Two million people claiming legacy benefits are waiting to hear if they will get around £1,500 in backdated payments as a result of a hearing which started in the Court of Appeal earlier this week.
Four claimants are appealing a test case against the Department of Work and Pensions ( DWP ) which they lost earlier this year. The legal row centres around whether it was fair to exclude old-style legacy benefits from the £20 per week extra support paid to Universal Credit claimants during the pandemic. The extra £20 a week boost was given for 18 months to help with additional costs incurred during lockdown and beyond, but the same rate increase was not passed on to those on benefits such as Personal Independence Payments (PIP) or Employment Support Allowance (ESA).
The claimants argued in court earlier this year that the treatment was unfair and that they should get back payments to compensate them for extra help they did not receive. They lost the case in February but were granted permission for an appeal, which started on Wednesday, December 7.
Read more: Northumberland legacy claimants among first to be switched to Universal Credit say DWP
If the ruling goes in the four claimants' favour, it could result in them being awarded backdated payments from the DWP and set a precedent for everyone who missed out on the uplift. While there is no guarantee a ruling in the claimants’ favour would result in backdated payments for people across the UK also on legacy benefits who missed out on the extra support, it could trigger a wave of similar legal challenges.
Paul Curry, of Forest Hall, is watching the appeal eagerly as he was bitterly disappointed when the judge rejected the challenge. Paul, 41, who receives ESA, said: "It's not the money really. I am not greed. I am more bothered about the unfairness of how people on one set of benefits are treated differently to others on another type.
"I struggle to understand why we are being treated differently. As far as I am concerned the £20 uplift was given to working people on Universal Credit as they lost income if they were furloughed or had their hours cut due to Covid. I have no problem with that, and if that were the case, I would not expect anything.
"But the problem has arisen because the uplift was given to everyone claiming Universal Credit, whether they were working or not, and once the Government did that, they should have paid it to people claiming legacy benefits as well. I am on ESA until 2023, when I have my next review - there's nothing at all I can do about that."
In the original court case, lawyers representing the four who brought the legal challenge argued that those on legacy benefits faced the same financial pressures as those on Universal Credit, and the Government's decision not to treat them the same amounted to unlawful discrimination. 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 said that the DWP was “justified” in its “difference in treatment” between Universal Credit and legacy benefits.
The decision that was described by lawyers and activists as a “national scandal” and “direct discrimination against disabled people”. Osbornes Law partner William Ford, who represented the claimants, said at the time that he was “extremely disappointed” by the judgment. “The court’s decision is a devastating blow to more than two million people who we consider were unjustly deprived of the £20 uplift given to those who receive universal credit during the pandemic,” he said at the time. “It is deeply unfair that those on so called legacy benefits should be discriminated against in this way.”
Legacy benefits are benefits that were paid before Universal Credit was introduced, such as Jobseeker’s Allowance and Employment and Support Allowance (ESA). These benefits are gradually being phased out in favour of Universal Credit, but many still receive the old benefits.
A DWP spokesperson said in February: “We welcome that the Court found in our favour. The temporary £20 uplift for Universal Credit claimants ensured vital support was given to those facing the most financial disruption due to the pandemic.”
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