Welfare Rights Bulletin articles

Stewart Wright reports on the recent Tribunal of Commissioners' decision - CSDLA/133/2005 - which considered whether thinking is a bodily function and whether prompting and motivating can count as attention for AA and DLA purposes.

Judith Hodson, of Rochdale Council Advice Service, provides a summary of social security commissioners' decisions regarding mental health and incapacity.

Beth Lakhani describes new rules on reporting changes of circumstances for tax credits.

At first blush, it may seem that the ECtHR's decision in Stec has opened up a simple route for successfully applying Hockenjos to all shared cases. Stewart Wright suggests that this is not the case and that such arguments remain difficult.

David Simmons examines the barriers to accessing means-tested benefits for full-time students who have to interrupt their studies because of pregnancy.

As part of the Government's 10-year strategy for childcare, it consulted on measures intended to 'give parents more choice about how to balance their work and family responsibilities'. The Work and Families Act 2006 implements some of the measures set out in the Government's response to this consultation.

The Welfare Reform Bill was published on 4 July 2006. Amongst its foremost provisions are the basic rules concerning the employment and support allowance, which is expected to replace incapacity benefit and income support for incapacity from 2008. Drawing on the Bill and its predecessor, the Green Paper, Simon Osborne describes the main provisions and identifies some of the issues arising.

Simon Osborne describes the bizarrely complex rules regarding from whom a housing benefit overpayment is recoverable, and when appeals can be made.

A recent commissioner's decision has accepted that 'thinking' is a bodily function for the purposes of disability living allowance. Stewart Wright considers the decision and the case law which preceded it.

Edward Graham describes the report of MPs on complexity in social security.