Universal Credit: Habitual Residence Test
(asked on 10th February 2022) - View Source
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what proportion of universal credit claims that were initially found to have failed the habitual residence test had those decisions overturned at (a) Mandatory Reconsideration Stage, (b) First-Tier Tribunal, and (c) prior to a Tribunal hearing but having submitted a request to open an appeal.
Answered by
David Rutley
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Detailed information on Universal Credit Mandatory Reconsiderations (MRs) is available from Feb-19 onwards.
| Percentage as a proportion of claimants with a failed HRT |
Requested an MR after failed HRT | 7 |
Decision changed at MR | 2 |
Appeal lapsed before tribunal | less than 1 |
Appeal overturned original decision at tribunal | less than 1 |
GB only
An overturned appeal is where the DWP decision is revised in favour of the customer at a tribunal hearing.
This information is based on HRT (Habitual Residence Test) decisions from Feb 2019 to June 2021, for Great Britain only, and MR and appeals decisions to the end of September 2021. The figures do not include MRs or appeals made about other aspects of these UC claims.
A lapsed appeal is where DWP changed the decision, in the customer’s favour, after an appeal was lodged, but before it was heard at a tribunal hearing.
A number of appeals lodged concerning an HRT decision during this time have not yet been heard by a tribunal, so these figures may rise slightly. In addition, while most appeals are lodged within a month of the MR decision, it is possible for appeals to be lodged with good reason beyond this time.