https://www.rightsnet.org.uk/pdfs/Targeted_Case_Reviews.pdf Executive summaryIn 2022, the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) launched ‘Targeted CaseReview’ (TCR), a large-scale fraud and error reduction scheme involving checkson the accuracy of payments made to millions of Universal Credit claimants(DWP, 2022). The scheme has scaled up dramatically since then. With over twomillion reviews completed to date (DWP, 2026a), almost 6,000…
Tag: Universal Credit
Saving private renters – Why the Government should unfreeze Local Housing Allowance
https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/publications/saving-private-renters/ Local Housing Allowance (LHA), which caps how much support is provided through the social security system to low-income private renters, was last relinked to the 30th percentile of rents in April 2024, and has been frozen in cash terms ever since. But private rents have risen considerably since then. [1] A low-income family renting…
Private rent and house prices, UK: September 2026
https://www.ons.gov.uk/economy/inflationandpriceindices/bulletins/privaterentandhousepricesuk/september2026 Main points
Today many thousands more children across England will be fuelled for learning thanks to a free school meal.
School Food Review statement on the expansion of free school mealsIssued September 2026Today many thousands more children across England will be fuelled for learning thanksto a free school meal. As organisations working in schools and with children, we knowthis is a huge boost for children and families.For too long, school food has been a source…
Rents are still decreasing in Brighton according to the ONS – by 1.1%.
Main points https://www.ons.gov.uk/economy/inflationandpriceindices/bulletins/privaterentandhousepricesuk/august2026
What works: Lessons from the frontline of digital support & advice services
What works: Lessons from the frontline of digital support & advice services Government and essential services have fundamentally changed. More and more services have gone digital, meaning that the problems people face often require digital support. But between 14 and 22 million people in the UK face one or more barriers to digital services. In response, Citizens…
Free school meals expansion – half of newly eligible parents don’t know they can get the meals
As the PM’s cost of living tour gets underway, a new survey from Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG) finds more than half of parents (55%) whose children will be newly eligible for free school meals (FSM) from September don’t know that they will qualify for the meals. The government expanded eligibility for FSM to all…
Thousands of terminally ill people are missing out on fast-tracked access to vital financial support because of barriers in the benefits system, according to new research funded by end-of-life charity Marie Curie and led by researchers at King’s College London.
https://www.mariecurie.org.uk/media/press-releases/dying-people-benefits Thousands of terminally ill people are missing out on fast-tracked access to vital financial support because of barriers in the benefits system, according to new research funded by end-of-life charity Marie Curie and led by researchers at King’s College London. The Special Rules for End of Life is an important mechanism in the benefits…
Fewer than 2% of properties in Britain considered affordable for renters on housing benefit
https://www.crisis.org.uk/about-us/crisis-media-centre/fewer-than-2-of-properties-in-britain-considered-affordable-for-renters-on-housing-benefit-1 New research from a coalition of organisations led by Crisis and Citizens Advice has revealed the extent of Britain’s cost of living crisis, with fewer than two in 100 private rental properties listed in Britain (1.9%) now affordable for people on housing benefit, according to data from Zoopla. This is pushing low-income households into…
Submit your evidence to the APPG on Ending the Need for Food Banks on how the level of support offered by Universal Credit should be decided.
https://www.trussell.org.uk/our-work/changing-policy/inquiry In 2023 the Work and Pensions Select Committee carried out an inquiry into benefit levels in the UK. The final report pointed to “a wide range of evidence which suggests that benefit levels are too low, and that claimants are often not able to afford daily living costs”. Their recommendations included the government setting out a…