If people are unable to support themselves financially should the state step in? Is poverty a social fact or a social problem that the law can alleviate? The UK spends more than £250 billion per year on benefits and pensions. Some consider this to be both unaffordable and unjustified. But for many claimants the financial support is inadequate and the claim process is impersonal and demeaning.
We will examine the law and structure of the UK's welfare state through the lens of welfare rights and the perspective of claimants. You will develop knowledge of benefits law: the eligibility rules around ill-health, disability and immigration status, the obligations the state requires of claimants and their legal rights to challenge/appeal benefit decisions.
You will become familiar with the UK’s benefits system. You will be able to identify the interrelationships between welfare law and other areas of law such as: public law, housing law, criminal law, immigration law. You will also critically engage with the ongoing debates as to the future of welfare and whether welfare rights are human rights
Lectures - 8 hours
Seminars -12 hours
Clinic workshops -12 hours
Visual representation- Individual poster 'Information leaflet'( no presentation)- No larger than A3- 25%
Practical Competenc- Role play of short answer problem- based questions- Maximum 3000 words OR 15 minutes audio recording- 75%
Reassment methods- Single instrument 100% written assessment (3000 words)
See module details on moodle
On successfully completing the module, students will be able to:
1) Identify and apply relevant benefits laws and procedures to factual situations;
2) Evaluate the political, social and legal principles said to underly the welfare state;
3) Evaluate the impact of benefits law and policy on people, in particular on vulnerable individuals;
4) Critically consider whether welfare rights are social and economic rights.
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