I am a disabled lone parent on legacy benefits, so have been excluded from the £20 per week uprating of Universal Credit introduced by the Chancellor, Rishi Sunak last year as the lockdown started to bite. But it's not just me - there are 1.9 million people in receipt of legacy benefits and despite campaigning for the Chancellor not only to keep but to extend the lifeline in the Autumn budget, he only kept the lifeline for UC claimants for another 6 months and refused to extend it to people like me. I was gutted - it seemed so unjust and discriminatory not support a whole group of people who cannot work for various reason - in my case due to disability and ill health. What's even more galling is that the DWP said it would be "too complicated" to update the computer systems to effect such a change. So I was left feeling what's the point of campaigning any more. No one in positions of power seemed to be listening. Indeed with both my son's and my mental health taking a real hit in the winter months I withdrew. But hope is on the horizon - on 29th April, two legacy benefit claimants (Employment Support Allowance) were granted permission by the High Court to challenge the DWP's unlawful decision not extend the uprating to those on legacy benefit. This is huge! If they are successful and the DWP stance is considered unlawful, it could benefit 1.9 million people to the tune of £1040 per year. I now have a spark of hope again.
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