In line with inflation, today benefits are being uprated by 6.7 per cent. For the first time in four years, the local housing allowance has gone up, improving housing support for many private renters. But one group will not see any improvement in support at all: around 77,000 families are affected by the ‘benefit cap'.
Today’s official poverty statistics show child poverty has reached a record high with an estimated 100,000 more children pulled into poverty last year.
Rising child poverty across rest of UK suggests Scottish policies are helping families but campaigners say new data must act as a “stark reminder” more is needed to meet legally binding child poverty targets.
On Thursday 21 March, the annual Households Below Average Income (HBAI) report will be released by the Department for Work and Pensions. Estimates are provided for average incomes, income inequality, and for the number and percentage of people living in poverty. The statistics are the UK’s official source of poverty estimates and, with a larger sample size than other surveys, are the main source of data on household and individual incomes.
Our pre-Budget briefing details how best to invest financial support in children to reduce child poverty and give every child the chance to fulfil their potential.
Legal work can be a marathon. I’m a solicitor at CPAG, and we take on legal action to protect and defend families’ rights. Last week, nearly two years after the first judgment in one of our cases, we had confirmation that it won’t go any further – we have definitively won!
Universal credit (UC) claimants are not always getting extra amounts of UC they’re entitled to when they become eligible for some other benefits because of poor data-sharing within the DWP.
Campaigners at the Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG) in Scotland are calling for tax and spending decisions to do more to prioritise hard up families ahead of tomorrow’s Scottish budget.