Latest Articles By Simon Collyer

LEGAL ACTION WITHDRAWN - The climbdown by Capita, which tried to reverse the ‘reputational damage’ it claimed to have suffered after a benefits’ claimant died, should herald a new and more sympathetic way for assessing benefits, Unite, Britain a...

COLCHESTER FOODBANK - are running a volunteer open day. The Foodbank ask would you be interested in finding out more about volunteering with Colchester Foodbank? The Foodbank are working in Greenstead to bring the foodbank into the communit...

HORSHAM DISTRICT - Horsham District Council has unveiled a further eight units of temporary accommodation to help residents facing homelessness. The £1.5million development in North Horsham adds to the 17 units taken on by the Council since September...

UK FIREFIGHTERS - The government must stop holding up pension improvements for firefighters and other public sector workers, the Fire Brigades Union (FBU) has said, demanding that the cost of ending discriminatory pension practices does not impact on...

NORTHERN IRELAND - Four talented competitors were today given a send-off in Belfast before heading to the international WorldSkills competition (known as the Skills Olympics) being held in the Russian city of Kazan. WorldSkills is the largest in...

ACCESS TO WORK - is a publicly funded employment support programme that aims to help more disabled people start or stay in work. There are two main types of Access to Work provision: ‘Assessments’ and ‘Elements’. Assessments involve exploring wo...

ROUGH SLEEPING -The Home Office has refused to give detailed responses to repeated parliamentary questions from Lib Dem Layla Moran on the Rough Sleeping Support Service, despite the MP tabling multiple follow-up questions in an effort to receive cla...

HOUSING - It has never been more challenging for first-time buyers to get on to the property ladder with increasing numbers of young people turning to the ‘Bank of Mum and Dad’. Parents fund around 25% of mortgage transactions each year. According to...

SUMMER BANK HOLIDAY 2019 (England, Wales and Northern Ireland only) is Monday, August 26. This may cause some disruption benefit payment wise.   Tax Credits This payment is made every week or every four weeks. Instead of being paid on...

LONDON - Professor Sir Ian Diamond is standing down as the chair of the Social Security Advisory Committee (SSAC) following his appointment as the National Statistician of the UK Statistics Authority, a full-time role. A recruitment exercise to appoi...