Universal credit, which is paid in arrears, is not paid until at least five weeks after making a claim. However, the secretary of state may make advance payments where there is financial need and where it looks likely the conditions of benefit will be satisfied. Where a person does not have a NINo, however, no advance payments are made until the claimant’s entitlement to a NINo has been verified by a specialist team.
R (BUI) v Secretary of State for Work and Pensions; R (Onakoya) v Secretary of State for Work and Pensions [2023] EWCA Civ 566 concerned two individuals who did not have NINos.
The Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG) and Central England Law Centre (CELC) successfully argued at appeal that the Department for Work and Pension’s (DWP’s) blanket practice of refusing advance payments without a NINo was unlawful. The court held the legislation did not prevent advance payments to claimants without a NINo.
Michael Bates, head of public law at CELC, said: ‘The transition to mainstream support for those whose immigration status has been recently regularised has been problematic for many years.
‘Delays in allocating NINos and the knock-on delays to benefits payments has left many facing destitution just at the point of increased need. This judgment now means that the DWP will be required to consider putting benefits payments in place almost immediately.
‘It will also remove the need for costly emergency expenditure by local authorities who are often left to pick up the pieces.’
Claire Hall, head of strategic litigation at CPAG, said: ‘This is an important win and must be implemented by the DWP urgently.’
