Social Security: Legislation 2008

This much larger than usual supplement does much more than merely update to November 12, 2008, the four volume work Social Security Legislation 2008/09. In addition, this major work provides users with the text of, and commentary on, the key legislative provisions with respect to the new Employment and Support Allowance (ESA), the port of call for all new claimants for benefit founded on incapacity for work. It is likely that in the coming years existing incapacity benefits claimants will be transferred to ESA. Furthermore this Supplement provides the text of the key legislation with respect to tribunal reform; the replacement of the appeals tribunals and Social Security and Child Support Commissioners with, respectively, the First Tier Tribunal and the Upper Tier Tribunal.

Part I (New Legislation) has three sections. Section A deals with ESA and provides the text of and commentary to the ESA provisions of the Welfare Reform Act 2007; the Employment and Support Allowance Regulations 2008; and the Employment and Support Allowance (Transitional Provisions) Regulations 2008. Section B provides the text of Tribunal Procedure (First-tier Tribunal) (Social Entitlement Chamber) Rules 2008 and the Tribunal Procedure (Upper Tribunal) Rules 2008. Section C contains the Finance Act 2008, ss. 114, 124 and the Vaccine Damage Payments (Specified Disease) Order 2008.

Parts II, II, IV and V contain the updating material - a separate part for each volume of the main work - which amends the legislative text and key aspects of the commentary to be up to date as at November 00, 2008. Many of the changes are inevitably consequential on the introduction of ESA and the tribunal reforms trawling their way across almost the whole gamut of the legislation covered in the main work.

Other highlights include:

* Decisions on gender recognition
* Decisions on a number of incapacity benefit mental health descriptors
* Amendments to the Prescribed Diseases Regulations in respect of PD D12 (chronic bronchitis and/or emphysema)
* Commentary on the decision of the House of Lords in R (RJM) v. Secretary of State for Work and Pensions [2008] UKHL 63
* Changes to JSA rules on availability for work
* Decisions and changes in respect of presence and absence in relation to State Pension Credit Human Rights and EC aspects, including the Court of Appeal decisions in Jeleniewicz v. Secretary of State for Work and Pensions and in Secretary of State for Work and Pensions v. Burley, those of the House of Lords in Zalewska v. Department for Social Development and in AL(Serbia) v. Secretary of State for the Home Department; R (on the application of Rudi) v. Secretary of State for the Home Department, and that of the ECJ in Bosmann

Part VI, the final section of the Supplement, gives some notice of changes forthcoming between November 12, 2008 and the date to which the main work (2009/10 edition) will be up to date (mid April 2009) and some indication of the April 2009 benefit rates, and takes account of sources known to us as at January 12, 2009.

As always the editorial team has brought together its academic and adjudication expertise and its knowledge of tribunal practice to produce a work updating and expanding a guide which will be essential reading for DWP decision-makers, First Tier and Upper Tier Tribunal judges, solicitors (especially legal aid franchise holders), barristers working in the social security field, welfare advisers and students.