Welfare Rights Bulletin articles

(For subscribers) Carri Swann explains what we know about the DWP’s Health Transformation Programme and considers its impact in 2024 and beyond.

(For subscribers) Barbara Donegan looks at law, policy and practice regarding overpayments of carer’s allowance.

(For subscribers) Martin Williams discusses how advisers can use applications for directions to the First-tier Tribunal in appropriate cases to ensure the best outcomes for appeals.

Owen Stevens examines the impact of work on claimants with an award of universal credit on the basis of limited capability for work.

Owen Stevens and Martin Williams consider issues with ‘any ground revisions’ of universal credit (UC) decisions. Typically, such issues arise where a decision awarding UC is incorrect when made due to the claimant not declaring the correct circumstances in a claim.

Mark Willis and Simon Osborne describe plans and legislation for ‘managed migration’ of tax credit recipients of pension age.

A combination of cuts and rising demand mean that time is a scarce resource for welfare rights advisers dealing with DWP benefits. Owen Stevens sets out various time-saving ‘hacks’ to help advisers achieve results quickly and efficiently.

Claire Hall considers the role of test cases and discusses some areas of interest.

When a claimant with limited capability for work-related activity migrates from the legacy benefit system to universal credit (UC), how is that reflected in the UC award? Simon Osborne reviews the situation.

While getting national insurance (NI) credits for LCW is important for future entitlement to contribution-based benefits, such as state pension, entitlement can also help with getting UC, or extra amounts of UC, quicker than would otherwise be the case. Henri Krishna looks at when someone should get these NI credits, how they are claimed, and some of the advantages of getting them.