Cap Rates DONT Change for Childless Couples
There's been some confusion over whether the Benefit Cap rate for childless couples was reducing in 2014/15 from £2167monthly (£500 weekly) to £1517 monthly (£350 weekly).
DWP: online claims are and aren't good
The DWP have stated that from 19/1/2014 online claims for Attendance Allowance and DLA(children) will cease. This is because of '...new browser and operating systems now exist which are not compatible with this online system...'(and)...'the low number of customers using it...'.
In the meantime claims can be made by telephone and by downloading the pdf from the gov.uk website.
at a glance guide to Benefit Changes in the Autumn Statement 2013
Please click here for our at a glance guide to Benefit Changes in the Autumn Statement 2013.
Here's a link to the full statement.
PIP Decisions- Slow
Advisers have been in touch with us about delays in decisions on PIP. In one case, despite complaints, a decision on a claim has still not been made when ATOS carried out a medical 5 months ago(the DWP have still not got the paperwork back from ATOS).