-
20 May 22
The Department for Work and Pensions is set to spend £600m and give officers new legal powers in a move ministers say will help prevent £4bn of fraud in the benefit system over the next five years.
-
13 Apr 22
The government will fail in its ambitions to ‘level up’ left-behind areas of the country if it does not introduce measures to address the spiralling cost of living, a think-tank has said.
-
31 Mar 22
Prime minister Boris Johnson has promised to consider increasing universal credit in line with inflation, to mitigate the impact of soaring inflation on the cost-of-living.
-
25 Oct 21
Universal credit claimants have been asked to prove their identity with several photographs, including one holding their local newspaper, as the Department for Work and Pensions aims to weed out...
-
4 Oct 21
Chancellor Rishi Sunak has confirmed an extension to cash incentives for hiring new apprentices, as well as the flagship KickStart scheme to help boost employment.
-
30 Sep 21
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.
-
26 Aug 21
Almost three quarters of UK parliamentary constituencies will be adversely affected by the proposed removal of additional Universal Credit support, according to an anti-poverty charity.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
4 Feb 20
The roll-out of the government’s controversial welfare reform programme universal credit has been delayed again – until 2024.
-
10 Jan 20
Councils failing to administer housing benefit correctly are driving families to become homeless, the local government watchdog has found.
-
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.
-
22 Oct 19
Two thirds of young, single parents will be worse off as they switch to Universal Credit, a think-tank has warned.
-
18 Oct 19
London boroughs should play a “leading role” in administering welfare support to residents in the capital, an umbrella group has said.
-
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...
-
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’.
-
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.
-
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.
-
5 Jun 19
An £8.3bn package of investment in social security could lift 700,000 children out of poverty, according to charity analysis.
-
28 May 19
Strikes over universal credit workloads could spread to other parts of the country, a union has warned.
-
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.