News

A Claimant driven to the end of his tether, grabbed members of staff at a Welsh job centre and threatened them with a knife after his benefits were stopped. Ian Littlewood, 47, took out the weapon and told staff at the Ebbw Vale job centre...

Responding to comments made in 2012 by Tory MP and party vice-chair for youth Ben Bradley where he suggested unemployed young men should get vasectomies, Liberal Democrat MP Layla Moran said: “These hugely misinformed and offensive comments sho...

Plaid Cymru leader Leanne Wood has warned that frontline NHS workers are at breaking point as a result of the pressures put upon them. Leanne Wood said that a constituent had contacted her warning that the pressure that they are being put under was h...

One million children living in poverty in England will miss out on free school meals as the Tory government rolls out its Universal Credit proposals, according to findings from The Children’s Society. And London will be the worst-hit region by...

Universal Credit has replaced a range of existing benefits, including housing benefit. But critics of UC say it could drive people into debt because they must wait six weeks for their first payment. It's already available to single people who wo...

Economic insecurity impacts a broad spectrum of society – not only those in persistent and structural poverty and precarious economic circumstances, but also low and middle income groups: those who self-identify as ‘just about managing&rs...

MPs have warned HMRC’s attempts at modernising amount to a ‘precarious high-wire act’ that threatens welfare claimants. A report from the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) published today warns HM Revenue & Customs has t...

Eastbourne’s MP Stephen Lloyd has this week warned that there will be a rise in homelessness if Universal Credit is not fixed. Stephen Lloyd argued in Parliament that the government could reduce pressure on the housing market by making a few sm...

2018 is set to be a difficult year for low-income households, as average price inflation for the UK stands at its highest since April 2012. But it’s not just price inflation that’s hitting low-income families hard, says Laurie Heykoop. Fo...

Policy in Practise have produced this useful UC Roadmap.  More than a million calls to Universal Credit helpline have gone unanswered in the past year. New figures uncovered by a Labour MP said the sheer number of calls going without answer coul...