‘Globe-trotting granny’ angler netted £45k in benefit claims – Daily Telegraph

Posted June 23rd, 2015 in benefits, fraud, news, sentencing, social security, suspended sentences by tracey

‘Benefit cheat Heather Rimmer, 61 flew to exotic oceans to reel in the giant fish while claiming she was too ill to work.’

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Daily Telegraph, 23rd June 2015

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Beverley Allitt victim ordered to pay back benefits – BBC News

Posted April 7th, 2015 in benefits, compensation, news, social security by sally

‘A woman left brain damaged by killer nurse Beverley Allitt has been ordered to pay back £23,000 in benefits.’

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BBC News, 2nd April 2015

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Half a million more people summoned to court over unpaid council tax, after benefits scrapped – The Independent

Posted April 7th, 2015 in benefits, council tax, crime, debts, news, social security by sally

‘Half a million more people were summoned to court last year over unpaid council tax, after benefits protecting low-income families from paying it were scrapped.’

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The Independent, 6th April 2015

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Discretionary Housing Payments – the trouble with DLA – Nearly Legal

‘Oh, we have been waiting for this one. According to DWP survey evidence, some 75% of Councils take Disability Living Allowance into account as income when deciding on an award of Discretionary Housing Payments. This judicial review concerned Sandwell Council’s policy of doing just that. The implications are clearly of significance for other councils, and will potentially impact many disabled people faced with the bedroom tax.’

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Nearly Legal, 30th March 2015

Source: www.nearlylegal.co.uk

R (on the application of SG and others (previously JS and others)) (Appellants) v Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (Respondent) – Supreme Court

R (on the application of SG and others (previously JS and others)) (Appellants) v Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (Respondent) [2015] UKSC 16 (YouTube)

Supreme Court, 18th March 2015

Source: www.youtube.com/user/UKSupremeCourt

NIHL: Disease or Injury and Does it Really Matter? – Zenith PI Blog

‘A recent case heard by Mr Justice Phillips in the High Court has considered the increasingly popular argument that Noise Induced Hearing Loss is an injury rather than a disease.’

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Zenith PI Blog, 24th March 2015

Source: www.zenithpi.wordpress.com

Family Law Week’s Budget Briefing 2015 – Family Law Week

Posted March 24th, 2015 in benefits, budgets, families, news, social security, tax avoidance, taxation by sally

‘Jan Ellis, chartered accountant, of Ellis Foster LLP, a firm which specialises in advising family lawyers on tax-related family law issues, explains the budget changes of most relevance to family lawyers.’

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Family Law Week, 18th March 2015

Source: www.familylawweek.co.uk

Backdating welfare benefits payments to those recognised as refugees in the UK – Free Movement

Posted March 12th, 2015 in appeals, asylum, benefits, news, refugees, social security, tribunals by sally

‘In Blakesley v Secretary of State for Work and Pensions [2015] EWCA Civ 141 the Court of Appeal considered whether the UK Government is in breach of its international obligations towards refugees because of the lack of any provision to make back-payments of welfare benefits to those asylum seekers who, upon inquiry, are found to be refugees.’

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Free Movement, 12th March 2015

Source: www.freemovement.org.uk

Benefits to be withdrawn from EEA jobseekers previously unaffected by the January 2014 changes – Free Movement

Posted February 25th, 2015 in benefits, employment, immigration, news, social security by sally

‘In January 2014, the Government introduced a number of measures aimed at restricting EEA migrants’ access to income-based JSA. A key change was the introduction of a statutory presumption that entitlement to income-based JSA (‘JSA(IB)’) would be limited to a period of three months (or six months for EEA nationals with retained worker status) unless the jobseeker could pass a Genuine Prospect of Work (GPoW) assessment.’

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Free Movement, 24th February 2015

Source: www.freemovement.org.uk

Sanneh v Secretary of State for Work and Pensions; Scott and others v Croydon London Borough Council; Merali and others v Birmingham City Council; Regina (HC) v Secretary of State for Work and Pensions and others – WLR Daily

Posted February 19th, 2015 in appeals, benefits, carers, EC law, housing, law reports, regulations, social security by sally

Sanneh v Secretary of State for Work and Pensions; Scott and others v Croydon London Borough Council; Merali and others v Birmingham City Council; Regina (HC) v Secretary of State for Work and Pensions and others [2015] EWCA Civ 49; [2015] WLR (D) 61

‘European Union law gave a Zambrano carer, being a non-European Union citizen responsible for the care of an EU citizen child, the right to reside in the United Kingdom from the time when it became apparent that she qualified as a Zambrano carer. However, it did not give her an entitlement to social assistance on the same basis as an EU citizen lawfully resident in the UK. It was for national law to determine the level of benefits to which she was entitled.’

WLR Daily, 10th February 2015

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

Dano v Jobcenter Leipzig – WLR Daily

Posted November 18th, 2014 in benefits, EC law, freedom of movement, law reports, social security by sally

Dano v Jobcenter Leipzig (Case C-333/13) EU:C:2014:2358; [2014] WLR (D) 477

‘Article 24(1) of Parliament and Council Directive 2004/38/EC, in conjunction with article 7(1)(b), and article 4 of Regulation No 883/2004 (as amended by Regulation No 1244/2010) allowed legislation of a member state under which nationals of other member states were excluded from entitlement to certain “special non-contributory cash benefits” within the meaning of article 70(2) of Regulation No 883/2004, although those benefits were granted to nationals of the host member state who were in the same situation, in so far as those nationals of other member states did not have a right of residence under Directive 2004/38 in the host member state.’

WLR Daily, 11th November 2014

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

‘Disabled’ bodybuilder Peter Beddoe jailed for fraud – BBC News

Posted November 4th, 2014 in fraud, news, sentencing, social security by sally

‘A former Mr Wales who falsely claimed £28,332 in disability benefits whilst competing in bodybuilding contests has been jailed for six months.’

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BBC News, 3rd November 2014

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Cellar slave girl: Salford couple must pay victim £100,000 – BBC News

‘A deaf girl from Pakistan kept as a slave for nine years by a millionaire couple from Salford is to receive £100,000 in compensation.’

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BBC News, 15th October 2014

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Bedroom Tax: Upper Tribunal on Article 14 – NearlyLegal

Posted October 7th, 2014 in benefits, disability discrimination, news, Scotland, social security, tribunals by sally

‘Following my plaintive cry here, I now have copies of the two Upper Tribunal judgments from Scotland referred to by the DWP. And, while the judgments do do something rather more and rather different to the outcomes suggested in the DWP Circular, sadly, what they actually do is worse.’

Full story

NearlyLegal, 6th October 2014

Source: www.nearlylegal.co.uk

Bedroom tax and human rights FTT miscellany – NearlyLegal

Posted August 26th, 2014 in appeals, benefits, disabled persons, human rights, news, social security, tribunals by tracey

‘No less than four FTT bedroom tax appeal decision have come my way lately. Three of them concern successful appeals on human rights Article 14 discrimination or Article 8 family life grounds. One is a clear room size decision with an interesting footnote on tenancy agreements.’

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NearlyLegal, 24th August 2014

Source: www.nearlylegal.co.uk

Local authority’s ‘benefit tourism’ rule discriminated against residents – The Guardian

‘A local authority acted illegally when it introduced strict residency criteria designed to prevent it becoming a magnet for “benefit tourists” priced out of high-cost areas of London and the south-east by welfare reforms, a judge has ruled.’

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The Guardian, 30th July 2014

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

New measures to tighten up the immigration system – Home Office

‘A new crackdown on immigration abuses was announced today by the Prime Minister and the Home Secretary as part of the government’s long-term economic plan to secure a better future for Britain.’

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Home Office, 29th July 2014

Source: www.gov.uk/home-office

Temporary accommodation at a peppercorn rent – NearlyLegal

Posted July 3rd, 2014 in benefits, carers, housing, immigration, local government, news, social security by sally

‘This is a fascinating judicial review case. While the specific facts might only apply to a very few people, there is an interesting principle in it which may have wider application.’

Full story

NearlyLegal, 2nd July 2014

Source: www.nearlylegal.co.uk

St Prix v Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (AIRE Centre intervening) – WLR Daily

Posted June 24th, 2014 in benefits, EC law, employment, law reports, pregnancy, social security by sally

St Prix v Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (AIRE Centre intervening) (Case C-507/12; ECLI:EU:C:2014:2007; [2014] WLR (D) 275

‘A woman who gave up work, or looking for work, because of the physical constraints of the late stages of pregnancy and the aftermath of childbirth retained the status of “worker”, within the meaning of article 45FEU of the FEU Treaty, provided she returned to work or found another job within a reasonable period after the birth of her child.’

WLR Daily, 19th June 2014

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

Bootle benefits fraud woman ‘invented’ six children – BBC News

Posted June 17th, 2014 in benefits, fraud, news, sentencing, social security by sally

‘A woman who invented six children in order to claim extra state benefits, has been jailed for a year.’

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BBC News, 16th June 2014

Source: www.bbc.co.uk