Key Facts
- •Claimant (MS) is a Slovakian national residing in the UK with a son residing in Slovakia.
- •Secretary of State revised MS's universal credit entitlement, removing the child element.
- •First-tier Tribunal incorrectly included the child element, misapplying the law.
- •The main issue is whether the child element of universal credit is a social security family benefit under Regulation (EC) 883/2004.
- •The claimant's son lives with his grandparents in Slovakia, and the claimant makes all major decisions regarding his care and finances.
Legal Principles
Social security has an autonomous meaning in EU law, depending on the benefit's purpose and conditions of entitlement, not domestic classification.
Hoeckk v Centre Public D’Aide Sociale de Kalmthout (Case 249/83)
The method of financing a benefit is irrelevant to its EU law classification.
Hughes v Chief Adjudication Officer, Belfast (Case C-78/91)
A benefit can be a social security benefit despite being income-related, provided objective criteria confer entitlement.
Hughes v Chief Adjudication Officer, Belfast (Case C-78/91)
Social assistance under Regulation 883/2004 is defined by entitlement and lack of discretion; a safety net at subsistence level is a touchstone.
Hughes v Chief Adjudication Officer, Belfast (Case C-78/91)
Family benefits must involve a public contribution to family expenses to alleviate the financial burden of child maintenance.
Caisse nationale des prestations familiales v Hliddal and Bornand (Cases C-216 and 217/12)
Elements of a benefit may be severed if they are distinct, allowing different classifications under Regulation 883/2004.
Commission of the European Communities v European Parliament and the Council of the European Union (Case C-299/05); Bartlett, Ramos and Taylor v Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (Case C-537/99)
Decisions on social assistance under Directive 2004/38/EC do not automatically apply to Regulation 883/2004.
Pensionsversicherungsanstalt v Brey (Case-140/12)
Universal Credit is a unified, minimum subsistence benefit aiming to alleviate poverty, reduce welfare dependency, and help vulnerable households.
Government Publication 'An Introduction to Universal Credit' and Secretary of State's argument
Outcomes
The First-tier Tribunal's decision is set aside.
Error in point of law: misapplication of Regulation 4(4) of the Universal Credit Regulations 2013.
The child element of universal credit is not a social security family benefit under Regulation (EC) 883/2004.
Universal Credit's purpose is not solely to meet family expenses; the child element is integral to the overall benefit calculation, not severable as a distinct family benefit.
A reference to the European Court of Justice is not necessary or permissible.
The issue is sufficiently clear, and a reference is only possible concerning interpretation of Part Two of the Withdrawal Agreement (Article 158), not Regulation 883/2004.