Caselaw summaries

Employment and support allowance (ESA) - activity 7 understanding communication – sufficient to have difficulty with either verbal or non-verbal communication – difficulty in both areas not required

Jobseeker's allowance (JSA) - Skills Conditionality scheme – requirement to participate not unlawful – jobseeker’s agreement and actively seeking work

Income support (IS) - remunerative work – averaging of hours – zero-hours weeks – overpayment calculation

Pension credit (PC) - overpayment recovery – burden on Secretary of State

Pension credit (PC) - single person treated as in a couple – ‘woefully inadequate’ HMRC submission – tribunal erred in proceeding

Tax credits (TC) - claimant’s evidence – not to be appraised by reference to what a reasonable or hypothetical person would have done – should consider if claimant’s account was true rather than improbable

Pension credit (PC) - severe disability premium – meaning of ‘co-owner’

Disability living allowance (DLA) - ‘paper hearing’ – need to ensure parties to appeal participate as fully as possible – sensitive witness

Housing benefit (HB) - payment of rent direct to landlord - regulation 95(1)(b) Housing Benefit Regulations 2006 No.213

Disability living allowance (DLA) - suspension of DLA in hospital – severely disabled child cared for by parents – breach of human rights