Welfare Rights Bulletin articles

Angela Toal describes the main employment and support allowance (ESA) rules for students, pointing out where they are more restrictive than at present.

Pamela Fitzpatrick looks at some problems experienced by work-seekers and workers with the right-to-reside test.

The amount of employment and support allowance (ESA) a claimant is entitled to depends upon a number of factors, including whether the claimant is: single or part of a couple; in receipt of certain benefits; entitled to income-related and/or contributory ESA; and/or still in the initial assessment phase. Edward Graham explains how much ESA a claimant may be entitled to.

In the latest of an occasional series of articles on the decisions of social fund inspectors, David Simmons considers some recent cases about capital, repeat applications and budgeting loans.

Simon Osborne describes the new test for Employment and Support Allowance of whether someone is too ill to work.

A trio of official publications in late 2007 and early this year provide further detail of the increasing compulsion - or conditionality - being applied to benefit claimants, with the accompanying threat of sanctions (and resulting poverty) for non-compliance. Simon Osborne describes the announcements.

Nearly five years on, and the tax credits scheme still appears to be a work in progress. Mark Willis looks at some of the latest changes and performance.

New housing benefit (HB) rent restriction rules - the 'local housing allowance' (LHA) rules - are due to be introduced nationwide from 7 April 2008. Far from simplifying the HB rules, a new layer of complexity will be added. .

Simon Osborne looks at the context and content of the Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act 2007.

The European Court of Justice (ECJ) has recently given an important judgement - Commission of the European Communities v the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union (C-299/05, 18 October 2007). .