‘The head of an influential cross-party committee of MPs has criticised the “incredible secrecy” surrounding the government’s handling of the deaths of vulnerable benefit claimants following the case of Errol Graham, a severely ill man who died of starvation after his benefits were cut off.’
The Guardian, 1st March 2020
Source: www.theguardian.com
‘The Department for Work and Pensions has been accused of “a cover-up” after destroying reports into suicides linked to benefits being stopped. Around 50 reviews into deaths following the loss of social security payments before 2015 have been shredded, officials have admitted – blaming data protection laws.’
The Independent, 26th February 2020
Source: www.independent.co.uk
‘The battle against the discriminatory practice of landlords not renting to benefit claimants has intensified after legal victories by two single mothers.’
BBC News, 26th February 2020
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
‘A landmark legal case has found denying bereavement payments to co-habiting couples is against human rights law.’
BBC News, 7th February 2020
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
‘This appeal arose as a result of an application made by the Attorney General for Northern Ireland under the Northern Ireland Act 1998, Schedule 10 paragraph 34. Paragraph 34 provides that the Attorney General may refer to the Supreme Court any devolution issue which is not the subject of proceedings. A devolution issue includes a question whether a purported exercise of a function by a Northern Ireland Department is or would be invalid by reason the 1998 Act, s.24. S. 24(1)(a) provides that a Department of Northern Ireland has no power to make, confirm or approve any subordinate legislation, or to do any act, so far as the legislation or act is incompatible with any of the rights guaranteed by the European Convention on Human Rights.’
UKSC Blog, 5th February 2020
Source: ukscblog.com
‘The government has lost two appeals against court judgments that found the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) had unlawfully discriminated against thousands of severely disabled people who were moved on to universal credit.’
The Independent., 29th January 2020
Source: www.independent.co.uk
‘Relatives of a man who starved to death after his benefits were stopped have said the system is “not fit for purpose”.’
BBC, 29th January 2020
Source: www.google.com
‘It is still relatively uncontroversial to suggest that, as a matter of public law, public authorities must comply with legislation. But what should public authorities do where such compliance would actually result in a breach of a right under the European Convention on Human Rights? In RR v Secretary of State for Work and Pensions [2019] UKSC 52, the Supreme Court held that it is not unconstitutional for a public authority to disapply a provision of subordinate legislation to avoid breaching a convention right. This is necessary under the Human Rights Act 1998. Public authorities will be looking to the horizon to see what impact this decision may have more widely.’
Law Society's Gazette, January 2020
Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk
‘A former lawyer who said he could not walk without help, but was spotted driving a miniature locomotive, has been sentenced for benefit fraud.’
Crown Prosecution Service, 10th January 2020
Source: www.cps.gov.uk
‘And so, we reach the end of another year. And what a year it has been. As well perhaps the most tumultuous period in British politics for decades, this year saw the first ever image taken of a black hole, a victory for the England men’s cricket team at the World Cup, the discovery of a new species of prehistoric small-bodied human in the Philippines and signs that humpback whale numbers in the South Atlantic have bounced back thanks to intensive conservation efforts. And the law? Well, rather a lot has happened really. As the festive season draws near, what better way is there to celebrate than to rewind the clock and relive the 10 cases which have defined 2019?’
UK Human Rights Blog, 19th December 2019
Source: ukhumanrightsblog.com
‘Public sector and private sector landlords need to know about a recent housing benefit ruling from the Supreme Court, write Karl Anders and Deborah Brown.’
Local Government Lawyer, 17th December 2019
Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk
‘The High Court has ruled that the London Borough of Ealing acted unlawfully in its assessment of whether applicant AB was a “former relevant child” within the meaning of section 23C of the Children Act 1989.’
Local Government Lawyer, 13th December 2019
Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk
‘A disabled woman has been awarded £5,000 in an out-of-court settlement after being called a “lying bitch” by a welfare official in formal legal papers after challenging a decision to cut her disability benefits.’
The Guardian, 12th December 2019
Source: www.theguardian.com
‘The Court of Appeal had dismissed as academic a case brought against the London Borough of Islington over its discretionary housing payments (DHP) policy and a requirement for a claimant to make a contribution to a shortfall in rent.’
Local Government Lawyer, 4th December 2019
Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk
‘The supreme court has ruled against the UK government’s attempts to force the bedroom tax on 155 partners of people with severe disabilities, in a decision that will hamper ministerial attempts to water down human rights legislation.’
The Guardian, 13th November 2019
Source: www.theguardian.com
‘One in two people who appealed in court against a decision to deny them disability benefits were successful, analysis of five years of data shows.’
BBC News, 14th November 2019
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
‘Much may have changed in the political world since the Coalition Government introduced its controversial ‘bedroom tax’, but the legal fall-out from the policy continues. The European Court of Human Rights has delivered its verdict on the compatibility of the scheme with the prohibition on discrimination set out in Article 14 of the European Convention on Human Rights. The Strasbourg Court has found that the policy discriminated unlawfully against women at risk of domestic violence.’
UK Human Rights Blog, 12th November 2019
Source: ukhumanrightsblog.com
‘A complaint that a government advert extolling the benefits of universal credit was misleading, and thus “dangerous to the health and financial security of disabled people”, has been upheld by the UK’s advertising watchdog.’
The Independent, 6th November 2019
Source: www.independent.co.uk
‘The use of algorithms in public sector decision making has broken through as a hot topic in recent weeks. The Guardian recently ran the “Automating Poverty” series on the use of algorithms in the welfare state. And on 29 October 2019 it was reported that the first known legal challenge to the use of algorithms in the UK, this time by the Home Office, had been launched. It was timely, then, that the Public Law Project’s annual conference on judicial review trends and forecasts was themed “Public law and technology”.’
UK Human Rights Blog, 4th November 2019
Source: ukhumanrightsblog.com
‘The Administrative Court has revisited the issue of the denial of social care support to persons subject to immigration control, and the line between local authority social care support under the Care Act 2014, and accommodation and support provided by the Home Office. Jonathan Auburn analyses the ruling.’
Local Government Lawyer, 1st November 2019
Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk
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