IMA welcomes updates to DWP guidance about Universal Credit assessments  

DWP’s guidance to caseworkers was initially amended following the SSWP v AT ruling at the Court of Appeal which said EU citizens with Pre-Settled Status facing destitution could claim Universal Credit by relying on the Charter of Fundamental Rights.

The IMA raised concerns with the DWP that their caseworker guidance about how the judgment should be implemented did not address the rights of third country nationals who are family members of eligible EU citizens to claim Universal Credit. A third country national is a national of any country other than an EU country or Iceland, Liechtenstein or Norway.

The IMA feared that this potentially vulnerable group of citizens could be at risk of destitution as a result of not being able to access the benefits to which they were entitled.

Following the IMA raising that the protections in the case of SSWP v AT should also apply to third country nationals, the DWP has now amended their caseworker guidance to include these citizens.

The IMA is continuing work to understand what the changes mean for people who may have had claims refused prior to the updates and is engaging with DWP to ensure they correctly implement the judgment.

General Counsel for the IMA, Rhys Davies said: “We are pleased that DWP have taken action to update this guidance.

“We hope these changes will make a difference to those third country national family members of EU citizens who may find themselves needing support to avoid destitution.

“The IMA will continue to work with public authorities, including the DWP, to ensure eligible citizens can continue to live in the UK, working, studying and raising their families as they did before Brexit and will provide further updates.”

The IMA encourages any citizens who have been impacted by the judgment and have experienced issues with either Universal Credit, Pension Credit, Housing Benefit, or homelessness assistance to contact us through our online portal.