Ouassini, R (on the application of) v The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions

Facts

The claimant, Ms Ouassini, and her husband, Mr Iqbal, both have disabilities, as does one of their six children. Until 2025 the family received about £4,000 a month in Child Tax Credits and Working Tax Credits. They were then moved to Universal Credit, with 'transitional protection' under the Universal Credit (Transitional Provisions) Regulations 2014. The move went badly, through no fault of the family: an extension of time granted on 28 November 2024 was never entered on the DWP's system. On 1 April 2025 the DWP set the transitional protection at £1,802 a month. Mr Iqbal thought the resulting award might still be too low and asked for a check. Instead, the DWP decided on 11 April 2025 that it had got its own calculation wrong. It said the correct figure was just under £700, and that the family had been overpaid £2,210, which would be clawed back. The only reason given was that the transitional protection had been 'calculated incorrectly'. On 13 April Mr Iqbal asked for recovery to be suspended because of the family's vulnerability and the hardship it would cause. The DWP gave no proper reply until 27 August 2025. Ms Ouassini brought a claim for judicial review. Permission was limited to the 11 April 2025 Decision, and the claim was expedited. The day before the hearing, the DWP wrote off the overpayment, except for £128.62 already recovered, which it said was owed on a separate debt. It asked for the hearing to be cancelled. The judge refused.