Free Webinar - Welfare Benefits and Housing

In this webinar, speakers covered developments in Housing Benefit and Universal Credit housing costs. This included the replacement of Housing Benefit (HB) by the housing costs element of Universal Credit by managed migration.

The webinar also contained a survey of recent case law. Topics covered included:

• The correct test for temporary absence due to ‘essential repairs’;
• The correct approach to ‘take advantage’;
• Whether a student loan counts as income when it has been refused due to religious objections to the payment of interest;
• Housing costs for prisoners on Universal Credit; and
• When is a claimant ‘on’ Universal Credit for the purposes of passporting to maximum Housing Benefit; and
• The case of Secretary of State for Work and Pensions v AT [2023] EWCA Civ 1307 which confirmed that the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights has a role to play in respect of EU citizens with pre-settled status in receipt of Universal Credit.

Speakers

Matthew Ahluwalia, Garden Court Chambers (Chair)
Matthew is a social welfare and public law barrister. He has a particular interest and experience in housing, homelessness, public law, welfare benefits, and migrants’ rights. Matthew’s experience enables him to provide a holistic approach. Matthew is an experienced tribunal advocate with particular expertise in Universal Credit, Personal Independence Payment and Employment and Support Allowance, as well as cases concerning the right to reside and eligibility. He is also a contributing author to the Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG) Benefits for Migrants Handbook.

Bethan Harris, Garden Court Chambers
Bethan specialises in community care law, social housing, Court of Protection, and related areas of public law. Her housing work includes judicial reviews, Children Act 1989 issues, Equality Act 2010 issues, and cases involving both housing and community care law. She is a member of the panel of counsel to the Equality and Human Rights Commission. She is the co-author, with Desmond Rutledge and Kevin Gannon, of the annual Housing Benefit and Universal Credit Housing Costs Update in Legal Action Magazine.  

Desmond Rutledge, Garden Court Chambers
Desmond’s main area of expertise is in welfare benefits, which is rooted in his work as an advice worker before he came to the Bar. He provides representation to claimants before tribunals and the higher courts.  Desmond is also a member of the housing team, with special interest in homelessness and defending possession proceedings. His practice includes challenging negative homelessness decisions involving issues relating to suitability, intentionally, non-priority or ineligibility based on immigration status. Desmond also covers rights of succession cases. Desmond is ranked for community care in the Legal 500, 2024.

Will Ford, Partner, Osbornes Solicitors
Will is a partner at Osbornes Solicitors specialising in housing, public law, welfare benefits and community care law.