Legal test cases

This is a challenge to the policy of the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions in relation to MJ, a claimant in receipt of the carer element and transitional SDP element, to erode the whole of her transitional SDP element when she was found to have limited capability for work and work related activity. The UT allowed the SSWP’s appeal and re-made the FTT decision in MJ’s favour, finding that she had been unlawfully discriminated against.

Judgment of the Upper Tribunal three judge panel was given on 01 September 2022. The Secretary of State applied for permission to appeal to the Court of Appeal on 24 November 2022. The Upper Tribunal refused permission to appeal on 20 January 2023. The Court of Appeal dismissed an appeal by the Secretary of State against that decision on 01 March 2024. A claimant whose universal credit claim is decided before they request backdating can simply raise a request for backdating as part of a revision request and that must then be considered.

On 18 October 2019, CPAG issued judicial review proceedings challenging the treatment of maternity allowance (MA) as unearned income in the calculation of universal credit (UC) awards. A "rolled up" hearing of the case took place in the High Court on 24–25 June 2020, meaning that permission to apply for judicial review and the substantive case were considered at the same hearing. In a judgment handed down on 26 October 2020, the judge found that CPAG's case was arguable on two grounds, but ultimately found in favour of the Secretary of State. CPAG applied to the Court of Appeal for permission to appeal on behalf of the claimants. The permission application was considered at an oral hearing on 23 June 2021 and permission was refused. There is no further avenue of challenge in relation to this matter.

The Upper Tribunal decides refugees who arrived in the UK with children, can claim a Sure Start Maternity Grant when having their first child in the UK (as the contrary position results in unlawful discrimination). The Upper Tribunal has allowed the appeals of two claimants who challenged the rule excluding those who had another child in their family aged under 16 from entitlement to the Sure Start Maternity Grant (SSMG).