Single mothers lose legal challenge to benefit cap – BBC News

Posted November 5th, 2013 in benefits, human rights, judicial review, news, social security by sally

“Three single mothers and their children have lost a legal challenge to the government’s benefit cap.”

Full story

BBC News, 5th November 2013

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

East Europeans jailed for fraud over £750,000 ‘benefit tourists’ – Daily Telegraph

Posted November 5th, 2013 in benefits, conspiracy, fraud, news, sentencing, social services by sally

“Three Eastern Europeans who flew friends and family into Britain and claimed £750,000 in tax credits have been jailed for a total of 12 years.”

Full story

Daily Telegraph, 4th November 2013

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Regina (Reilly and another) v Secretary of State for Work and Pensions – WLR Daily

Regina (Reilly and another) v Secretary of State for Work and Pensions [2013] UKSC 68; [2013] WLR (D) 413

“Where a statute required that something be prescribed in delegated legislation, it envisaged that the latter would add something to what was contained in the primary legislation. Therefore the Jobseeker’s Allowance (Employment, Skills and Enterprise Scheme) Regulations 2011, purportedly made under section 17A of the Jobseekers Act 1995 which provided for the making of regulations to require claimants in receipt of jobseeker’s allowance to participate in schemes of a ‘prescribed description’, were unlawful because they set up a named scheme without any description over and above what was already in section 17A.”

WLR Daily, 30th October 2013

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

R (on the application of Reilly and another) (Respondents) v Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (Appellant) – Supreme Court

R (on the application of Reilly and another) (Respondents) v Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (Appellant) [2013] UKSC 68 (YouTube)

Supreme Court, 30th October 2013

Source: www.youtube.com/user/UKSupremeCourt

Supreme court to make final ruling on Poundland case – The Guardian

“The UK supreme court will hand down judgment on Wednesday morning in what is expected to be the final chapter in a long-running dispute between the Department of Work and Pensions and former jobseeker Cait Reilly over the legality of so-called workfare schemes.”

Full story

The Guardian, 30th October 2013

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Deaf and blind man fears losing home over “bedroom tax” as disabled legal challenges mount – The Independent

Posted October 29th, 2013 in benefits, disabled persons, housing, news, social services by sally

“A deaf and blind man who uses his spare bedroom to store braille equipment fears that he could lose his home due to the ‘bedroom tax’ as lawyers warned that the controversial measure is having a discriminatory impact on the disabled.”

Full story

The Independent, 28th October 2013

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Woman who ‘cannot work because of a shoe allergy’ sees benefits stopped – Daily Telegraph

“A woman who claimed £100,000 in disability benefits because of a shoe allergy must return to work, officials say.”

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Daily Telegraph, 24th October 2013

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Eccles couple sentenced for trafficking servant girl – BBC News

“A couple who trafficked a 10-year-old girl to the UK who was repeatedly raped and kept as a servant for nearly a decade have been jailed.”

Full story

BBC News, 23rd October 2013

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Vulnerable elderly ‘locked out’ of state-funded care despite reforms, study finds – Daily Telegraph

Posted October 23rd, 2013 in benefits, budgets, care homes, carers, charities, elderly, local government, news by tracey

“Hundreds of thousands of frail elderly and disabled people who need help with basic tasks such as washing and dressing will receive no assistance towards the cost of their care, despite Government reforms, experts have warned.”

Full story

Daily Telegraph, 22nd October 2013

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Why We Can’t Trust Judges to Beat the Bedroom Tax – Garden Court Chambers Blog

Posted October 17th, 2013 in benefits, housing, news, political parties, social security by sally

“Liz Davies explains that, although the courts may be able to help a few individuals, we need to step up the political battle.”

Full story

Garden Court Chambers Blog, 17th October 2013

Source: www.gclaw.wordpress.com

‘Pure evil’: 10-year-old deaf and mute girl trafficked to UK, kept in cellar and raped by pensioner – The Independent

Posted October 17th, 2013 in benefits, children, disabled persons, fraud, news, rape, trafficking in human beings by sally

“A pensioner who trafficked a 10-year-old deaf and mute girl into Britain, keeping her in his cellar to claim benefits, was convicted yesterday of repeatedly raping her.”

Full story

The Independent, 17th October 2013

Source: www.independent.co.uk

van der Helder and another v College voor zorgverzekeringen (CVZ) (Healthcare Insurance Board) – WLR Daily

Posted October 14th, 2013 in benefits, EC law, interpretation, jurisdiction, law reports, pensions by sally

van der Helder and another v College voor zorgverzekeringen (CVZ) (Healthcare Insurance Board) (Case C-321/12); [2013] WLR (D) 375

“On the proper interpretation of article 28(2)(b) of Council Regulation (EEC) No 1408/71 of 14 June 1971 on the application of social security schemes to employed persons, to self-employed persons and to members of their families moving within the Community, (as amended), ‘legislation’ to which a pensioner had been subject for the longest period of time, for the purpose of that provision, referred to legislation concerning pensions.”

WLR Daily, 10th October 2013

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

Bedroom Tax – Exciting but steady on…! – Hardwicke Chambers

Posted October 8th, 2013 in appeals, benefits, housing, news, regulations, social security by sally

“I was fortunate at the end of September in two respects when delivering seminars on the subject of welfare reform; firstly I had been allocated the primary subject of the bedroom tax to talk upon, and secondly I was able to report and expand on exciting news that was breaking in this field.”

Full story

Hardwicke Chambers, 2nd October 2013

Source: www.hardwicke.co.uk

The (absence of) reasons in Redcar – NearlyLegal

Posted October 7th, 2013 in appeals, benefits, disabled persons, housing, landlord & tenant, news by sally

“You may well have seen or heard press stories on a First Tier tribunal bedroom tax appeal decision in Redcar and Cleveland. There has been a lot of excitable comment about it representing a ‘landmark appeal‘ and ‘hope for 440,000 disabled’. Even the tenant’s landlord, who supported her, described it as ‘fantastic news’ which ‘which should give hope to hundreds of thousands of disabled people right across the country’.”

Full story

NearlyLegal, 5th October 2013

Source: www.nearlylegal.co.uk

Benefit cap faces High Court challenge – BBC News

Posted October 3rd, 2013 in benefits, illegality, judicial review, news, social services by sally

“Three families are challenging the government in court in a bid to prove its benefits cap is unlawful.”

Full story

BBC News, 2nd October 2013

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

And another one… – Nearly Legal

“Another bedroom tax judicial review has just been issued.”

Full story

Nearly Legal 30th September 2013

Source: www.nearlylegal.co.uk/blog/

Westminster clear up – NearlyLegal

Posted September 30th, 2013 in appeals, benefits, disabled persons, housing, landlord & tenant, local government, news by sally

“There has been a lot of excitement about the Westminster FTT bedroom tax appeal by Mr Surinder Lall (eg Guardian, CAB). As I mentioned in my last post on the FTT bedroom tax decisions, it was hard to tell what had happened by looking at the decision itself and the press reports. Some, like the CAB, have taken the view that it was Mr Lall’s use of the second room to hold and use equipment related to his disability (he is blind) that was the basis of the decision. If so, this would be a ‘current use’ decision and highly significant, in view of the DWP’s position that ‘tenant use’ should not be a factor.”

Full story

NearlyLegal, 28th September 2013

Source: www.nearlylegal.co.uk

Bedroom tax defeat for Westminster council in landmark case – The Guardian

Posted September 27th, 2013 in benefits, disabled persons, housing, local government, news, social security by tracey

“A housing association tenant in central London has won an appeal against the imposition of the bedroom tax by Conservative-run Westminster city council, in what is thought to be the first such victory in England.”

Full story

The Guardian, 26th September 2013

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Council to pay out after housing families in B&Bs for longer than six weeks – Local Government Lawyer

“A local authority is set to pay out thousands of pounds after it housed 40 homeless families in bed and breakfast accommodation for longer than the recommended limit of six weeks.”

Full story

Local Government Lawyer, 24th September 2013

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Changing rooms – NearlyLegal

“The bedroom tax First Tier Tribunal decisions are coming in now. And they are intriguing. In some ways, not a surprise, in others somewhat opaque. As well as the first Fife decision, there are another four Fife decisions that I’ve now seen, and a rather frustrating one from Westminster.”

Full story

NearlyLegal, 24th September 2013

Source: www.nearlylegal.co.uk