CPAG Welfare Benefits and Tax Credits Handbook 2016/2017

Transcription

1 CPAG Welfare Benefits and Tax Credits Handbook 2016/2017 Amendments and cut-outs for December from the December 2016 edition of the Welfare Rights Bulletin You should use this to amend your copy of this reference book, making changes to the book as instructed below. Amendments to write in your copy of 2016/17 Welfare Benefits and Tax Credits Handbook. Page 423 Page 641 Notes Note 50: Delete the text of the reference and, and insert R (MA and others, A Rutherford) v SSWP [2016] UKSC 58 (9 November 2016) Calculating your requirements In the table, delete , and insert : delete , insert Page 1 of 6 Welfare Benefits and Tax Credits Handbook 201/2017 Cut-outs Dec 2016

2 Cut-outs to stick in your copy of 2016/17 Welfare Benefits and Tax Credits Handbook. Page 163 attach the following cut-out to cover the first Note under the heading Change of circumstances Note: If you are entitled to UC, you cannot be eligible for tax-free child payments, as you cannot get UC and tax-free childcare at the same time. In future, rules may provide that if you register for the Tax-free Childcare Scheme, all of your UC award is terminated. The Tax-Free Childcare Scheme is due to be introduced at some point during See p841 for more details, and CPAG s online service and Welfare Rights Bulletin for updates. Page 248 attach the following cut-out to cover the paragraphs in the Future changes box If you are entitled to UC, you cannot be eligible for tax-free child payments, as you cannot get UC and tax-free childcare at the same time. In future, rules may provide that if you register for the Tax-free Childcare Scheme, all of your UC award is terminated. 19 See p841 for more details, and CPAG s online service and Welfare Rights Bulletin for updates. Page 2 of 6 Welfare Benefits and Tax Credits Handbook 201/2017 Cut-outs Dec 2016

3 Page 403 attach the following cut-out to cover the paragraph above the Examples box The Supreme Court has held that the rules are in breach of human rights legislation in not providing for an additional bedroom for a disabled child who needs overnight care, or an adult unable to share a bedroom with his/her partner because of a disability. The Court held that the rules are not in breach of human rights legislation regarding women fleeing domestic who need a panic room in their accommodation, but this may be challenged further in the European Court of Human Rights. You should appeal if you are affected, but your appeal will be held up while the courts are considering other cases. 50 See CPAG s online service and Welfare Rights Bulletin for updates. Page 835 attach the following cut-out to cover the paragraph in the Definitions box The qualifying benefits are IS, income-based jobseeker s allowance and income-related ESA (in some cases). Child tax credit (CTC) is also a qualifying benefit, provided that gross income for CTC purposes does not exceed 16,190 and there is no entitlement to working tax credit (WTC), other than if this is during the four-week WTC run-on period (see p188). 8 From 1 November 2016, universal credit (UC) is a qualifying benefit but your net monthly earnings (whether you are single or part of a couple) must not be over 408. If you are on UC and entitled to Healthy Start food but your earnings go above 408 per month, you remain entitled to Healthy Start Food for eight weeks, and can remain entitled if your earnings go back to 408 per month or less during that time. Parental responsibility means parental responsibility as defined in section 3(1) of the Children Act 1989 (in England and Wales) or section 1(1) of the Children (Scotland) Act 1995 (in Scotland). 9 Family means a person and her/his partner and any child or qualifying young person who is a member of her/his household and for whom s/he or her/his partner counts as Page 3 of 6 Welfare Benefits and Tax Credits Handbook 201/2017 Cut-outs Dec 2016

4 Page 841 attach the following cut-out to cover the Note under the heading Tax-free childcare Note: you cannot be in the tax-free childcare scheme if you get tax credits or universal credit (UC). 31 Your tax credit award stops once you register for tax-free childcare ie, you lose all your entitlement, not just the childcare element in your tax credit. If you are entitled to UC, you cannot be eligible for tax-free childcare payment. In the future, rules may provide that if you register for the Tax-free Childcare scheme, all of your UC award is terminated. Page 1005 attach the following cut-out to cover the third paragraph under the heading Getting benefit while challenging a decision If you come under the universal credit (UC) system (see p19), you cannot get get IS, income-based JSA or income-related ESA, but you may still be entitled to some UC while challenging a decision. You may also be able to get contribution-based JSA or contributory ESA. However, this only applies if you come under the UC system. Getting an award of ESA pending appeal (see below) does not bring you under the UC system, as it does not involve a new claim for ESA. Note: once you come under the UC system, both incomebased JSA and income-related ESA are abolished in your case. You cannot get them from that point on, including under the rules about getting ESA pending an appeal described below. You can get UC instead. This remains the case even if your appeal against the decision about your limited capability for work is successful. Page 4 of 6 Welfare Benefits and Tax Credits Handbook 201/2017 Cut-outs Dec 2016

5 Page 1005 attach the following cut-out to cover the paragraph in the Examples box Jim lives in a UC full service area. He was getting income-related ESA, but that stops when he fails the work capability assessment. Jim requests a revision of the decision, and decides to make a new claim for income-based JSA in the meantime. This means that Jim now comes under the UC system as he has made a new claim for JSA (in areas where the UC gateway conditions apply, he would also have to satisfy those conditions in order to come under the UC system). Both income-based JSA and income-related ESA are abolished in his case. From this point on, Jim can get UC, but not income-related ESA, even under the rules about getting ESA pending an appeal. Jim s appeal against the work capability assessment is eventually successful, but the remains on UC and does not go back to incomerelated ESA. Page 5 of 6 Welfare Benefits and Tax Credits Handbook 201/2017 Cut-outs Dec 2016

6 Page 1547 attach the following cut out to cover the whole of page 1547 Family members of British citizens British citizens do not automatically give residence rights to their family members. If you are a family member of a British citizen, you have a right to reside on the basis of EU law as her/his family member if s/he has genuinely resided (which requires more than mere physical presence) with a right to reside as a worker, self-employed person, self-sufficient person or selfsufficient student in another EEA state. Genuinely resided means more than mere physical presence. 157 On her/his return to the UK s/he has the same rights as other EEA nationals and can confer rights on you. From 25 November 2016, the EEA Regulations say that the factors relevant to whether the centre of the British citizen s life transferred to the EEA state, the length of residence in the EEA state, the nature and the quality of the accommodation and whether it was the British citizen s principal residence, the degree of integration into the EEA state and whether your first lawful residence in the EU with the British citizen was in the EEA state. The EEA Regulations contain these rights, but interpret them more restrictively than the ECJ has done. If you are the spouse or civil partner of a British citizen, the EEA Regulations state that you must have lived together in the other EEA state. This conflicts with an ECJ decision, which held that you can have residence rights as a family member if you became a family member either before or after entering the member state. 158 Until 25 November 2016 the EEA Regulations only treat a British national as an EEA national if s/he was a worker or self-employed person (and not if s/he had another right of residence eg, as a self-sufficient person) in the other EEA state and if s/he had transferred her/his centre of life there (taking into account the period of residence, the location of her/his principle residence and degree of integration in that country). 159 The condition to have transferred his/her centre of life is not required under the EEA Regulations if, on 1 January 2014, you had, and continue to have, a permanent right to reside or a residence document confirming your right to reside (or an outstanding application for, or were appealing against a refusal of, such a document). 160 The condition is also not required under EU law. From 25 November 2016, the EEA Rules are different, and will also treat the British national as an EEA national if s/he was a self-sufficient person or a student, as well as if s/he was a worker or self-employed person, in the other EEA state. The British citizen will also be treated as an EEA national if s/he acquired a permanent right to reside in the EEA state. Also the main requirement regarding the nature of the residence in the other EEA state is that it was genuine, and the question of whether the British citizen transferred her/his centre of life there is just one of the factors that are relevant (see the second paragraph above). The EEA Regulations only give you a right to reside as a family member of a British person who has returned to the UK is s/he currently has a right to reside under these regulations. However, the ECJ has decided that it was not necessary for someone who had been a worker in another EEA state and then returned to her/his own state, to carry out an economic activity in order for her/his family member to have a right of residence. 161 Get specialist advice if any of these restrictions affect you. If you are the family member of someone who has both British and another EEA nationality, before 16 October 2012 you had the same rights as family members of other EEA national.s 162 If you had already acquired such a right before this date, it continues in limited circumstances. See the 2013/14 edition of this Handbook for more details. A dual British/other EEA national does not have rights under EU law if s/he has lived all her/his life in the UK. Consequently, you cannot derive any rights from her/him. 163 Page 6 of 6 Welfare Benefits and Tax Credits Handbook 201/2017 Cut-outs Dec 2016