The four-year freeze on Local Housing Allowance rates is to be lifted in April bringing the benefit in line with inflation, the government has announced.
The public sector needs to work together to improve the future performance and sustainability of its services, leaders told the official launch of major analysis on government spend.
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.
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...
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’.
The Scottish Government’s borrowing powers are likely to come under increasing pressure due to the volatility inherent in the fiscal framework, MSPs have heard.
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.
Real income growth has ground to a halt after five years of recovery, with lowest income households hardest hit because of cuts in benefits and tax credits.
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.
The mass devolution of social security benefits next year represents a “very significant fiscal risk” to the Scottish budget, according to the body responsible for Scotland’s economic forecasts.
A Department for Work and Pensions minister will investigate a fraudulent loan company that stole an applicant’s identity to apply for universal credit.
