Latest Articles By Simon Collyer

HUNGER - The Trussell Trust have launched their largest ever state of hunger report. You can download the report and read it below. Executive summary: Over the last decade there has been growing public and media concern about more extreme signs of ma...

BENEFIT FREEZE - Today the Government has announced that the freeze on benefits, which has been in place since 2015, will come to end an end next year. Working-age benefits such as universal credit and jobseeker's allowance will rise by 1.7% from Apr...

The U.S. added 128,000 jobs in October. It’s a slowdown, the data say the New York Times is clouded by the temporary impact of a General Motors strike. 128,000 jobs were added last month, the US Labor Department reported on Friday. Analysts surveyed...

Secretary of State Therese Coffey has today (1 November 2019) announced a £10 million Universal Credit Transition Fund for outreach programmes to help vulnerable people make Universal Credit claims. The fund will be available to partner organisations...

Every year generous Torfaen residents donate hundreds of gifts to the annual Christmas Santa Appeal to ensure that some of the most vulnerable children living in the borough don’t miss out at Christmas. This year’s Santa appeal opens on Monday 4 Nove...

RETAIL NEWS - In September 2019, retail sales in the UK totalled £7.3 billion per week, the same as August 2019 and down from £7.6 billion in July 2019. This figure includes money spent in shops, supermarkets, in petrol stations and online....

TORY SNUB - Simon Collyer the founder of the ABC was asked in an email would he like to contribute to Tory Party funds as the election looms early December. Simon seized the moment and asked could the ABC be added to the Conservative Party press rele...

UNPROFESSIONAL CONDUCT - A PIP assessor working for Capita allegedly challenged a claimant’s son to a fight, damaged her home and laughed at her account of wanting to end her life. Cheryl Matthews from Cardiff told the assessor that she had been in s...

STAYING WARM - The Affordable Warmth Obligation is designed to help people on low incomes and in receipt of benefits to carry out energy-saving work. However, landlords may also be able to make use of the scheme if a private tenant is in re...

UNIVERSAL CREDIT - claimants in Islington Council have accumulated nearly four times the rent arrears as people on Housing Benefit. As of September 30, 3,176 council tenants were on Universal Credit and, of these, 72 per cent (2,285) were in rent arr...