Following my plaintive cry here, I now have copies of the two Upper Tribunal judgments from Scotland referred to by the DWP. And, while the judgments do do something rather more and rather different to the outcomes suggested in the DWP Circular, sadly, what...
Some bits on the bedroom tax and room size First, a new FTT decision from Rochdale (Reasons here ). A room of 64 square feet was too small for a lodger and had not been used as a bedroom since the appellant’s son moved out in 2010. The room was instead...
The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions v Hockley & Anor (2019) EWCA Civ 1080 A quick note because I somehow missed this at the time. The Court of Appeal overturned the Upper Tribunal decision (our note here) on whether assessment of entitlement to...
An assortment of things... First an erratum to yesterday's post on the High Court judgment on applications to cancel a debt moratorium. The High Court had held that such an application must be by claim form. I was subsequently pointed at Practice Direction...
SSWP –v- JM and Liverpool City Council (HB) (2020) UKUT 337 (AAC) An Upper Tribunal bedroom tax appeal decision that reminds us - or to newcomers, introduces you - to just how Alice in Wonderland things became because the bedroom tax regulations left the...
SSWP V WT and Redcar and Cleveland BC (HB) (2019) UKUT 372 (AAC) Very late to this one (I missed it) but a brief note on a doomed attempt in the Upper Tribunal to challenge The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions v Hockley & Anor (2019) EWCA Civ...
RR v Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (2019) UKSC 52 The question of the powers of the First Tier and Upper Tribunals (and indeed initial decision makers) to disapply secondary legislation where there is a breach of the appellant's human rights has...
The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions v Hockley & Anor (2019) EWCA Civ 1080 If you can only actually fit one child into a bedroom and you have two children, how many bedrooms should you be allowed under the bedroom tax regulations (Regulation...
We noted here the Court of Appeal decision in Carmichael v Secretary of State for Work and Pensions [2018] EWCA Civ 548. In very summary terms, the Supreme Court decided in an earlier case that the application of the "social sector size criteria" / "bedroom...
Two bedroom tax related decisions - the first of which is a decision of widespread import on the powers (or lack thereof) of the First Tier Tribunal. The Secretary of State for Work And Pensions v Carmichael & Anor (2018) EWCA Civ 548 The was the SoS...
Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough Council v RH and Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (2017) UKUT 471 (AAC) A very interesting (and perhaps surprising) Upper Tribunal 3 judge decision on the issue of 'what is a bedroom' for the purposes of Housing Benefit...
A few things... In case you didn't see it through email or social media, I wrote a long piece about social housing in the aftermath of Grenfell Tower, which is on a separate page at that link. In Scotland, the Inner House of the Court of Session heard an...