How to Fix Local Roads: Sustainable Road Maintenance Solutions for Local Government
Explore expert insights on sustainable road maintenance and pothole repair, and learn how local government can fix the road network with proactive strategies.
Starmer announces U-turn on winter fuel payment cuts
21/05/2025 Keir Starmer has said he would review the winter fuel entitlement policy after critics warned it would impact pensioners struggling with the cost of living. |
NHS backlog not driven by surge in benefit claims
02/05/2025 The increase in NHS waiting lists is unlikely to be connected to the recent surge in health-related benefits claims, according to the IFS. |
Celebrities speak out against cuts to disability support
20/03/2025 Celebrities, including Rosie Jones and Sir Stephen Fry, have spoken out against benefit cuts, arguing they will force disabled people to use food banks. |
Children's mental health crisis costs over £1tn
05/02/2025 The failure to tackle the children's mental health crisis costs the UK over £1tn in lifetime lost earnings, researchers focusing on mental health warn. |
Disability benefit claimants miss out on £4bn
31/01/2025 Benefit claimants received over £4bn less than they were entitled to in 2023-24 increasing the risk of financial hardship for those losing out, watchdog says. |
Growth alone won’t cut child poverty, research finds
29/01/2025 Labour will make no progress on child poverty by the end of this Parliament unless it invests in social security, new analysis has found. |
High Court blocks health benefit cuts
17/01/2025 Cuts to health benefits which were announced by the previous Government, and which are due to take effect in September, are unlawful, High Court rules. |
Council’s five-year appeals backlog uncovered
12/12/2024 Luton Borough Council had a backlog of benefits appeals cases dating back five years, an investigation has found. |
Scottish Government pledges to scrap two-child benefit cap
05/12/2024 The Scottish Government has announced plans to scrap Westminster’s ‘pernicious’ two-child cap on benefits. |
Just 5% of London private rentals affordable to low-income households
17/10/2024 Only 5% of private rental listings in London are affordable to households who use Local Housing Allowance (LHA) to pay their rent, new research has found. |
An alternative to Winter Fuel Payments
08/10/2024 Alex Clegg, economist at the Resolution Foundation, sets out a possible alternative to Winter Fuel Payments. |
Charity says 10,000 children have fallen into poverty under Labour
07/10/2024 The two-child benefit cap has pushed 10,000 children into poverty since the Labour Government took office, new research has found. |
Nearly eight million families at risk of ‘fuel stress’
30/09/2024 A think tank has urged the Government to support vulnerable people who are no longer eligible for winter fuel payments, warning that millions are at risk. |
£68m in Pension Credit is unclaimed, Kent says
30/09/2024 Almost 18,000 households in Kent could be missing out on a combined £68m in unclaimed Pension Credit, according to the county council. |
Starmer defeated in winter fuel payment vote
25/09/2024 The Labour leadership has lost a union-sponsored motion at the party’s conference that called on ministers to reverse the cuts to winter fuel payments. |
Government urged to reverse fuel payment cuts
20/09/2024 Councillors in Stockton have backed a motion urging the Government to reverse its ‘deeply unfair’ decision to stop providing the Winter Fuel Payment to millions of pensioners. |
Councils step up to help pensioners hit by winter fuel scheme cuts
16/09/2024 Councils are working to help older people keep their homes warm after the Government axed winter fuel payments for about 10 million pensioners. |
Half of universal credit claimants ran out of food last month
02/09/2024 Almost half of people (48%) claiming universal credit ran out of food last month and could not afford to buy more, a charity has found. |
Call for cross-government taskforce to avoid ‘crisis of care’
22/08/2024 More than a million extra people will be providing informal care over the next decade, a charity has said, calling for a government plan to avoid a ‘crisis of care’. |
Councillors advised to write off £1.25m of debts
06/08/2024 Officers have recommended that Peterborough City Council writes off £1.25m of ‘irrecoverable’ debts. |
Warning over cuts to Winter Fuel Payment
05/08/2024 Tens of thousands of older people face a financial cliff-edge because of changes to the Winter Fuel Payment, new analysis has revealed. |
Annual welfare spending to rise by £20bn
13/06/2024 Welfare spending is set to increase by £20.8bn a year by the end of the next parliament, a think-tank has found. |
‘Grossly unfair’ rule could be penalising 19,000 young carers
12/06/2024 A ‘grossly unfair’ Carer’s Allowance rule could mean more than 19,000 young adult carers are missing out on support while they study, a charity has warned. |
Child poverty ‘directly correlated’ with two-child benefit cap
06/06/2024 Child poverty is ‘directly and strongly’ correlated with the percentage of children affected by the two-child benefit cap within a constituency, analysis has found. |
The Carer’s Allowance scandal
22/05/2024 Government has a choice, says Kirsty McHugh of Carers Trust: continue to rely on the unpaid labour of millions or take action to give a fairer deal to carers. |
Unpaid carers forced to repay DWP over £250m
20/05/2024 The Government requires unpaid carers to pay back more than £250m after thousands were unknowingly overpaid their allowance. |
Government criticised over free school meals threshold freeze
14/05/2024 The Liberal Democrats have criticised the Government for failing to increase the income threshold for free school meals in line with inflation. |
New £64m WorkWell pilot programme announced
08/05/2024 The Government has announced a new £64m pilot programme called WorkWell to assist individuals with long-term health issues rejoin the workforce. |
Ministers propose disability benefits overhaul amid ‘spiralling’ costs
30/04/2024 Plans to overhaul the disability benefits system and ‘deliver better value for the taxpayer’ have been laid out by the Government. |
Years-old study into Carer’s Allowance to be published
25/04/2024 Research into how unpaid carers are impacted when they are forced to repay benefit overpayments will be published ‘shortly’, a minister has pledged. |
MPs call for Carer’s Allowance review
23/04/2024 MPs have called for a review of Carer’s Allowance as new figures showed rising numbers of benefit overpayments going undetected, The Guardian has reported. |
Blow to council hopes for cash boost
23/04/2024 The prospect of extra cash for councils has faded further with the latest public finance figures showing the UK borrowed more than expected last month. |
Proposed disability benefit reforms criticised
22/04/2024 The Prime Minister’s proposed Personal Independence Payments (PIP) reforms will ‘heap more misery’ on people with disabilities, charity says. |
£23bn in benefits goes unclaimed
19/04/2024 The total amount of unclaimed benefits in the UK is now £22.7 billion a year, analysis has found. |
MPs call for benefits ‘uprating guarantee’
25/03/2024 MPs have called for the introduction of an ‘uprating guarantee’ to uprate working-age benefits and the Local Housing Allowance rate on an annual basis. |
Young carers penalised by unfair ‘21 hour rule’
18/03/2024 Young carers who are dependent on Government support are unfairly penalised by the benefits system, a coalition of civil society organisations says. |
Majority on Universal Credit cannot afford enough food
20/02/2024 New research reveals the ‘devastating’ consequences of the inadequate Universal Credit system, according to anti-poverty charity The Trussell Trust. |
Keep carers in work to save £6bn, Government urged
19/02/2024 The UK economy will lose billions this year because of unpaid carers who are unable to work, a think-tank has warned. |
Suffolk council leaders warn of ‘catastrophic’ HRS proposals
13/02/2024 Suffolk council leaders have warned of ‘a catastrophic effect’ on vulnerable residents should Suffolk CC agree proposed Housing Related Support changes. |
Millions would need to double income to escape poverty, report warns
23/01/2024 Six million people in the UK would need to more than double their income just to escape poverty, a new report has found. |
Welsh councils commit to improving benefits system
22/01/2024 All local authorities in Wales have signed up to a new charter, committing to work with the Welsh Government to develop a consistent benefits system. |
Autumn Statement: Councils remain ‘chronically underfunded’
23/11/2023 Support for private renters, devolution, and planning departments is welcome but councils remain ‘chronically underfunded’, council chiefs tell Chancellor. |
Autumn Statement: Housing benefits unfrozen
22/11/2023 Housing benefits for private renters are set to increase as Jeremy Hunt confirms the uprating of Local Housing Allowance (LHA) rates in autumn statement. |
LGA calls for Healthy Start uplift
13/11/2023 The value of the Healthy Start scheme should be increased by 20% to compensate for food inflation, the Local Government Association (LGA) has said. |
Call for 'urgent action on deepening housing crisis'
10/11/2023 The council that increased new homes supply the most last year has urged the Government to take ‘urgent action’ on the ‘deepening housing crisis’. |
Government falling 'woefully short' on supported housing
10/11/2023 Vulnerable people are increasingly provided with poor quality supported housing and suffer ‘significant, detrimental’ impacts due to inadequate support, a report has found. |
Homelessness warning over LHA freeze
09/11/2023 A maintained freeze on local housing allowance (LHA) rates could push 60,000 Londoners into homelessness over the next six years, according to new analysis. |
One million UK children in poverty
24/10/2023 There were 3.8 million people, including a million children, living in destitution in the UK in 2022, with state support ‘relatively absent’, a new report has found. |
Disconnected job schemes failing to tackle unemployment
17/10/2023 Nine million people who are struggling to find work are at risk of being left out of the labour market because of a ‘complex patchwork’ of job schemes. |
LGA warns Hunt over housing allowance rates
16/10/2023 The LGA has warned chancellor Jeremy Hunt he will force more into homelessness unless he ends a three-year freeze on housing rental benefits. |
Child poverty warning over possible benefit freeze
16/10/2023 A freeze on working-age benefits would push 400,000 children into poverty, new research has found. |
Housing allowance freeze forcing more into homelessness, Government told
13/10/2023 More people will be forced into homelessness unless a three-year freeze on housing rental benefits is ended, the Government has been warned. |
Seven in 10 councils struggling amid cost of living crisis
03/10/2023 Seven in 10 councils are struggling to support people hit by the cost of living crisis, according to new research published today. |
Childcare expansion has ‘little to offer’ poorest families
26/09/2023 The free childcare expansion continues a trend of prioritising support for working parents rather than helping low-income families, financial experts warn. |
Claimants losing benefits in ‘managed migration’ to UC
31/08/2023 More than a quarter of claimants who are required to move to universal credit (UC) have not claimed UC and have had their tax credits stopped as a result, new analysis has revealed. |
Disabled people missing out on £24m every month
16/08/2023 Delays to Personal Independent Payment (PIP) reviews have left disabled people missing out on an estimated £24m every month, according to Citizens Advice. |
Rent arrears surge
02/08/2023 Four in five council landlords have reported growing rent arrears over the past year, according to the findings of a new survey. |
Childcare payments boosted by 47%
28/06/2023 Childcare payments to working families on universal credit are to increase from today by 47% in England, Scotland and Wales. |
Newly listed properties unaffordable to benefit recipients
27/06/2023 The proportion of newly listed private rental properties on Zoopla affordable to recipients of housing support has dropped from 23% to 5%, according to IFS. |
Vulnerable families facing £5,600 shortfalls
26/06/2023 The UK’s most vulnerable families are facing shortfalls of up to £5,600 this year due to the cost-of-living crisis, new research has revealed. |
Local Housing Allowance failing to cover costs
13/06/2023 The allowance paid to help people pay rent for private housing is failing to cover their costs, according to new analysis. |
Call for Government to share more data with councils
06/06/2023 Councils are struggling to reach households hit by the cost of living crisis due to the Government’s failure to share its data with local authorities. |
Seven in 10 children experiencing poverty in working households
05/06/2023 The number of children suffering poverty has shot up since support given during the COVID pandemic came to an end, according to new figures. |
Universal Credit childcare payments to rise nearly 50%
31/05/2023 Parents on Universal Credit will be able to claim hundreds of pounds more to cover childcare costs from the end of June, the Government has announced. |
Opportunities missed to help man who died of starvation
15/05/2023 A man with severe mental health problems died alone weighing four and a half stone after opportunities to help him were missed, a review of the case found. |
Nearly £19bn of benefits go unclaimed
02/05/2023 The total amount of unclaimed income-related benefits and social tariffs is now £18.7bn a year, a new study has found. |
Food banks hand out record 3 million food parcels
26/04/2023 A record number of food parcels have been given out over the last year to people struggling with the cost of living, UK’s largest food bank network reports. |
Landlords letting ‘non-decent’ homes get £1.6bn of benefits
19/04/2023 London Mayor Sadiq Khan is demanding action over the ‘scandal’ that billiions of pounds are being paid to landlords for substandard properties. |
Landlords accuse Government of complacency over benefits
18/04/2023 Landlords have accused the Government of complacency over tenants who cannot pay their housing costs. |
Million children in poverty due to limit on benefits
06/04/2023 The two-child limit for payment of benefits is affecting 1.5m children, with more than a million of them growing up in poverty, according to campaigners. |
Half of homeless children forced to move schools
09/03/2023 Almost half of school age children who have become homeless have been forced to move schools as a result of living in temporary homes, charity reveals. |
Benefits £140 a month below everyday costs
27/02/2023 Poverty campaigners have called for a shakeup in the UK’s welfare system after finding that benefits are at least £140 a month below basic everyday costs. |
Over 200,000 children missing out on free school meals
17/02/2023 Local authority leaders have called for the introduction of an automated sign-up system in order to expand access to free school meals to 215,000 children. |
Councils call for ‘fair’ benefits system to help vulnerable
31/01/2023 Councils have warned that vulnerable and less well-off people are being hit hardest by the cost of living crisis. |
Council calls for housing benefits funding review
20/01/2023 Councillors at Telford and Wrekin Council have called for an urgent review of the Government’s funding provision for housing benefits. |
One million private renters at risk of eviction
01/12/2022 One in 12 private renters in England – or nearly one million people – are currently under threat of eviction, housing charity reveals. |
Mini budgets, big budgets – the need for stability and direction is clear
14/11/2022 Sean Sutton argues revenues and benefits have always been at the forefront of implementing new and innovative ways of delivering services – no more so than in the current climate. |
Benefit cuts leave council welfare schemes ‘over-burdened’
28/10/2022 Cuts to benefits have left local authority-administered discretionary welfare support funds ‘over-burdened’, think tank warns. |
Benefits set to be 6% below pre-pandemic levels
19/10/2022 Benefits next year are on course to be 6% below their pre-pandemic levels, financial experts predict. |
Foodbank workers call on PM to increase benefits
17/10/2022 Thousands of food bank workers have signed a letter calling on the Prime Minister to increase benefits and to end the reliance on food banks. |
Benefit cuts to reduce incomes of nine million households
13/10/2022 Plans to cut benefits by increasing them below inflation will leave the poorest struggling to get by on incomes that will drop to levels not seen since 2000. |
Landlords call for cost-of-living plan
30/09/2022 Landlords have urged the Chancellor to adopt a cost-of-living plan for the private rented sector. |
75,000 children stuck in London’s temporary housing
30/09/2022 More than 75,000 children are housed in temporary accommodation in London because of a lack of affordable housing and low benefits. |
Six million people on disability benefits to receive £150
20/09/2022 Six million people who are paid certain disability benefits will begin to receive a one-off payment of £150 from today to help with the cost-of-living crisis. |
Disabilities charity calls for ‘immediate increase’ in benefits
12/09/2022 A charity has called for an ‘immediate increase’ in disability benefits and for more assistance with energy costs to help families with disabled children. |
London councils warn of ‘devastating’ homelessness spike
26/08/2022 The cost-of-living crisis and increases in private rents are set to cause a homelessness spike in the coming months, London boroughs have warned. |
Former PM warns of cost of living ‘humanitarian crisis’
08/08/2022 Government support to help with the cost of living crisis falls short for households on benefits and risks a 'humanitarian crisis', former PM says. |
Call to simplify devolved-benefits in Wales
28/07/2022 A new report has called on the Welsh Government to simplify the benefit system to help more people during the cost of living crisis. |
MPs call for pause in benefit deductions to help struggling families
27/07/2022 MPs have urged the DWP to pause deductions from benefits to help families who are struggling to get by due to the ongoing cost-of-living crisis. |
Seven more Scottish councils make Adult Disability Payment available
25/07/2022 The Adult Disability Payment is now available in seven more council areas in Scotland ahead of national roll out on 29 August. |
Disabled benefit claimants forced to wait five months for first payment
06/07/2022 Benefit claimants applying for disability support are waiting around five months on average to be awarded their first payment, financial experts have revealed. |
Over 820,000 households struggling to pay rent
08/06/2022 Landlords have called on the Chancellor to unfreeze housing benefit as they warn that hundreds of thousands of people struggle to pay their monthly rents. |
Council chiefs welcome £15bn cost of living package
26/05/2022 Local authority leaders have welcomed the Chancellor’s multi-billion-pound announcement of cost of living payments but called for a ‘longer-term solution’. |
MPs voice ‘concerns’ over lack of funding for Ukrainian refugees
04/05/2022 MPs have joined council leaders in calling on Government to provide councils with funding to support Ukrainian refugees arriving via the family visa scheme. |
Around 50% of Muslim households living in poverty
04/04/2022 Half of Muslim UK households are living in poverty and deprivation compared to 18% of the general UK population, an Islamic charity has revealed. |
Homeless deaths increase 80% in two years
31/03/2022 The number of people dying while homeless has increased by 80% in two years, shocking new research reveals. |
Household income to experience 'sharpest fall since mid-1970s’
08/03/2022 Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is likely to cause typical household incomes across Britain to fall by 4% in the coming financial year, think tank says. |
Nine million families will be £500 worse off from April, analysis reveals
25/02/2022 A real-terms cut to benefits could push 400,000 people into poverty by April, new analysis has warned today. |
Sunak unveils £150 council tax rebate
03/02/2022 Local authorities have been tasked with administering a council tax rebate and £144m fund to soften the impact of soaring energy prices. |
More social housing could save councils nearly £600m a year on housing support
18/10/2021 A new study has calculated that councils could save millions if money spent on housing support was invested in building homes in the social rented sector. |
