Rosie Mears introduces CPAG’s new research report You Reap What You Code: universal credit, digitalisation and the rule of law, and investigates how the digital design and implementation of universal credit may contribute to errors in identifying the correct effective date for supersessions.

Simon Osborne looks at some caselaw development which might herald a change in the recoverability of overpayments under the legacy benefit system.

Henri Krishna describes new rules on UC childcare costs.

Martin Williams discusses the approach of the European Court of Human Rights to when a ‘legitimate expectation’ might be sufficient to prevent recovery of overpaid benefits.

Simon Osborne and Carri Swann consider the plans in the government’s Health and Disability White Paper to scrap the work capability assessment (WCA) and replace current rules on limited capability for work and work-related activity.

With managed migration expanding over the coming year, Owen Stevens takes a look at transitional protection for people who would be worse off as a result.

Mark Willis looks at official plans for the managed migration of current tax credit recipients to universal credit (UC) claims.

In the spring Budget, there was an unexpected £4 billion investment in early years childcare, meaning £4 in every £5 spent on childcare is now coming from the government. How does investment on this scale change the debate on childcare? What role does childcare play in changing life chances? And what would a better system look like?

By Megan Jarvie and Abby Jitendra

The vast majority of UC claimants make their claims and manage their ongoing awards online, and some processes for calculating awards have been automated. What has been the impact of this major change in social security administration? And has this digitalisation of means-tested benefits been implemented in a way that adheres to the rule of law?

By Rosie Mears

It has long been the case that having a second earner can change the risk of a family being in poverty. But it is not easy to take on paid work, and families often face lots of barriers. What are these barriers? What effect do they have on parents’ ability to work?

By Tom Lee

Frances Ryan looks at rules providing new entitlement to bereavement benefits for surviving partners of a ‘cohabiting’ relationship.

Martin Williams looks at a recent decision in which DWP assurances to a claimant that their universal credit payments were correct meant that an overpayment was not recoverable.