VE Day: Council duties under the Armed Forces Covenant
As we mark the 80th anniversary of VE Day, Geoff Wild, Legal & Governance Consultant, looks at the duties of councils under the Armed Forces Covenant.
Number of children living in hygiene poverty surges
12/05/2025 A recent study has revealed a staggering number of children are living in hygiene poverty, with over one million children unable to access essential products such as shower gel, deodorant and toothpaste. |
One in three children in relative poverty
28/03/2025 Almost one in three children are living in relative poverty, according to the latest figures from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP). |
Ministers consider exemptions to benefit cap
27/02/2025 Parents of children under five reportedly could be exempt from the two-child benefit cap. |
Fife Council reaches £46m ‘turning point’
25/02/2025 Fife Council has reached a ‘turning point’ and will now have to save £46m, according to a new report by the Accounts Commission. |
Nearly 70,000 children to benefit from free breakfast clubs
24/02/2025 Around 67,000 children from some of the most deprived areas in England are set to receive free school breakfasts. |
‘Regressive’ council tax is a growing burden on poorest, report says
17/02/2025 The average council tax bill rose by 77% in real terms between 1994 and 2020, analysis has found. |
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. |
Labour urged to take action on child poverty
07/01/2025 The Government will need to take ‘action on multiple fronts’ to lift more children out of poverty, a think-tank has said. |
Children eligible for free school meals twice as likely to be absent
03/12/2024 A think-tank has warned that the costs of going to school are a barrier to regular attendance for some children from low-income families. |
Veterans are twice as likely to run out of food, research finds
11/11/2024 Adults who have served in the UK’s armed forces are almost twice as likely to have run out of food than those who have not, new research has found. |
Record nine million people face hunger and hardship
09/10/2024 A record 9.3 million people in the UK are facing hunger and hardship, including three million children, 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. |
Making digital poverty history
08/10/2024 Elizabeth Anderson, CEO of Digital Poverty Alliance, discusses the role of local government when it comes to tackling digital poverty. |
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. |
Household Support Fund extended six months
02/09/2024 The Household Support Fund (HSF) will be extended for another six months, Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall has confirmed. |
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’. |
Charities call for single social water tariff
21/08/2024 The Government has been urged to introduce a single social tariff for water to end the ‘unfair postcode lottery’ of support in England and Wales. |
NextGov: Ending the need for food banks
27/06/2024 Trussell Trust policy manager Beatrice Orchard and research officer Adrianne Clarke set out what the next government can do to end the need for food banks. |
Decades of ‘neglect’ have left children shorter and overweight
19/06/2024 Children in England are getting shorter, more obese and sicker because of poor diets, food insecurity and poverty, health experts warn. |
NextGov: Scrapping the two-child benefit cap
17/06/2024 Rachel Walters, ECPC, and Amanda Bailey, NECPC, argue the next government should scrap the two-child limit on benefit payments. |
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. |
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. |
Food bank charity distributes record 3.1m parcels
15/05/2024 A record 3.1 million food parcels were distributed by the food bank network Trussell Trust this year – nearly double the number provided five years ago. |
Sir Marmot sends MPs damning letter on their constituents’ health
01/05/2024 Health inequality expert Sir Michael Marmot has urged MPs and council leaders to act after a report found government policies were ‘cutting people’s lives short’. |
Tax cuts could drive 55,000 into poverty
05/03/2024 Tax cuts reportedly being considered by the Chancellor in tomorrow's Budget could result in tens of thousands of people being driven into poverty. |
Chancellor needs to show compassion to most vulnerable
05/03/2024 Cllr Elizabeth Campbell, leader, Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, urges the Chancellor to renew the Household Support Fund. |
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. |
Scotland’s public services ‘crumbling’
19/02/2024 Scots have observed worsening poverty and public services are failing to address social problem, according to a new report. |
Crisis support requests quadruple in five years, FOI reveals
06/02/2024 Applications to council crisis funds for help with beds for children have more than quadrupled in half a decade, a children’s charity has revealed. |
Household Support Fund doubt leaving councils ‘in limbo’
05/02/2024 Councils have urged the Government to commit to extending the Household Support Fund (HSF) at a time of ‘record demand’. |
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. |
5,000 winter deaths caused by cold, damp homes
18/01/2024 Cold, damp homes caused an estimated 4,950 excess winter deaths in 2022-23, according to the End Fuel Poverty Coalition. |
End-of-life care issues ‘still far too common’
21/12/2023 Issues faced by people receiving end-of-life care 70 years ago, including poverty and isolation, are ‘still far too common’, according to a new report. |
New index exposes deprivation disparities
12/12/2023 A ‘novel methodology’ has uncovered stark inequalities between different ethnic groups in small residential areas. |
'Critical' to maintain progress, Dundee told
30/11/2023 A finance watchdog has said Dundee City Council is ‘well-run’ but ‘long-standing difficulties remain’ to be tackled in its improvement journey. |
School support staff paying for pupils’ essentials
24/11/2023 The cost-of-living crisis is forcing school support staff to use their own money to help pay for pupils’ food and clothing, union reveals. |
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. |
Fighting poverty at the local level
18/10/2023 This week for London Challenge Poverty Week John McGeachy, campaigns manager for Age UK London talks poverty amongst older people and what councils can do. |
Families with children struggling most with living costs
18/10/2023 Action for Children have found that one in five homes with children, a total of 1.5 million households, are struggling with ‘serious financial difficulties’. |
Food banks warn of ‘worst winter yet’
18/10/2023 A record 600,000 people will need the support of a food bank this winter, according to the Trussell Trust. |
Home upgrades drop off in north east
17/10/2023 The number of government-funded projects to upgrade cold and draughty homes in north east England has significantly reduced, according to climate change charity Ashden. |
‘Strong correlation’ between poverty and shortage of green space
16/10/2023 There is a ‘strong correlation’ between deprivation and a lack of green space, a new report into Local Green Spaces (LGS) has found. |
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. |
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. |
One in 20 children sleeping on the floor, survey finds
29/09/2023 More than a million British children may be sleeping on the floor or having to share beds, a children’s charity has found. |
Mental health services ‘under increasing pressure’
26/09/2023 Council leaders have called for long term funding for mental health services in response to a study that warns the prevalence of depression is set to increase. |
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. |
Government set to fail to meet rough sleeping target
25/09/2023 The Government will fail to meet its target to end rough sleeping because of a ‘chronic shortage’ of affordable housing and support services, experts warn. |
Over 900 children in Stockport receive free school meals
20/09/2023 Over 900 children in Stockport are being provided with free school meals thanks to a council-run scheme. |
Estimated £36bn needed to combat poverty
06/09/2023 The Government needs to find £36bn to combat poverty effectively, according to the cross-party Poverty Strategy Commission. |
Sadiq Khan expands Pension Credit campaign
22/08/2023 The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has announced the expansion of a scheme that has helped Londoners receive an additional £8.4m in unclaimed Pension Credit. |
Time to ban the use of bailiffs
21/08/2023 Councils have the power to end the use of bailiffs for good. It’s time for them to show leadership, says Joe Cox, senior policy officer, Debt Justice. |
Areas with low social mobility face funding ‘penalty’
11/08/2023 The areas with the highest levels of social mobility receive 50% more in Whitehall grants than the least socially mobile areas, think tank Onward says. |
Disadvantaged women in North East dying early
10/07/2023 Disadvantaged women in the North East are dying prematurely as public services are failing to meet their needs, according to a new report. |
Older adults who left workforce during pandemic facing poverty
07/07/2023 Nearly half of the older adults who left the workforce during the first year of the pandemic ended up in relative poverty, new research has revealed. |
Nearly 13 million adults facing ‘debt crisis’
03/07/2023 The number of households struggling under a heavy debt burden has increased by two thirds since 2017, a debt charity has warned. |
Low-income households in Bristol could pay more council tax
29/06/2023 Bristol City Council is considering reducing the support it gives low-income working age households to pay their council tax. |
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. |
Prince William unveils campaign to tackle homelessness
26/06/2023 Prince William is launching a campaign with the aim of ending long-term homelessness, which he says should not exist in a ‘modern and progressive society’. |
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. |
Council tax arrears hit ‘historic high’ of £5.5bn
26/06/2023 The amount of unpaid council tax has reached a ‘new historic high’ of £5.5bn, according to official figures released by the DLUHC. |
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. |
Record number of children at risk of exploitation
05/06/2023 A record number of children are at risk of exploitation because families will be unable to afford activities over the holidays, Barnardo's warns. |
COVID impacted GCSE success rate for poorer children
26/05/2023 Children whose families used food banks during the COVID pandemic did worse at their GCSEs than expected, according to a study. |
Rising food bills to hit poorest harder than energy costs
19/05/2023 The rising cost of food will soon overtake the price of energy, hitting poorer households hardest, campaigners have warned. |
Scottish councils ‘uniquely placed’ to assist reform
17/05/2023 Councils are well-placed to deliver the key aims of Scotland’s government – such as tackling child poverty and net zero – but need funding, experts warn. |
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. |
Over 8m families receive cost-of-living support
25/04/2023 Over eight million low-income families are set to receive £301 cost-of-living payment from today. |
More than 4,000 people die while homeless
20/04/2023 More than 4,000 people have died while homeless in the UK since 2019, according to campaigners, many in unregulated taxpayer-funded ‘exempt’ accommodation. |
Khan urged to provide more information on free school meals
20/04/2023 Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has been urged to provide more information about how he will implement his free school meals initiative. |
‘Broken’ housing system forcing 310,000 children to share beds
19/04/2023 More than 310,000 children in England are forced to share beds with other family members because of overcrowding, according to housing campaigners. |
Islington Council scraps library fines
17/04/2023 Islington residents who have an overdue library book can now return it without fear of being penalized, the local authority has said. |
Health of over 2.5m young people affected by poor housing
17/04/2023 Many young people are suffering physically and mentally because of poor quality housing, according to poverty campaigners. |
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. |
Quarter of households with children face food insecurity
03/04/2023 Over a quarter of UK households that are home to children under four experienced food insecurity in January, a new study has revealed. |
Austerity made country poorer, think tank says
30/03/2023 The UK’s long-term failure to invest in transport, housing, healthcare and local services has made Britain poorer, according to the Resolution Foundation. |
Social workers report helping vulnerable out of their own pockets
21/03/2023 A third of social workers are using their own resources to help the people they work with, a new survey has revealed. |
Ombudsman warns councils ‘not getting it right’ on homelessness
21/03/2023 Vulnerable people are facing homelessness because some councils are ‘still not getting it right’, according to the local government ombudsman. |
Local health chiefs warn of ‘second health emergency’
21/03/2023 The increase in costs of essential food items and energy has created a ‘second health emergency’ after the COVID pandemic, local health chiefs have warned. |
Welsh council chiefs welcome free school meal extension
10/03/2023 Councils in Wales have welcomed the Welsh government’s announcement that free school meals will continue for children from lower income families over holidays. |
Third of parents worried about losing their home, charity warns
08/03/2023 A third of parents are worried about losing their home because of the cost-of-living crisis, according to campaigners. |
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. |
Liverpool council apologises for treatment of homeless sick man
23/02/2023 Liverpool City Council has apologised after a man who needed surgery was left living on the streets for six months during the COVID pandemic. |
Vulnerable households to benefit from £842m boost
21/02/2023 Council leaders have welcomed the announcement of £842m of support for most vulnerable, but call for more long-term protection for struggling households. |
Food banks ‘overwhelmed’ by increases in demand
20/02/2023 The majority of independent food banks have reported that they are ‘overwhelmed’ by the increasing demand for their services as food inflation hits 16.7%. |
Khan announces £130m free school meal funding
20/02/2023 Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, today announced £130m would be made available to ensure all primary schoolchildren in the capital can receive free school meals. |
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. |
Birmingham food banks ‘running short of supplies’
16/02/2023 The leader of Birmingham City Council has warned that the city’s food banks are ‘running short of supplies’. |
Council launches £120,000 poverty grant scheme
03/02/2023 Central Bedfordshire Council is launching a grant scheme to help local charities and voluntary groups which support people in poverty. |
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. |
Nearly 70% rise in households struggling with costs
30/01/2023 A think tank has renewed calls for the Government to help people struggling with rising housing costs. |
Council chiefs call for extra support for 13.4m in poverty
26/01/2023 Millions of people still face poverty despite recent support, council leaders warn as shocking new study that reveals four million children in poor households. |
Household Support Fund should be permanent, council chiefs say
09/01/2023 The Government should make the Household Support Fund it has provided to councils permanent to help with the cost-of-living crisis, council leaders say. |
Council proposes stopping council tax for poorer families
22/12/2022 Stafford Borough Council is proposing changes to its local council tax reduction scheme which will mean some families will pay no council tax next year. |
Teachers cooking and cleaning for students, survey reveals
19/12/2022 Cost of living crisis has driven a large proportion of teachers to cook and clean clothes for their students and to provide them with supplies, poll reveals. |
Cost-of-living anxiety reaches new heights in London
13/12/2022 Anxiety about the cost of living has reached new heights in the capital as Christmas approaches, new polling reveals. |
Council offers food banks £800 per month
05/12/2022 Birmingham City Council has made almost £500,000 worth of grants available to projects providing food to residents. |
New regulatory body for bailiffs launched
30/11/2022 A new regulatory body for bailiffs was launched today as new figures reveal over a third of families fear the cost-of-living crisis will force them into debt. |
Unpaid family carers facing ‘dire poverty’
29/11/2022 Unpaid family carers are experiencing unprecedented financial hardship with many now forced to use food banks, new research reveals. |
One third of surveyed single parents skipping meals
25/11/2022 Single parents are being forced to skip meals because of the cost of living crisis, new research reveals. |
