In Budget 2025, the government has set out that – the universal credit standard allowance will increase by more than 6 per cent in April 2026 in line with the Universal Credit Act 2025;other working age benefit rates covered by the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions’ statutory review will be increased by 3.8…
Tag: Universal Credit
Budget 2025 fact sheet: Cutting the Cost of Living
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/budget-2025-fact-sheet-cutting-the-cost-of-living This Budget takes levies off energy bills to save families £150 on average next year, and up to £300 for some poorer households. The historic decision to remove the two-child limit in full from April 2026 will lift 450,000 children out of poverty -rising to around 550,000 alongside other measures announced this year, such…
Check how Universal Credit is changing in 2026
If you have a long-term health condition or a disabilityYou might get an additional payment with your Universal Credit called the ‘limited capability for work-related activity’ (LCWRA) element. This is £423.27 extra each month, but the amount will be smaller for most people who start getting it on, or after, 6 April 2026 – it…
Government agrees to end ‘rigid focus’ on weekly 35-hour job search rules after Committee report
The Government has signalled it will end the ‘rigid focus’ on the 35-hour a week job search requirements for out of work benefit claimants after a Work and Pensions Committee report called on it to scrap blanket benefit requirements. In its response to the Committee’s Get Britain Working: Reforming Jobcentres report published today, the DWP…
Top 5 scams you need to know
It’s not always easy to spot scams. Scammers are coming up with new ways to manipulate people, which is why it’s important you know which signs to look out for and what steps you can take to protect yourself. Use our online tool to check if something might be a scam and find out more…
Local Housing Allowance rates have been realigned to market rents in just two of the last 13 years.
Local Housing Allowance rates have been realigned to market rents in just two of the last 13 years. Current Government policy, reflected in the official forecasts, is for them to remain frozen for another four years. https://x.com/resfoundation/status/1982024694099280302?s=19 When LHA is frozen, rent rises soon wipe out increases in other income https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/publications/housing-outlook-q4-2025/
CPI inflation has held steady at 3.8% in September.
CPI inflation has held steady at 3.8% in September. This means the Universal Credit standard allowance will be uprated by at least 6.2% in April – a boost worth nearly £6 per week. Had inflation hit 4% in Sept, as widely forecast, UC would have got a lightly bigger 6.4% boost next spring.
No need for a moral panic about the welfare system
https://www.ft.com/content/ee67c643-01bc-41f6-a4e2-c738deef129e Britain is in the grip of a moral panic over welfare benefits. The preferred adjective for the costs of social security benefits to those not yet at pension age is “spiralling”, and it is used as much by Labour ministers as by the opposition. Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch has expressed horror at 6.5mn working-age…
Work Capability Assessment delays are leaving disabled people in limbo
https://wearecitizensadvice.org.uk/work-capability-assessment-delays-are-leaving-disabled-people-in-limbo-a1deb1e457cb Disabled people can get extra support under Universal Credit (UC) if they’re found eligible after a Work Capability Assessment (WCA). But many of those who come to Citizens Advice are waiting months, if not over a year, for this assessment. In the meantime, many struggle to afford essential costs and risk being pushed into…
Job advisers to be embedded in GP surgeries in Brighton
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/job-advisers-to-be-embedded-in-gp-surgeries-as-tens-of-thousands-more-sick-and-disabled-people-offered-help-into-work Connect to Work delivery area Lead authority Included authorities (^ indicates lead) Funding (rounded down to nearest £0.1) Number of people set to support (rounded down to nearest 50) West Sussex and Brighton West Sussex County Council ^West Sussex County Council, Brighton and Hove City Council £15.6m 3,950 – Funding includes putting specialist employment…