Backpay the £20 covid uplift to people on Legacy Benefits

[Harmonypuss]

www.petition.parliament.uk/608486

We need 100,000 signatures and as there are around 2 5 million people affected by this we need to spread the word. If this doesn't affect you personally, I'm sure you know someone that it does affect. So I am urging everyone to please, sign the petition.

The petition aims to make sure that the disabled and unemployed people who are not yet on Universal Credit and didn't get the £20 uplift last year, are treated fairly and given a backdated payment to put them at the same financial level as those who are on UC and did get the uplift. This amounts to £1,560 power claim, which so very many people missed out on just because of the way their benefits are paid.

A group of legacy benefit recipients took this case to the High Court in November 2021 but last week the judge ruled that the DWP was 'justified to discriminate against the disabled people who aren't in receipt of UC '.

This is totally unacceptable! Why are some members of the disabled community considered 'more deserving' of this financial help? The only difference is the way in which they receive their benefits.

So please, spread the word and let's hit that 100,000 signatures target.

Thank you everyone who is signing this petition, the further we can share it the better.

@Mammma91 thank you, those of us who didn't get the uplift, technically didn't lose the cash, we just didn't gain it like UC recipients did and the way the hodge said the DWP was justified to discriminate is despicable. Thank you for your support.

Judge not hodge ..... flipping predictive text

Signed could really do with this now.

@Babyroobs
For a single adult the UC allowance is £73 a week.

From that many people in my area are paying the following:

top-up to pay rent (there has not been a single property available for the LHA amount since 2013 - I have compiled data on this since 2013)
al
all utilities including water, gas, electric, TV licence, phone (for UC)

Most pay some nominal amount towards CT as well.

Sometimes food as well if they can afford it

What nobody is pointing out is that disabled people on ESA already get far more money each month in the way of extra elements than the UC disabled claimants do. UC disability element is worth almost half of what the ESA element is. So a disabled person on ESA gets more per month than a disabled UC claimant. Plus if they are also on PIP the severe disability element is worth more if you are on ESA than if you are on UC. Far more than £20 a week in fact.

But no one is petitioning this.

@SkellyLover

What nobody is pointing out is that disabled people on ESA already get far more money each month in the way of extra elements than the UC disabled claimants do. UC disability element is worth almost half of what the ESA element is. So a disabled person on ESA gets more per month than a disabled UC claimant. Plus if they are also on PIP the severe disability element is worth more if you are on ESA than if you are on UC. Far more than £20 a week in fact.

But no one is petitioning this.

Not everyone on old style ESA will get severe disability element though. You only receive it if you live alone and no-one claims carers allowance for caring for you. People only receiving the support group element of old style benefits are actually slightly better off claiming UC I believe if they do not have the sdp on their ESA.

[quote StarCat2020]@Babyroobs
For a single adult the UC allowance is £73 a week.

From that many people in my area are paying the following:

top-up to pay rent (there has not been a single property available for the LHA amount since 2013 - I have compiled data on this since 2013)
al
all utilities including water, gas, electric, TV licence, phone (for UC)

Most pay some nominal amount towards CT as well.

Sometimes food as well if they can afford it[/quote]
I totally agree this should be more and i have never said this group of people should not have the uplift. I have signed the petition.
But it does get annoying when people slate UC without knowing an individuals circumstances. It is my experience that many working people are better off on UC, especially since the work allowances increased and taper rates decreased. legacy benefits or basic Uc for non working people are crap and I have no idea how these group of people survive on the £74 a week.

Some of us don't have to 'top-up' rent but actually have to pay mortgage payments in full as well as all the other standard bills.

I bought my house 20yrs ago when I was able to work, so I still have my mortgage to pay. I am on my own, so yes, I do receive the SDP of £17/week but that doesn't go far at all.

@Harmonypuss

Some of us don't have to 'top-up' rent but actually have to pay mortgage payments in full as well as all the other standard bills.

I bought my house 20yrs ago when I was able to work, so I still have my mortgage to pay. I am on my own, so yes, I do receive the SDP of £17/week but that doesn't go far at all.

SDP is around £67 a week on ESA - are you sure you are getting everything you are entitled to ? Is it income related ESA ?

Sorry, that was a typo, yes, it's £67, but even that doesn't touch the sides when you're severely disabled with all the expenses that go hand in hand with that, never mind having to pay all housing costs.
Those who rent get the majority, if not all, of the rent paid but those of us who bought our homes when we were in a position to take out mortgages and pay them in order to provide for our families, get nothing at all towards that cost (no, we don't expect taxpayers to buy our houses but something towards the interest instead of rent would help). So renters are, in effect, getting even more money because mortgages have to come out of our benefits but (some proportion of) rent is paid on top of benefits.

@Harmonypuss

Sorry, that was a typo, yes, it's £67, but even that doesn't touch the sides when you're severely disabled with all the expenses that go hand in hand with that, never mind having to pay all housing costs. Those who rent get the majority, if not all, of the rent paid but those of us who bought our homes when we were in a position to take out mortgages and pay them in order to provide for our families, get nothing at all towards that cost (no, we don't expect taxpayers to buy our houses but something towards the interest instead of rent would help). So renters are, in effect, getting even more money because mortgages have to come out of our benefits but (some proportion of) rent is paid on top of benefits.

You can apply for help with mortgage interest if you wish, although that has become a loan which has to be paid back when the house is sold, but with most house prices rising hugely in recent years that may be an option if you are struggling?

Yes, the 'help' that's available is a loan and was only worth a few £s a week anyway, so I though (when they brought this system in) that I'd be better off trying to do without it to save myself the bill when I later sold the property.
My house is up for sale as I don't need 3 bedrooms and can't afford it now anyway but I'm in one of the cheaper suburbs of Birmingham so it's only worth about £125k (minus what's still owing on the mortgage), what I'd be able to afford with that (inclusive of fees, legals, moving etc) remains to be seen. I might just be able to afford one of those beach huts (6ft x 10ft) somewhere inexpensive.