An appeal hearing over the £20 weekly uplift which was paid to millions of people claiming Universal Credit during the coronavirus pandemic, but not to those on legacy benefits, has been scheduled to take place in December. One of the litigant’s involved in the ongoing legal challenge against the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has confirmed to the Daily Record that the hearing will take place on either December 6 or 7, 2022.
The legal team representing four legacy benefits claimants’ lost a High Court challenge in February over the £20 weekly Universal Credit uplift recently confirmed that an application to appeal the decision had been successful.
William Ford QC at Osbornes Law, shared the long-awaited update in August that more than two million people on older-style benefits have been waiting months to hear. The right to appeal the ruling could now result in the four claimants involved in the case being awarded more than £1,500 in backdated payments - and set a precedent for everyone who missed out on the uplift.
Mr Ford wrote on the Osbornes Law website : “On 18 February 2022 the High Court dismissed the case brought by Osbornes on behalf of 4 claimants challenging the UK Government’s failure to apply the £20 per week uplift to legacy benefit recipients that had been provided to Universal Credit claimants during the Covid-19 pandemic.”
He continued: “The claimants sought permission to appeal that decision from the High Court. We can now confirm that on 3 August 2022 the Court of Appeal has granted permission to appeal.
“We will aim to provide any further relevant updates as the case progresses.”
Why is there an application to appeal?
People on Universal Credit received a £20 weekly increase from the DWP from April 2020 to October 2021 to help them pay for additional costs incurred during the global health crisis and subsequent lockdowns.
However, the uplift was not extended to more than two million people on older benefits such as Employment Support Allowance (ESA), Income Support and Jobseeker's Allowance (JSA) - which campaign groups said disproportionately affected disabled people.
Four claimants brought a challenge to the High Court in November 2021 in relation to the UK Government's failure to apply a similar increase to legacy benefits.
Two of the claimants are in receipt of ESA and the third and fourth claimants are in receipt of Income Support and JSA respectively.
The court accepted that there was a greater proportion of disabled persons in receipt of legacy benefits, compared to disabled people on Universal Credit, and that both groups of disabled claimants were in the same position.
But, while the court accepted that there was discrimination towards disabled people on legacy benefits, the judge ruled that the difference in treatment was justified.
The claimants were represented by William Ford of Osbornes Law, Jamie Burton QC of Doughty Street Chambers and Desmond Rutledge of Garden Court Chambers.
What happens next?
Now that the Court of Appeal has granted permission to appeal the decision then the case will be heard at the Court of Appeal on either December 6 or 7, 2022.
Petition calling for backdated payments
A petition created shortly before the High Court ruling in February called for the £20 uplift payments to be backdated to all benefit claimants - it has now closed but received 30,545 signatures of support and a response from the DWP.
The DWP responded: “The [UK] Government introduced a temporary £20 uplift to Universal Credit, to ensure that vital support was given to those facing the most financial disruption due to the pandemic.
“Since the start of the pandemic, the [UK] Government’s priority has been to protect lives and people’s livelihoods. This includes continually supporting individuals and businesses.”
The response goes on to say how the £20 increase to Universal Credit was a “temporary measure that ensured vital support was given to those facing the most financial disruption due to the pandemic”.
The DWP statement continues: “The decision not to include the £20 uplift in legacy benefits was recently unsuccessfully challenged in the High Court on the basis of discrimination, with the Court concluding the Regulations were justified in all circumstances.
“Universal Credit provided a vital safety net for six million people during the pandemic, and we announced the temporary uplift as part of a COVID support package, worth a total of £407 billion in 2020-21 and 2021-22.”
You can read the full response to the ‘Backpay the £20 covid uplift to people on Legacy Benefits’ petition here.
To keep up to date with developments in this case, join our Money Saving Scotland Facebook page here, or subscribe to our newsletter which goes out three times each week - sign up here.
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