CHRISTMAS - DWP payment dates for benefits are moved if they happen to fall at weekends or on bank holidays.

This winter, Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year's Day fall at a weekend so the bank holidays are pushed to the following week.

That means Monday, December 27 and Tuesday, December 28 will be bank holidays, along with Monday, January 3.

And these dates will impact benefit payments. Payments that would have been due on December 25, 26, 27 or 28 will be paid on December 24, while payments due on January 1, 2 or 3 will be paid on December 31. The good news is the money goes in earlier, the bad news is that because it will be up to four days earlier it will have to last a lot longer until the next amount is due.

Universal Credit payment dates are set for each individual based on when they got their first payment, so that date can sometimes end up being a weekend or bank holiday, in which case it will be moved as above.

Child Benefit (which comes from HMRC) is paid on a Monday or Tuesday so that will also be moved as listed above. Other benefits, tax credits and State Pension are paid on weekdays and will be changed to different dates if they were due to go into accounts on the bank holidays of December 27 or 28 or January 3.

ABC Comment, have your say below:

TWEET - We saw this tweet today.

Samuel Miller, 65, a DS specialist, is accusing the British government of employing draconian austerity measures to murder its sick and disabled citizens.

'I cannot recall any MPs who tweeted their heartfelt condolences to the sister of Mark Wood, a vulnerable man who starved to death after his benefits were cut'.  Mr Miller makes the point that no flags were lowered to half-mast on his death.

Sir David Anthony Andrew Amess was a British politician who served as Member of Parliament for Southend West from May 1997 until his killing in 2021. He previously served as MP for Basildon from 1983 to April 1997. He was a member of the Conservative Party. He was born and grew up in Essex.

ABC Comment and Note: We are living in an increasingly brutal society. Knife crime has skyrocketed along with very high youth unemployment. 

Things are going to get worse, much worse. 

Mr Amess may be a much-loved MP but he was still part of a political party that has created the brutal society that we live in. A Party that is cutting social security in a period of high inflation which will create starvation, malnutrition and death for our citizens. Mr Amess MP was an animal lover but he was prepared to go along with these brutal Tory policies towards the poor and remain an MP.  Either you run with the Fox or you run with the Hounds, you cannot do both. 

Mr Amess MP needs to be praised and remembered for his good deeds in life we agree, but we also have to remember Mr Amess was part of an organisation prepared to bring harm to poor people. To deprive people of the most basic benefits that they paid for and transfer that money to the rich. 

Our condolences to his family but let's not forget those out of work and their families and those who will die or suffer in relative obscurity. Where will be their flags lowered at half-mast, on DWP buildings perhaps? 

Image: Mark Wood was a benefit claimant who starved to death. 

 ABC  Comment, have your say below:

RENT DEBTS - The proportion of private renters in arrears in England has more than doubled during the COVID-19 pandemic.

These statistics reveal that in April-May 2021 seven per cent of private renters were in arrears, up from three per cent in 2019/20.

This amounts to over 780,000 renters.

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NEWS - The ABC cannot complain about our growing press coverage.

Here we are again time in the Colchester Gazette: https://www.gazette-news.co.uk/news/19641744.universal-credit-benefits-expert-says-uplift-cut-wrong/

There are other appearances but we do thank the Gazette and Colchester Gazette for ther coverage we get. It is really helpful and other media outlets follow their content. Reporter Lewis Adams deserves special praise.  

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CHRISTMAS PAYMENT DATES - Plus the ten pounds bonus payment. 

The £10 bonus payment can make a small difference to a person's budget over the expensive winter period says the government/.

All benefits, pensions and allowances are normally paid into an account of a person’s choosing, such as a bank account, building society and credit union account.

The DWP has explained the matter, saying people should look out for a key sign on a bank statement. The bonus should appear as ‘DWP XB’.

People must be present or ‘ordinarily resident’ in the UK, Channel Islands, Isle of Man or Gibraltar during the qualifying week concerned this year to get this bonus..

The qualifying week is particularly important for the Christmas Bonus as this secures eligibility. The DWP has confirmed that this is the first full week of December.

This unfortunately means those who are expats living abroad might not be able to benefit in this way. Those who live in a European Economic Area (EEA) country or Switzerland are encouraged to contact the Government about the matter.

Universal Credit, state pension and PIP are a number of payments which can benefit from the Christmas Bonus, however, there are various other benefits and payments which could be eligible.

These include:

• Attendance Allowance
• Carer’s Allowance
• Disability Living Allowance
• Pension Credit - the guarantee element
• War Widow’s Pension
• Widow’s Pension

People should get this benefit automatically.

ABC Comment, have your say below:

UNIVERSAL CREDIT DEBATE - Members of the Lords will discuss the main principles and purpose of the Social Security (Up-rating of Benefits) Bill during second reading on Wednesday 13 September.

The Social Security (Up-rating of Benefits) Bill makes provision relating to the up-rating of certain social security benefits payable in the 2022-23 tax year.

Debate on the draft law

Members will discuss the main issues in the bill during the second reading  debate. 

Members speaking

Baroness Stedman-Scott (Conservative), Minister for Work and Pensions, will open the debate and respond on behalf of the government.

Members speaking in the debate include:

• Baroness Altmann (Conservative), Governor, Pensions Policy Institute
• Lord Davies of Brixton (Labour), former pensions officer at the Trades Union Congress
• Baroness Greengross (Crossbench), President, Pensions Policy Institute
• Baroness Janke (Liberal Democrat) Liberal Democrat spokesperson for work and pensions

Get involved

Watch and read the debate

Watch on Parliament TV. A transcript is available in Lords Hansard from three hours after the debate. 

You can watch here, click on the image: 

Explore further information

Read background on the bill in the House of Lords Library Social Security (Up-rating of Benefits)

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LABOUR MARKET STATISTICS - We like the way the government folk in Northern Ireland are displaying their Labour market statistics. 

ABC Comment, have your say below,

PENSION CREDIT - Have you claimed this top-up to your state pension? 

What is Pension Credit?

Pension Credit is a separate benefit from the State Pension and it's designed to top up your income to meet a minimum amount. It's there to give those over the State Pension age extra assistance towards things such as rent, heating costs and general living costs.

 Those who receive Pension Credit will also typically be entitled to other help, including:

• Housing Benefit
• Support for Mortgage Interest for those who own the property they live in
• Council Tax Reduction
• A free TV licence (aged 75 or over)
• Help with NHS dental treatment, glasses and transport costs for hospital appointments
• Help with heating costs

Launched earlier this year, the helpline has helped people claim Pension Credit, with many of them already receiving more than one benefit.

If you think you might be entitled to Pension Credit, you can contact the free phone helpline on 0800 112 4763, or you can use the online Pension Credit calculator here.

ABC Note: The rich made £107 billion during this pandemic. Don't feel guilty about claiming. 

ABC Comment, have your say below:

Respected campaigners, The Poverty Alliance said they did not get an acknowledgement after requesting a sit down with Boris Johnson’s Cabinet Minister Alister Jack.

Jack was educated at Dalbeattie Primary School, at Crawfordton House – a posh private prep school near Moniaive, Dumfriesshire – and then at Glenalmond College.

The Poverty Alliance - a respected body in the anti-poverty field, asked to meet Jack on September 30th about the looming cut.

Director Peter Kelly wrote that slashing the payment would force people to choose between heating their homes and paying their rent.

Alas, The Poverty Alliance request for a meeting was ignored by Scottish Cabinet Minister Alister Jack.

Image: Crawfordton House where Cabinet Minister Alister Jack was educated. 

ABC Comment, have your say below: 

UNIVERSAL CREDIT CUT - Action for children reacts to PM’s conference speech & cut to Universal Credit

Director of policy and campaigns at Action for Children, Imran Hussain, said: “While today is a big day for the Prime Minister, it’s a grim day for working families hit by the cut to Universal Credit.

“The Prime Minister talks about having the guts to tackle big societal problems. We want this government to have the guts to cancel the cut and throw working families a lifeline.

“Make no mistake, families on modest wages keeping their heads above water are going to be pushed under by this; we’re talking about hairdressers, care workers and shop workers.

“They’re being squeezed by a £20-a-week cut and squeezed by soaring food, fuel and energy prices. Three quarters of children living in poverty in the UK are in working families¹ and as our recent research² shows this cut will compound previous benefits losses from the past decade.

“There’s no road to levelling up the country that starts with making more children cold and hungry this winter.”

ABC Note: The outpouring by hundreds of organisations against the Universal Credit cut to the £20 uplift has been unpresidented. Boris Johnson has united the country in a way WW2 did, but this time against OUR leader not that of Nazi Germany.

There were 4.3 million children living in poverty in the UK in 2019-20.1 That's 31 per cent of children, or nine in a classroom of 30.2. 49 per cent of children living in lone-parent families are in poverty.