Welfare Rights Bulletin articles

(For subscribers) Simon Osborne looks at the rule where a child can be entitled to the higher rate of the mobility component of disability living allowance (DLA) via the ‘severe mental impairment’ route.

(For subscribers) Martin Williams discusses the rules under which universal credit (UC) claimants can be treated as possessing capital which they no longer have.

‘Aids or appliances’ in personal independence payment (PIP) has widely been interpreted as excluding items that are commonly used in the same way by non-disabled people. A recent Upper Tribunal decision reached a different conclusion. Carri Swann looks at the reasoning behind the decision, and asks what it might mean for claimants.

(For subscribers) Martin Williams considers the recent clarification of the law, by a three-judge panel of the Upper Tribunal (UT), concerning appeal rights where a claimant has unsuccessfully applied for revision on the ground of official error.

(For subscribers) Mark Willis looks at rules on children and qualifying young persons in child benefit and universal credit (UC).

Carri Swann considers recent caselaw on how working can affect personal independence payment (PIP).

(For subscribers) Some universal credit (UC) rules regarding work-related activity requirements affect claimants in different ways depending on the levels of certain thresholds. These thresholds should be set by reference to a claimant’s ‘expected hours’. Owen Stevens examines the rules on expected hours.

Martin Williams considers procedural fairness in the tribunal system.

(For subscribers) Major changes have been made to official plans to reform personal independence payment (PIP) and health-related elements in universal credit (UC), and in related areas such as assessments. Susan Mitchell and Simon Osborne describe where we are now.

(For subscribers) Owen Stevens discusses a recent case illustrating pitfalls associated with inappropriate use of artificial intelligence tools.