The benefit system provides a financial deterrent to families of young people pursuing apprenticeships, because some families would, overall, be worse off than if the young person stayed in full-time...
The long-term impact of changes to universal credit due to take effect next week will see new claimants lose out by thousands of pounds, in a move likely to affect millions of people, according to...
A new more generous benefit planned for jobseekers could save up to £3bn a year as part of a shake-up of the welfare system, according to analysis from the Institute for Fiscal Studies.
The government has been urged to abolish the two-child benefit cap as part of a suite of measures aimed at lifting more than four million people out of poverty.
Indefinite protection for those facing cuts to their benefits under the government’s plans for welfare reform risks unfairness and perverse incentives, a leading think-tank has warned.
The government’s planned benefits system overhaul could cut welfare spending by £11bn a year when fully implemented – but the health-related benefits bill will still far exceed pre-pandemic levels,...
A profound shift in welfare policy that has seen pensioners benefit at the expense of the working-age population has weakened the social security safety net for those most in need, according to new...
Carers could be alerted “as a matter of course” when their earnings reach the permitted threshold under changes being considered by the government to tackle the crisis in allowance overpayment.
Benefits should be increased on a guaranteed basis every year as part of an overhaul to improve the consistency, transparency and accountability of the social security system, the government has been...
The failure to pay benefit claimants the correct level of support was a contributing factor in the National Audit Office giving a qualified opinion on the Department for Work and Pensions’ accounts.
People on benefits face “crushing poverty” if payments are not increased in line with inflation, Kwasi Kwarteng has been told, amid concerns the government could refuse to do so.
The agency administering housing benefit on behalf of the Northern Irish government has had its 2020-21 accounts qualified over “material levels” of fraud and error, according to the...
The level of fraud and error in benefit payments made in Northern Ireland rose again last financial year, leading to a spending watchdog issuing a qualified opinion.
The government will face some tough choices on benefit reforms following record applications, with some aspects of the system already “ripe for reform”, according to the Institute for Fiscal Studies.
Fraud and errors related to payments made by the Department for Work and Pensions have reached record highs and are set to grow due to universal credit.
