Caselaw summaries

Notional income for pension credit – funds in private occupational pension with an ‘income drawdown policy’

Bereavement benefit (BB) – polygamous marriage

Income support (IS) – capital – whether impressed with a trust by family member – cultural context and credibility of claimant

Personal independence payment (PIP) – adequacy of Secretary of State responses to PIP appeals to the First-tier Tribunal – practice of not informing appellants of the of descriptors and points not awarded

Personal independence payment (PIP) – activity 9 (engaging with other people face-to-face) – an inability to engage with adults, irrespective of an ability to engage with children and young people, is sufficient to score points

Universal credit (UC) – child element – responsibility for a child and ‘normally living with’ test – not merely a test of whom child spends most time with

Pension credit (PC) – amount for severe disability where claimant entered care home but payment of attendance allowance (AA) incorrectly continued for several months – entitlement based on ‘receipt’ of AA, not by reference to date of admission to care home

Child benefit (CB) – national insurance number (NINO) requirement – child benefit

Jobseeker's allowance (JSA) – backdating for incorrect information by an ‘officer of the DWP’ – employee of A4e exercising delegated functions as a work programme provider not an ‘officer of the DWP’

Employment and support allowance (ESA) – tribunals – if a claimant requests an oral hearing but does not turn up, ‘it is not enough simply to check the tribunal records to see that they were properly notified of their hearing. It is also important to double-check whether any communications have been received from the claimant’