Government hires extra judges to tackle welfare appeal backlog – Daily Telegraph

Posted November 28th, 2011 in appeals, benefits, delay, judiciary, news by sally

“Ministers have been forced to hire more than 80 new judges in a multi-million pound effort to address appeals by welfare claimants who dispute the loss of their benefits.”

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Daily Telegraph, 28th November 2011

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

New report on impact of legal aid cuts on disabled people – LAG News Blog

Posted November 14th, 2011 in benefits, budgets, disabled persons, legal aid, legal services, news by sally

“LAG commissioned the disability charity Scope to research the impact of the proposed cuts in legal aid on benefits advice for disabled people. The report, Legal aid in welfare: the tool we can’t afford to lose, which is published today, demonstrates the serious consequences of the government’s proposals on disabled people and argues that taking benefits advice out of scope will undermine the government’s welfare reform programme.”

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LAG News Blog, 14th November 2011

Source: www.legalactiongroupnews.blogspot.com

Criminals to have weekly benefits docked by up to £25 to pay fines – The Guardian

Posted October 31st, 2011 in benefits, fines, news, violent disorder by sally

“People on benefits who are fined in court could face a fivefold increase in the amount docked from their weekly payments to cover the penalty, David Cameron will announce on Saturday as the government response to the riots is intensified.”

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The Guardian, 29th October 2011

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Warning over legal aid cuts for disabled people – BBC News

Posted October 31st, 2011 in benefits, budgets, disabled persons, legal aid, news by sally

“Ministers are being urged not to restrict legal aid for disabled people wanting to challenge benefit decisions.”

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BBC News, 31st October 2011

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Another cuts challenge fails: Changes to housing benefit scheme is lawful – UK Human Rights Blog

Posted October 17th, 2011 in benefits, equality, housing, news by sally

“On 13 October 2011 Mr Justice Supperstone in the High Court held that changes to rules for calculating housing benefit were lawful and in particular did not breach equality legislation.”

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UK Human Rights Blog, 14th October 2011

Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com

Brussels threatens to sue Britain to let in ‘benefit tourists’ – Daily Telegraph

Posted September 30th, 2011 in benefits, EC law, news by tracey

“The European Commission has threatened to take legal action against Britain if ministers do not water down rules limiting foreigners’ ability to claim benefits.”

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Daily Telegraph, 29th September 2011

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

UK riots: courts could be asked to dock benefits – The Guardian

Posted September 8th, 2011 in benefits, gangs, news, penalties, rehabilitation, violent disorder by sally

“Magistrates and crown court judges could be asked to dock benefits from convicted criminals under preliminary proposals being drawn up by the government in response to the riots, the Guardian can reveal.”

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The Guardian, 7th September 2011

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Army fantasist John Livesey jailed for lying to court – BBC News

“A military historian who faked an illustrious Army career has been jailed for three years.”

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BBC News, 26th August 2011

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Unemployed offenders face tougher work in the community – The Guardian

Posted August 24th, 2011 in benefits, community service, news, sentencing, unemployment by sally

“Unemployed offenders face a full week of unpaid work, including the possibility hard manual labour, under plans to toughen community penalties as an alternative to prison. Instructions will be issued to courts by the Ministry of Justice, urging them to make sure unemployed offenders sentenced to the ‘community payback’ programme work a minimum of 28 hours over a four-day week. They will spend the fifth day looking for work or face losing their jobseekers’ allowance.”

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The Guardian, 24th August 2011

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Man who faked army career guilty of perverting course of justice – The Guardian

Posted August 5th, 2011 in benefits, fraud, news, perverting the course of justice by sally

“A military historian who faked an illustrious army career has been found guilty of perverting the course of justice.”

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The Guardian, 4th August 2011

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Serial killers entiteld to benefits, minister admits – Daily Telegraph

Posted July 19th, 2011 in benefits, mental health, murder, news by tracey

“Serial killers including Ian Brady and Peter Sutcliffe, the Yorkshire Ripper could be claiming hundreds of pounds a year in benefits, it has emerged.”

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Daily Telegraph, 19th July 2011

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

St Prix v Secretary of State for Work and Pensions – WLR Daily

Posted July 15th, 2011 in benefits, EC law, freedom of movement, law reports, news, pregnancy by tracey

St Prix v Secretary of State for Work and Pensions [2011] EWCA Civ 806;  [2011] WLR (D)  226

“A Union citizen who, when within the United Kingdom, ceased to work in circumstances other than those set out in paragraphs (a) to (d) of article 7(3) of the Citizenship Directive was not a ‘worker’ entitled to the relevant ‘right of residence’ for the purposes of article 7(1)(a) of the Directive; and pregnancy had deliberately been excluded from the conditions in which the status of worker was retained despite a cessation of work.”

WLR Daily, 13th July 2011

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

Immigrant relatives face five-year wait to claim benefits – The Guardian

Posted July 13th, 2011 in benefits, families, human rights, immigration, news by tracey

“Family members from outside Europe who come to join close relatives settled in Britain are expected to be denied access to welfare benefits for up to five years under further plans to cut annual net migration to be detailed on Wednesday.”

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The Guardian, 13th July 2011

source: www.guardian.co.uk

Charities threaten legal action over benefits cuts for disabled – The Guardian

Posted July 4th, 2011 in benefits, disabled persons, judicial review, news by sally

“The government faces a legal challenge from charities over its plans to cut benefits for disabled people by more than £2bn.”

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The Guardian, 2nd July 2011

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Grandmother’s corpse: Benefit fraud woman jailed – BBC News

Posted July 1st, 2011 in benefits, burials and cremation, fraud, news, sentencing by tracey

“A woman who left the corpse of her mother at their Wirral home unburied for up to six months has been jailed.”

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BBC News, 1st July 2011

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Skydiving Rhondda benefit cheat gets suspended sentence – BBC News

Posted July 1st, 2011 in benefits, fraud, news, sentencing by tracey

“A woman who was filmed skydiving while claiming sickness benefits has been handed a suspended jail term.”

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BBC News, 1st July 2011

Source; www.bbc.co.uk

Raad van bestuur van het Uitvoeringsinstituut werknemersverzekeringen v Akdas and others – WLR Daily

Posted June 28th, 2011 in benefits, EC law, law reports, social security by sally

Raad van bestuur van het Uitvoeringsinstituut werknemersverzekeringen v Akdas and others Case C-485/07; [2011] WLR (D) 209

“The first sub-paragraph of article 6(1) of the EEC-Turkey Association Council Decision 3/80 of 19 September 1980 on the application of the social security schemes of the member states of the European Communities to Turkish workers and members of their families (OJ 1983 C 110, p 60), which provided for the export of certain specified benefits, was directly effective. That provision precluded national legislation which withdrew the award of a benefit, such as the supplement to invalidity benefit, from former Turkish migrant workers when they had returned to Turkey after losing their right to remain in the host member state after becoming incapacitated in the that member state.”

WLR Daily, 26th May 2011

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

Supreme court may hear pivotal ‘juryless’ case – The Guardian

Posted June 16th, 2011 in benefits, conspiracy, fraud, juries, news, Supreme Court, trial without jury by sally

“A judge’s unprecedented attempt to deliver a verdict on her own after allegations of jury-tampering in a fraud trial may be referred to the supreme court.”

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The Guardian, 15th June 2011

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

£137,000 benefits scam pair jailed – The Independent

Posted May 26th, 2011 in benefits, fraud, news, sentencing by sally

“A couple who lived a luxury lifestyle on the back of a £137,000 benefits swindle were both jailed for 16 months today.”

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The Independent, 25th May 2011

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Northampton brawling benefits cheat is jailed – BBC News

Posted May 18th, 2011 in benefits, fraud, news, sentencing by tracey

“A benefits cheat who was caught on CCTV brawling with police, despite claiming he could not leave home without a walking stick, has been jailed.”

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BBC News, 17th May 2011

Source: www.bbc.co.uk