LCWRA and Council Tax Support

oatster0

ok, the overriding factor is "discrimination"; this was the ruling. My council assesses those with LCWRA under the Welfare Reform Act 2007. The LCWRA is governed by the Welfare Reform 2012 Act because the LCWRA is not even mentioned in the 2007 Act; this is a clear error of law. Councils must abide by current legislation appropriate to the matter in hand. There is no excuse; they have had since April 2013 to implement these into their policies, but some have not; some have, even though some that have still quote the 2007 act in their council tax reduction document; these councils disregard the LCWRA payment as income. Everyone has the right to an opinion, but here I see some who are very opinionated, with no idea what they are talking about. The 2012 act clearly defines the difference between LCW and LCWRA; they are separate entities. It also clearly states that the LCWRA is a "disability related benefit"; you cannot conflate the two, but this is what councils do, giving grounds for discrimination. The way it is, not how I see it, is clear maladministration that has led to discriminatory practice, either by ignorance or choice, and, like some commenting here, the councils have no excuse. "Ignorantia juris non excusat"

Robbie64

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81909645#Comment_81909645

Whether or not councils are quoting the wrong legislation, can I just point out that the Welfare Reform Act 2007 does mention LCWRA as it's a component part of the original form of Employment and Support Allowance, which was introduced under that act. See section 9, headed Limited capability for work-related activity. The Welfare Reform Act 2012 introduced what is known as new-style Employment and Support Allowance, alongside Universal Credit, the means tested replacement for the income related version of ESA. The new form of ESA was necessary to replace the original version introduced under the Welfare Reform Act 2007 which included both a contributory and income-related part. Section 37 of the Welfare Reform Act 2012 (Capability for work or work-related activity) is basically a rewrite of section 8 (Limited capability for work) and section 9 (limited capability for work-related activity) of the Welfare Reform Act 2007.