Signup to our newsletter

Facebook     Instagram     Twitter     Youtube    

Skip to content

Main Navigation

London Irish Centre
Donate
  • Donate
    • Donate
    • Join our Friends Scheme
    • Leave a Legacy
  • What's on
  • Help & Support
    • Information & Advice
      • Community Appeals
      • Hardship Grants
      • Moving to London
    • Community Development
      • Enablement Service
      • Community Fridge
      • Social Groups
      • Survivor Service
      • Community Café
      • Health & Wellbeing
      • Befriending
      • Digital Inclusion
    • Culture & Heritage
    • Education
      • Library
  • Get Involved
    • How you can help
    • Volunteer
  • Venue Hire
    • Venue Tour
      • McNamara Suite
      • Presidential Suite
      • The Tom Bugler Suite
      • The Old Chapel
    • Types of events
      • Corporate Events
      • Cultural Events
      • Live Events
      • Rehearsal Space
      • Private Parties
      • Wedding Hire
  • Donate to us
  • About
    • About Us
    • Contact
    • News
    • Our Team
    • Our New Building
    • History & Heritage
    • Work With Us
DONATE

Home » News » Latest News » Centre News » High Court Employment & Support Allowance Challenge

High Court Employment & Support Allowance Challenge

This week the High Court is hearing challenges brought by two Employment & Support Allowance (ESA) claimants against the government's decision to uplift Universal Credit (UC) during the Covid-19 pandemic but not to do so in respect of 'legacy benefits'.

ESA was the principle sickness benefit paid to disabled people who are unable to work as a result of their health conditions. It is one of the six benefits that was replaced by Universal Credit but moving people from ESA to UC is a gradual process and there are still over 2 million sick and disabled people who receive it.

At the start of the pandemic, the government announced a £20 a week uplift to UC (which includes disabled and non-disabled claimants and people in and out of work) to help them with the additional costs incurred as a result of the pandemic such as increased utility bills and more expensive shopping trips. However, people receiving ESA did not have their benefits increased despite the eligibility conditions being virtually identical to people receiving UC.

Initially the government put this down to IT issues with the Work & Pensions Secretary, Theresé Coffey saying in the House of Commons that “Our older systems, the legacy benefits system [would take] quite some time, and I’m talking about several months, to get this to change.” However, over 18 months since the introduction of the uplift, the government has shifted its stance telling the High Court that “it would be contrary to the specific fiscal and social policy goals”.

Two claimants, represented by William Ford of Camden Law firm, Osbornes have brought test cases alleging that the failure to increase ESA in line with UC disproportionately affects disabled people and that the government failed to consider the impact of its actions upon them.

Matthew Hall, our Legal Advocate at the LIC commented that “it is understandable that given the government’s initial reasoning and subsequent changes in its position, people feel that they are using this issue as a means of moving more people from ESA onto UC. There are a number of reasons why people are better off on ESA such as the absence of the benefit cap and being able to continue receiving the Severe Disability Premium. This would appear to be a win/win situation for the government as they either avoid paying some of the most vulnerable members of society what they ought to receive, or they success in migrating people onto their flagship benefit.”

 

Photo credit: Twitter @benclaimant

 


Posted: December 7, 2021   •   Posted in: Centre News, Advice & Outreach


Share with others


Latest News

LIC launches St Patrick’s Appeal with support from Niall Horan
LIC launches St Patrick’s Appeal with support from Niall Horan
A Helping Hand at Christmas
A Helping Hand at Christmas
Our collaboration with Katie Mullally is now available!
Our collaboration with Katie Mullally is now available!
Choral Leader Callout Autumn 2022
Choral Leader Callout Autumn 2022

Subscribe to our newsletter

"(Required)" indicates required fields

info@londonirishcentre.org

Call us on 020 7916 2222

London Irish Centre, 50-52 Camden Square, London, NW1 9XB, United Kingdom

Goverment of Ireland
Culture Ireland
Irish Youth Foundation
The Rank Foundation
Benevolent society
Irish Episcopal Commission for Emigrants
Trust for London
Living Wage
Disability
The British Irish Trading Alliance
AIB
Camden
O'Donovan Waste Disposal
National lottery funded
Fundraising regulator
mcgrath
The Quality in Befriending (QiB) Award
West London Irish Society
Creative Community
Fill your heart with Ireland
Innisfree
AQS
Cavendish Construction

Company No. 8221421   •   Charity No. 1149787   •   Vat No. GB 357 5667 54

© 2023 London Irish Centre |   All Rights Reserved   |   Cookie Policy   |   Privacy Policy   |   Website Hosting by Kall Kwik Bury St Edmunds

Manage Cookie Consent
The London Irish Centre use cookies to optimise our website and our services.
Functional Always active
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes. The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
Manage options Manage services Manage vendors Read more about these purposes
View preferences
{title} {title} {title}