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31 Jul 20
Peers have urged the government to write-off £6bn in historic tax credit debt, as part of a reform of the Universal Credit system.
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10 Jul 20
The Department for Work and Pensions has made “poor progress” in reducing fraud and error in the administration of Universal Credit, according to the National Audit Office.
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22 Apr 20
A group of more than 100 opposition politicians have called on the government to implement a universal basic income, in a bid to help ease finances post-coronavirus.
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20 Mar 20
Universal Credit ‘advances fraud’ is estimated to have cost the Department for Work and Pensions up to £150m in the 18 months to December 2019, according to the National Audit Office.
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11 Mar 20
Chancellor Rishi Sunak has announced plans to remove business rates for small businesses this year, as part of a £12bn package to tackle the economic impact of coronavirus.
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6 Feb 20
The UK Statistics Authority has slapped down the prime minister over his claim universal credit has succeeded in getting 200,000 people into work.
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4 Feb 20
The roll-out of the government’s controversial welfare reform programme universal credit has been delayed again – until 2024.
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10 Jan 20
Councils failing to administer housing benefit correctly are driving families to become homeless, the local government watchdog has found.
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13 Nov 19
Whichever party addresses the shortcomings of universal credit, it should commit to designing the system hand in hand with claimants, writes Joseph Rowntree Foundation’s Iain Porter.
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22 Oct 19
Two thirds of young, single parents will be worse off as they switch to Universal Credit, a think-tank has warned.
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18 Oct 19
London boroughs should play a “leading role” in administering welfare support to residents in the capital, an umbrella group has said.
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18 Oct 19
The number of Universal Credit fraud cases more than doubled in three months, the Department for Work and Pensions permanent secretary Peter Schofield has revealed to a group of...
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30 Sep 19
Labour has promised to scrap the “unmitigated disaster” of Universal Credit and replace the Department for Work and Pensions with a ‘Department for Social Security’.
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28 Jun 19
There are three steps the government can take to transform the roll-out of Universal Credit, argues Jenny Luckett of Riverside Group.
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13 Jun 19
The introduction of universal credit, and in particular the five-week delay before receipt of the first payment, has led to an “unacceptable” rise in rent arrears north of the border.
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5 Jun 19
An £8.3bn package of investment in social security could lift 700,000 children out of poverty, according to charity analysis.
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28 May 19
Strikes over universal credit workloads could spread to other parts of the country, a union has warned.
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24 May 19
A Department for Work and Pensions minister will investigate a fraudulent loan company that stole an applicant’s identity to apply for universal credit.
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23 Apr 19
Universal credit will see 1.9 million claimants lose at least £1,000 each year compared to the previous benefits system, a think-tank has said.
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12 Apr 19
The impact of welfare policies in Northern Ireland will come under close scrutiny in London in the continuing absence of an executive in Stormont.
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19 Mar 19
The government needs to improve its post-Brexit plans for attracting talent to the UK, says think-tank Bright Blue’s director Ryan Shorthouse.
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6 Mar 19
Few would question the aims of universal credit – to deliver a more streamlined welfare system that pays benefits directly to claimants. But a series of funding cuts and failings mean it may never...
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14 Feb 19
MPs have criticised the government’s decision to reject their calls to ease benefit sanctions for claimants, saying the system is pushing people into “grinding poverty”.
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17 Jan 19
The government must lift the benefits freeze to stop increasing numbers of people falling into poverty, says Joseph Rowntree Foundation chief executive Campbell Robb.
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14 Jan 19
The government has side-stepped “the cruellest benefit cut in history” with the latest universal credit changes, according to the chair of the work and pensions committee.