Welfare Rights Bulletin articles

Various changes, some unintentional others deliberate, have made it more difficult to bring an appeal against a tax credits decision outside the time limit. Following on from Martin Williams article in Bulletin 234, Mike Spencer looks at the issues and discusses potential legal challenges.

Mark Willis describes a new scheme due for introduction during 2015, aimed at assisting with childcare costs for some families, and its exclusive interaction with universal credit (UC) and tax credits. UPDATE: Tax-Free Childcare will not be introduced until 2017.

Paul Treloar describes an official report on the impact of universal credit (UC).

As the deadline for the government to make a final decision on the future funding of local welfare assistance schemes (LWAS) nears, there have been a number of significant developments in recent weeks. Dan Norris explains.

The DWP has issued new guidance (Memo DMG 27/14) about repeat referrals for the work capability assessment (WCA), where the claimant has been successful in an appeal. As before, when a repeat WCA is to be applied is not a matter of law, and so is not in itself a potential subject of appeal to the First-tier Tribunal.

Henri Krishna describes further reductions in rights to reside for jobseekers.

With universal credit (UC) due to begin a significant nationwide expansion from February 2015, advisers should be ready for the main rules determining access to the UC system, and the main problems and challenges likely to arise for claimants. Simon Osborne and David Simmons explain.

New regulations, which came into force on 27 October, extend from three to seven the number of waiting days at the start of a claim for jobseekers allowance (JSA) or employment support allowance (ESA), during which the claimant has no entitlement.Dan Norris explains.

Paul Treloar, Advice and Rights Manager at CPAG, describes recent research on the impact of benefit cuts.

In R (Winder and others) v Sandwell MBC, the High Court ruled that a local authority could not lawfully adopt a council tax reduction (CTR) scheme that was restricted only to those who had lived in the borough for two years. Michael Spencer discusses the case and its implications for CTR schemes and localised welfare more generally.