The welfare benefits position of psychiatric in-patients is set out in a House of Lords written answer dated 23/6/10. Psychiatric patients who, were it not for their illness, would be serving a term of imprisonment, do not receive any welfare benefits. The position is currently the subject of an ECtHR challenge, public funding for an appeal to the Supreme Court having been refused.

Legislation

The following is related to this subject area. The page has links to various external resources.

• Social Security (Hospital In-Patients) Regulations 2005 — These regulations, among other things, (a) abolish the down-rating of in-patient benefits after 52 weeks, and (b) deprive restricted transferred prisoners (those under s47/49, s45A (while the limitation direction continues in force), and similar Scottish provisions, of state benefits. In force since 2006. The deprivation of benefits is currently subject to a judicial review application on the grounds that it is a violation of Article 1 of ECHR Protocol No 1 which cannot be justified under Article 15 (if the LSC fund an appeal to the Supreme Court).

Cases

The following is an automatically-generated list of the pages in Category:Welfare benefits cases:

• R (D and M) v SSWP (2010) EWCA Civ 18
• R (EM) v SSWP (2009) EWHC 454 (Admin)
• R (RD) v SSWP (2008) EWHC 2635 (Admin)
• R (RJM) v SSWP (2007) EWCA Civ 614
• R (RJM) v SSWP (2008) UKHL 63
• SSWP v Slavin (2011) EWCA Civ 1515
• Stec v UK 65731/01 (2005) ECHR 924
• Stec v UK 65731/01 (2006) ECHR 393

External links

Department for Work and Pensions

Lords Hansard 23/6/10: Written answers

Daily Telegraph, 'Serial killers entitled to benefits, minister admits' (19/7/11). This tabloid-style article complains about the ability of hospital order patients to receive welfare benefits.