News

COLD WEATHER HEATING HELP - The Government says its Cold Weather Payment scheme will begin again on November 1. Rules say you will get a payment if the average temperature in your area is recorded as (or forecast to be) zero degrees celsius or b...

FURLOUGH SCHEME - Johnson said that the government’s furlough job protection scheme, which had been expected to expire within hours, would be extended through November, with the state guaranteeing 80 percent of furloughed workers wages. This is...

NEGATIVE INTEREST RATES – Simon Collyer appeared on BBC Essex, Radio Breakfast Show, this morning talking about negative interest rates. Negative interest rates are used when a central bank such as the Bank of England (BoE) wants to create infla...

NEW REPORT - Almost half of Scottish workers faced pay cuts due to Covid-19 Pressure is mounting on the UK Government to enhance the job support scheme and make the £20 uplift to Universal Credit payments permanent - after a new report revealed that...

PIP PAYMENTS - Those who have claimed Personal Independence Payment (PIP) could be entitled to a further £13,000 in benefits due to a change in the law. PIP for many is a valuable monthly benefit for those with a long-term illness...

MAJIC BREAKFAST -The School Breakfast Bill was presented to Parliament by Emma Lewell-Buck MP on 13th October, and successfully passed its first reading. The second reading of the Bill is currently scheduled for 5th February, 2021. Six children...

CHILDCARE - Working parents who are on the Government’s coronavirus support schemes will still be eligible for childcare support even if their income falls below the minimum threshold requirement. The Government has confirmed that from Sunday 1 Novem...

SCHOOL DINNERS - the government continues to dig in against s into the half-term, Christmas and Easter holidays. “Huge credit to him” for his campaign, Lewis said (not all that convincingly) while repeating the government line that previous acti...

DWP - The Department for Work and Pensions want to find out if claimants are declaring their savings and they want to get bulk access to people’s bank accounts which is a major challenge to peoples civil liberties and the right to privacy. As me...

YOUTH UNEMPLOYMENT - Former Prime Minister Gordon Brown has warned that youth unemployment in Scotland could hit 100,000 in the winter. The former Labour prime minister has called for the UK and Scottish Government to offer a...