Our social security system, like our NHS, should be there for us all, especially those who need it most. It needs updating, so it works in today’s world. By the time it is fully rolled out, half of all children in the UK will live in a household claiming universal credit (UC). With some financial investment and operational changes, UC can be the safety net that families need.
A change is coming to child benefit. This Saturday, more families will become eligible as the earnings threshold at which you start losing child benefit increases. The government has finally recognised that ‘the way we treat child benefit in the tax system is confusing and unfair’ and proposed two changes to try to simplify it. It’s ironic that this confusion and unfairness was introduced by the government in the first place.
This blog explores some of the pros and cons of getting short-term assistance while challenging a determination to reduce or remove an award of adult disability payment (ADP) or child disability payment (CDP). Advisers should be aware that some people can be worse off in the long run.
What impact is the cost of living crisis having on families' abilities to keep warm this winter? Parents and carers on a low income who are part of Changing Realities have shared their experiences.
What impact will rising fuel prices have on fuel poverty? How many households are spending ever greater proportions of their income on fuel? And who will be worst affected? These estimates take into account the cost of living payments announced in the Autumn Statement.
What impact will rising fuel prices have on fuel poverty? How many households are spending ever greater proportions of their income on fuel? And who will be worst affected?
Families in 2022 are facing the greatest threat to their living standards in living memory. Much has been written about these pressures, but to put them into context, we need to understand what has been happening to children’s and families’ costs in recent years. The Cost of a Child reports have been produced annually for a decade, and this 2022 edition presents the latest evidence of what families need as a minimum, and how this compares to the actual incomes of low-income families.
Frances Ryan, Welfare Rights Worker at CPAG in Scotland, takes a look at ‘adult disability payment’ (ADP), a new disability benefit for working-age people who live in Scotland.