Information Library

In Flintshire, north Wales, one of the first counties to test the new payment, the council says rent arrears have gone up by £1m. One claimant there said a mistake left him with just £29 a month to live on. But the UK government said it had listened to concerns…

Four working mothers, supported by Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG) and Leigh Day Solicitors, defeat DWP in a Judicial Review hearing, relating to the treatment of their earnings in the assessment of their Universal Credit award. At paragraph 68 of the judgement it concludes: “On a proper interpretation of regulation…

Universal Credit claimants who are expecting to receive their money between Christmas and New Year should not experience a delay because of the bank holidays during the festive period. Life on Universal Credit at Christmas: I have to save sugar packets from cafes to put in my daughter’s stocking Payment…

Students who claim universal credit are being hit harder by reductions than people who are in work, according to the NUS. Under universal credit, for every £1 that someone earns through work, they will see 63p deducted from their monthly payments. However, for students, their loans and grants are treated…

The controversial Universal Credit benefit system is being rolled out across Edinburgh. Food-banks say they are preparing for increased demand, as those being moved to the new system can expect a five weeks wait for their first payment. An estimated 10,500 local council tenants are expected to be moved to…

Decision CUC-166-2017 – Summary This case concerned the question of how earnings reported by her employer via Real Time Earnings (RTI) feed should impact on her award. Her ‘assessment period’ ran from the 1st of each calendar month to the last day of the same month. The issue in her…

Upper-tier Decision CUC-2385-2016 https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5a1e68d6ed915d6662f29354/CUC_2385_2016-00.pdf Summary 1. The principal issue on this appeal is whether a room must be capable of accommodating a bedside table and separate clothes storage furniture in order to be considered a bedroom for the purposes of housing benefit and universal credit under-occupancy legislation. This might seem…

Decision CUC 1653 2016 https://www.gov.uk/administrative-appeals-tribunal-decisions/s-v-secretary-of-state-for-work-and-pensions-uc-2017-ukut-477-aac Summary In most cases, a failure to comply with a Universal Credit “work-related requirement” is sanctionable if done for “no good reason”. Does this mean the same as having ‘good cause’ for doing or not doing something? Does it mean the same as ‘without good…

CUC 2888 2015 – This is the first UC case considered at Upper-tier level and involves the treatment of earnings paid after the end of the claimant’s employment and after a claim for Universal Credit was made. Decision here But, see later Judicial Review decision, relating to 4 working, single parents,…

Hi Over the past three years, I’ve been pursuing DWP to make compensation payments for some of my landlord clients, where applications for Alternative Payment Arrangements (APAs), or “Managed Payments” relating to Universal Credit, have been mishandled, due mainly, to the department’s insistence on a failed policy of “Explicit Consent”…