The rising universal credit sanctions expose “a cruel and failing system”, driving people into poverty despite the government’s promise of a culture change, Amnesty International has warned.
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...
Integrating working-age council tax support and universal credit would reduce complexity for claimants and ease the administrative burdens on councils, the Institute for Fiscal Studies has argued, as...
The Department for Work and Pensions will next month launch a new campaign – Tell DWP – to encourage benefits claimants to update the department with personal circumstances as it continues in its...
Forcing universal credit claimants to take any job, however unsuitable or insecure, under threat of sanction is counterproductive for both jobseekers and employers, a parliamentary committee has said.
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 rising state pension age and lack of action to support the growing number of people experiencing long-term sickness could push more into poverty, the Health Foundation has warned.
The government must do more to support the most vulnerable families through the cost-of-living crisis as food prices continue to rise, experts have said.
More than half of all universal credit payments to families with children in Scotland have money deducted by the Department of Work and Pensions, including because of debt owed to public bodies,...
Ministers should focus on supporting the poorest households through the cost-of-living crisis rather than implementing broad tax cuts, economists at the National Institute of Economic and Social...
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.
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.
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.
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...
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.
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.
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.
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.
