From breakfast clubs to sports activities, before- and after-school provision benefits children and their families hugely. These clubs and activities help children engage with learning and feel fulfilled at school, and they help parents financially by allowing them to work or take up more hours. Unfortunately, many families don’t get to benefit from these clubs, either because they’re too expensive or because they’re not available.
New research shows affected families can’t afford what they need for their kids. 59% (210,000) families caught by the limit are working. Today’s first instalment of cost-of-living emergency payment won’t do enough.
The Front-loaded Child Benefit Bill is a Private Members’ Bill introduced by Lord Farmer (Conservative). It aims to allow recipients of child benefit to receive, if they wish, a higher rate of child benefit when a child is younger, in exchange for a lower rate when the child is older. This would be an alternative to the current system whereby a flat rate is paid throughout childhood. The second reading will take place on Friday 8 July.
The Universal Credit (Removal of the Two Child Limit) Bill is a Private Members’ Bill brought forward by the Lord Bishop of Durham to remove the limit in universal credit (UC) that restricts support to just the first two children in a family. The second reading will take place on Friday 8 July.
The DWP has just confirmed that it's pressing ahead with managed migration (the process by which people on the old ‘legacy’ benefits will move to universal credit (UC)). Here are six reasons for alarm as the government forges ahead with its plans to move 1.7m people by the end of 2024.
Around 35,000 more families could have their benefits capped next April, leaving them with a growing gulf between their income and rising costs, new Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG) analysis shows.
New statistics released today show that 120,000 households were subject to the benefit cap in February 2022. The benefit cap limits the amount of social security some households receive, with families losing £236 a month, on average.
I have found this whole cost of living subject a difficult one for us in particular. It is topical at the moment and is a constant weight on my mind. There's no escape, everywhere I turn, it’s all around me. The TV, the news and social media. I’m tired of it and the continuous daily struggle. I feel we’ve been experiencing and have been living this for some time.