Legacy benefits

gbhxu

Lanzarote1938 said:

Would be interesting for someone on legacy benefits to say just how their costs rose by £20 a week during the pandemic. Or is just a case of 'they got it so why shouldn't I?'

That's enough to pay for my electric, coal, water and council tax for a year.

[Deleted User]

gbhxu said:

Lanzarote1938 said:

Would be interesting for someone on legacy benefits to say just how their costs rose by £20 a week during the pandemic. Or is just a case of 'they got it so why shouldn't I?'

That's enough to pay for my electric, coal, water and council tax for a year.

Yeah but if you already pay all those, then they are not additional expenditure. 

Muttleythefrog

This could legally go either way - statement of obvious perhaps. I don't think the argument that claimants could have moved to U/C if they wanted to will have any legal weight and I doubt an argument that expenses have gone down for some claimants will have any legal weight. As I understand it the uplift to legacy benefits didn't occur because of the technical difficulty of doing it... or at least that's what my memory serves up as governmental excuse from reading through the pandemic. I also am not convinced an argument that the uplift was to assist those in particular circumstances while getting U/C (such as through temporary loss of work) will have much legal impact either since factually it benefited others. To me the government could well face a problematic discrimination angle... there seems no logical reason not to uplift and they seem to have provided no legal case for not doing so before... so we will see. Amidst the range of (temporary) government pandemic related support, disparities between comparable benefits and their ordinary rates, including help with Council Tax they may be able to sow some seeds of confusion and emergency to aid their case. I ain't a lawyer so my snapshot is entirely amateur.

I decided to leap to U/C when it became obvious MPs were having difficulty getting sound responses from government on the matter and I accidentally (here in passing IIRC) discovered I could indeed move to U/C. In fact had I known I was able to shift to U/C without any change of circumstances or invitation I would have done so previously as would have been better off even without the temporary lift. Unfortunately not all claimants are aware of their options and that hasn't been helped by the confusions surrounding U/C rollout which has been a long drama... and a complete absence of targeted relevant information to claimants.

Gig1968

That is he best post on here by far.
Jumping across was interesting.
On a point of principle I knew I could but I wouldn't do so even though I could get the uplift.
My ESA would have been guaranteed at the same rate and I wouldn't have been better or worse or off,apart from the uplift of course.
I surfed the internet read about the select committee ( MPs from both parties deciding  it is discrimination against ESA claimants by  the government)  and nd that's my point it's not about whether you get a taxi or buy a an extra box of bannanas, but of course some people have more cost than others. It's an unfair discriminatory policy.

Gig1968

Must be due for this hearing soon.

KxMx

End of September:

https://www.benefitsandwork.co.uk/forum/10-dla-esa-queries-results/137079-legacy-benefits-uplift-judicial-hearing-latest

As I understand it the hearing was asked for July but if the court doesn't have room then it has to wait. 

gbhxu

https://osborneslaw.com/blog/2m-without-benefit-increase-challenge-government/

frank1978

If a claimant was on IR ESA and was placed in the support group on this descriptor - 9.  Learning tasks.

(a) Cannot learn how to complete a simple task, such as setting an alarm clock, due to cognitive impairment or mental disorder. For conditons such as Dementia etc,

Wouldn't the Goverment be guilty of disablity discrimination ? - because a claimant like this couldn't be reasonably expected to make a new claim etc due to there health.....

poppy12345

frank1978 said:

If a claimant was on IR ESA and was placed in the support group on this descriptor - 9.  Learning tasks.

(a) Cannot learn how to complete a simple task, such as setting an alarm clock, due to cognitive impairment or mental disorder. For conditons such as Dementia etc,

Wouldn't the Goverment be guilty of disablity discrimination ? - because a claimant like this couldn't be reasonably expected to make a new claim etc due to there health.....

I don't see any discrimination here. If a person can't claim a benefit their self then an appointee is advised. If they have no one to act on their behalf there wouldn't be a benefit claim in the first place.

Gig1968

Won't be long now till the government are dragged in front of the high court on September 29 and 30 to try and defend themselves against their refusal to uplift the legacy benefits. Should be very interesting indeed. Going to be very costly if they lose. 
The chancellor's pockets will be emptied again and again especially with the gas crisis just round the corner to help him out further.

One moment for celebration for all people on benefits the sacking of that miserable faced hard nosed !!!!!! Mrs Coffey DWP minister ( who had no idea how the real people lived).