Millions of benefit claimants are set to miss out on a major pay-out after a landmark court case was dismissed. Several benefit claimants brought the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) to court last year over additional money given to universal credit claimants during the pandemic.
The UK Government uplifted the universal credit standard allowance basic element by £20 each week back in March 2020 to help those hardest hit by the pandemic. The increase was worth up to £1,040 a year but was discontinued in October 2021.
While the £20 uplift was given to those on UC - around 5.7 million people in the UK - it was not added to legacy benefits such as income support, housing benefit and child tax credit. It meant around 2.6 million people were estimated to have lost out on the pandemic top-up.
