Secretary of State for Work and Pensions v JA (UC)
| Jurisdiction | UK Non-devolved |
| Judge | Judge Church |
| Neutral Citation | [2024] UKUT 52 (AAC) |
| Published date | 26 March 2024 |
| Court | Upper Tribunal (Administrative Appeals Chamber) |
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Secretary of State for Work and Pensions v JA
[2024] UKUT 52 (AAC)
IN THE UPPER TRIBUNAL Appeal No. UA-2022-001286-UOTH
ADMINISTRATIVE APPEALS CHAMBER
On appeal from the First-tier Tribunal (Social Entitlement Chamber)
Between: Secretary of State for Work and Pensions Appellant
- v –
JA Respondent
Before: Upper Tribunal Judge Church
Hearing date: 29 June 2023
Representation:
Appellant: Mr Denis Edwards of counsel, instructed by the Government Legal
Department
Respondent: Mr Tom Royston of counsel, instructed by Mr Elliot Kent and Ms
Sophie Earnshaw of Shelter
DECISION
The decision of the Upper Tribunal is to dismiss the appeal.
The decision of the First-tier Tribunal made on 8 April 2022 did not involve any material
error of law. It is upheld.
REASONS FOR DECISION
What this case is about
1. This appeal is about the intersection between Universal Credit and Housing
Benefit. It is about what happens to the transitional protections enjoyed by a claimant
who has migrated from a legacy benefit to Universal Credit when they move from a
type of accommodation funded by a local authority by way of Housing Benefit (in this
case, specified accommodation) and which does not attract the Housing Costs
Element of Universal Credit, to another type of accommodation (in this case,
Case no: UA-2022-001286-UOTH
SSWP-v-JA (UC) [2024] UKUT 52 (AAC)
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mainstream rented accommodation), which is funded by the Housing Costs Element
of Universal Credit.
2. Universal Credit was introduced by the Welfare Reform Act 2012 (the “2012
Act”). It replaced six of the main means-tested legacy benefits (Child Tax Credit,
Working Tax Credit, Housing Benefit, Income Support, income-based Jobseeker’s
Allowance and income-related Employment and Support Allowance), combining them
into a single monthly payment.
3. There are two ways a claimant could transition from legacy benefits to Universal
Credit. If a claimant experiences a change in circumstances which would have required
them to make a new claim for any of the six legacy benefits which Universal Credit
replaces (such as moving home to a new local authority, becoming a full-time carer,
having a child or becoming too ill to work), they will transition to Universal Credit as
what the Secretary of State calls a ‘natural migrator’. If no such change of
circumstances triggers natural migration, a claimant will in due course transition to
Universal Credit as what the Secretary of State calls a ‘managed migrator’. This occurs
on receipt of a migration notice from the Department for Work and Pensions which
notifies the claimant that the legacy benefits to which they are entitled are to terminate
and invites them to make an application for Universal Credit.
4. The crux of the appeal is:
(a) whether the operation of regulation 55(2) of the Universal Credit
(Transitional Provisions) Regulations 2014 (the “Transitional
Regulations”) to erode the Claimant’s transitional protection in its
entirety in these circumstances involved an unlawful breach of the
Claimant’s rights under Article 14, read with Article 1 Protocol 1 of the
Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental
Freedoms (the “Convention”); and
(b) whether the First-tier Tribunal judge who determined the Claimant’s
appeal in respect of her entitlement was right to disapply that regulation.
5. There are no factual issues between the parties. The only issues raised by this
appeal are questions of law.
The agreed facts
6. From 10 November 2016 until 10 June 2018 the Claimant was in receipt of
income-related Employment and Support Allowance (“ESA”) with the Severe
Disability Premium (“SDP”).
7. On 11 June 2018 the Claimant made a claim for Universal Credit as a ‘natural
migrator’. This was triggered by her moving home from one local authority to another.
8. On 11 September 2019 the Secretary of State decided that the Claimant was
entitled to Transitional SDP of £285 for each full assessment period between 11 June
2018 and 11 September 2019, and thereafter each month (pursuant to Schedule 2 to
the 2014 Regulations, inserted by the Universal Credit (Managed Migration Pilot and
Misc. Amendments) Regulations 2019 (the “Transitional Protection Regulations”).
9. On 14 September 2020 the Claimant moved again, this time from mainstream
accommodation into specified accommodation.
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