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25 May 16
The government’s flagship Universal Credit benefit reform scheme has been opened up to all claimants for the first time in five parts of England.
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11 May 16
The government’s plans to increase the support available to in-work claimants of its flagship Universal Credit benefit could represent the most significant welfare reform since 1948, but are...
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3 May 16
The government’s Universal Credit benefit reform scheme must be “reclaimed” from the Treasury in order to achieve its aim of making work pay, the Resolution Foundation has warned today.
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14 Mar 16
Prime minister David Cameron has announced a help-to-save scheme that could see the government top up 3.5 million low-income people’s savings by £1,200.
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16 Feb 16
The government’s Universal Credit reforms will create “huge disincentives” for families receiving the payment to have more than £6,000 in savings, according to an analysis by...
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3 Feb 16
Universal Credit will cut annual benefit spending by £2.7bn, an analysis by the Institute for Fiscal Studies has found, but more than 2 million working families are likely to be worse off.
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21 Dec 15
Delays and errors in delivering benefits are “plunging families into hunger”, a report by the Work and Pensions Select Committee has found.
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4 Dec 15
Labour has said that cuts to benefit entitlements being introduced through Universal Credit mean controversial tax credit reductions have been “rebranded” by the government rather than reversed.
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16 Nov 15
A further 17 job centres will start taking new Universal Credit claims from today, the Department for Work and Pensions has announced.
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21 Sep 15
The government’s flagship Universal Credit welfare reform will be available in three-quarters of all jobcentres by Christmas under the next phase of its national rollout, ministers have said.
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1 Sep 15
The November Spending Review must set out plans to deal with a £10bn funding hole facing councils, the Local Government Association has said.
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24 Aug 15
Iain Duncan Smith has said the government is considering reforms to disability benefits to end the current “binary” eligibility tests for claimants.
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18 Aug 15
Family carers for vulnerable children in Scotland are likely to be left worse off under Universal Credit because of the UK government’s failure to take proper account of Scotland’s different legal...
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21 Jul 15
The Department for Work & Pensions and HM Revenue & Customs have successfully reduced fraud and error in the payment of benefits and tax credits, but more needs to be done to address risks...
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13 Jul 15
Universal Credit is being rolled out to 14 new jobcentres, largely in London and Cornwall.
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7 Jul 15
The latest data on the take-up of means-tested benefits suggests a range of issues, including increase stigma around making claims
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8 Jun 15
The Universal Credit programme to merge six benefits into one payment should go ahead, but a series of changes are needed to maximise the number of people helped into work, the Resolution Foundation...
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8 Jun 15
Universal Credit is intended to simplify out-of-work benefits and in-work credits, but in its present form it could make things more complicated for many of those it is meant to assist.
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29 May 15
The National Audit Office has called on the Department for Work and Pensions to learn the lessons from recent reforms to the welfare system in order to improve how it manages change and anticipates...
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10 Mar 15
The government’s Universal Credit benefit reform is likely to encourage more claimants into work, but could see them choosing to work shorter hours, at considerable cost to the Treasury, a Resolution...
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25 Nov 14
Auditors today said they are not yet able to judge if the government’s flagship Universal Credit reform to the welfare system will achieve value for money.
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14 Oct 14
Universal Credit will be available in all jobcentres from February to new single claimants previously eligible for Jobseekers’ Allowance, Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith has...
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29 Sep 14
The rollout of the government’s Universal Credit benefit reform programme is to be quickened so that it is in place across Britain by the end of the next financial year, Work and Pensions...
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5 Sep 13
The government’s welfare revolution faces delays following significant IT problems. It’s a blow to ministers but provides an opportunity to correct design flaws and properly test systems