Heard The Good News ?

Copy and paste from the benefits and work website.....

DLA TO PIP TRANSFERS: SOME CLAIMANTS TO GET A YEAR’S REPRIEVE
The number of claimants being forced to move from DLA to PIP in the coming year is being cut because staff have been diverted to correcting PIP errors in relation to cases known as MH and RJ.

Over 250 staff have been taken on by the DWP to review previous PIP decisions where mistakes may have been made

But, because the 250 staff are not enough to get through all the reviews by the end of 2020, staff are being diverted from DLA to PIP reassessments to do the work as well.

Sarah Newton, Minister of State for Disabled People, did not reveal how many claimants will have their DLA to PIP transfer postponed, but the fact that it was announced in parliament suggest that it will be a significant number.

Claimants who have their transfer postponed will now be reassessed for PIP in 2020/21.

4,600 MORE PIP CLAIMANTS ENTITLED TO ARREARS
Another case, known as OM, lost by the DWP also involves PIP claimants.

On this occasion, it is claimants who had their DLA award stopped after they failed to attend a face-to-face assessment or to provide information in connection with moving to PIP.

The upper tribunal found that where good cause had been shown, the claimants should have had their DLA reinstated until a decision was made about their eligibility for PIP.

The DWP are now reviewing the cases of all claimants since the date of the decision, 23 November 2017, who failed to attend an assessment or failed to provide evidence but were subsequently found to have good cause.

They estimate that around 4,600 claimants will receive a back-payment as a result.

UNIVERSAL CREDIT SOFTWARE CAN’T COPE WITH NEW COURT RULING
More legal nightmares for the DWP.

The High Court ruled last week in favour of four UC claimants who took on the DWP.

The claimants are paid monthly and sometimes receive two months’ pay in the same UC assessment period, because of issues such as bank holidays.

The DWP effectively docked the claimants’ income by deciding that they were only entitled to one month’s work allowance for the two pay packets, meaning that the claimants were £192 worse off.

The court dismissed the DWP’s argument that it was the claimants responsibility to change their employers behaviour.

The judges also had no sympathy for the DWP’s insistence that the court had to find against the claimants, because the UC software cannot cope with moving a payment into a new month.

As a result the DWP will not only have to make back payments to affected claimants, they will also now have to do manual calculations for anyone who gets two pay packets in the same month.

It looks like the DWP will be hiring again soon.

DWP BEGINS MOVING EXISTING PIP CLAIMANTS TO 10 YEAR ‘LIGHT TOUCH’ REVIEWS
In more good news for claimants, the DWP announced that it has begun deciding which existing PIP claimants will be moved to having only have a ‘light touch’ review every 10 years, instead of a more frequent full review.

The new system is intended to reduce the number of unnecessary checks on PIP awards.

The light touch reviews will be aimed primarily at claimants who have been awarded the enhanced rates of both components of PIP and whose condition is unlikely to improve.

Sarah Newton Minister of State for Disabled People, said in a written statement:

“This is still in the early stages and being dealt with in date order, prioritising claimants whose awards are coming up for an award review, but commencing this activity is a really important step to reducing the number of individuals having to undergo an unnecessary award review where their needs are only likely to deteriorate.”

The exact nature of the’ light touch’ review has not yet been decided.

ESA TO UC TRANSFER POSTPONED
The government is postponing the introduction of regulations for the mass transfer of claimants from legacy benefits such as ESA to UC, in the face of a threatened backbench revolt.

Instead, only a pilot transfer of 10,000 claimants will take place this year..

The DWP had already announced that the pilot would take place before the full scale migration of claimants from legacy benefits.

However, the intention had been to put in place the regulations for moving millions more claimants before the pilot had even begun, let alone before the results were known.

Now the DWP must wait until the pilot has taken place and been evaluated before putting forward regulations for moving everyone else.