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.
