Poorest households struggle to get £150 energy rebate
17/05/2022 The poorest households are struggling to get the £150 energy rebate that local authorities have been tasked with paying, an energy charity has warned. |
Universal Credit failing to meet basic cost of living, charity warns
17/05/2022 The £20 per week cut to Universal Credit (UC) means that the benefit is failing to meet the basic cost of living, a children’s charity has warned. |
Charity warns of 'rapid rise' in food poverty
09/05/2022 More than seven million people live in households that have been forced to skip meals because they couldn't afford or get access to food, new data has revealed. |
Communities should be empowered to tackle cost of living crisis
06/05/2022 Over two thirds of people responding to a recent poll argue that more power should be given to local communities to tackle the cost of living crisis. |
Benefit cuts force record 2.1 million households to rely on food banks
27/04/2022 The reduction in Universal Credits payments and the cost of living crisis have forced millions of people to rely on food bank parcels, Trussell Trust warns. |
Starmer calls for ‘more action’ on cost of living crisis
25/04/2022 Labour has called on the Government to bring forward an emergency budget to help the millions of people who are struggling with the cost of living crisis. |
Two-fifths of households struggle to pay bills
22/04/2022 Over two-fifths (41%) of households with children at home struggled to pay their bills over the past week, new research has revealed. |
Social care cap amendment threatens ‘crippling care costs’
22/04/2022 MPs in Yorkshire, the Midlands and North East should vote down the social care cap amendment to save poorer constituents from ‘crippling' costs, charities say. |
One in four disabled people struggle to pay for food
20/04/2022 A quarter of working-age disabled people already struggle to pay for essentials like food and heating and will be hit by cost of living crisis, charity warns. |
Whitehall urged to adopt action plan to help councils tackle fuel poverty
20/04/2022 Campaigners have urged the Government to implement a new action plan to help councils tackle fuel poverty. |
Councils need radical thinking at a time of crisis
14/04/2022 Professor Richard Murphy says councils need to cooperate to tackle the crises faced by communities, and he puts forward four ways of addressing social need. |
Cost of living crisis risks leaving levelling up ‘dead on arrival’
07/04/2022 The Government’s levelling up agenda could be undermined by a deepening North-South divide exacerbated by the cost of living crisis, a think tank has warned. |
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. |
Universal Credit cut forced 400,000 children into poverty
01/04/2022 Around 400,000 children were pulled out of poverty when UC was increased £20 per week, but these children were pushed back into poverty when UC was cut. |
Citizens Advice breaks crisis support record
01/04/2022 The charity Citizens Advice has for the third month in a row broken its record for providing crisis support. |
Households in ‘fuel stress’ set to double
01/04/2022 The number of English households in ‘fuel stress’ will double from 2.5 to 5 million as a result of the price cap rising from today, think tank warns. |
Welsh government announces £25m to roll out free school meals
31/03/2022 The Welsh government is investing £25m in school kitchen and dining infrastructure to roll out free school meals to all primary school children in Wales. |
Birmingham CC stops school holiday meal vouchers
30/03/2022 Birmingham City Council has confirmed that school holiday meal vouchers will no longer be provided by the local authority. |
Free school meals scheme could feed one million more children
25/03/2022 One million more school children could be fed if the sign-up process to the free school meals was simplified, local authority leaders have said. |
Labour leaders warn 12 million people face fuel poverty
18/03/2022 Labour leaders from across the UK have warned that April will bring the biggest fall in living standards in half a century. |
Two in five Brits claiming Universal Credit forced into debt
17/03/2022 The Chancellor is being urged to bring benefit levels in line with rate of inflation as hundreds of thousands of families struggle to cope with cost of living. |
Third of households unable to afford cost of living rises
14/03/2022 Over a third (34%) of households will be unable to afford the cost of living by £8,600 this spring, think tank says. |
Nearly a quarter of older households in England face ‘fuel stress’
11/03/2022 The increase in the cost of energy is set to impact one in four older households and four in five of the poorest, charity warns. |
Trade unions call for £200 fuel loan to be a grant
07/03/2022 Trade unions have called on the Government to protect working families against further energy price rises as a result of the Ukraine crisis. |
Campaigners warn 8.5 million households could face fuel poverty
07/03/2022 Charities and campaigners have warned that one in three households could be plunged into fuel poverty as a result of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. |
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. |
Council chiefs call for powers to crackdown on gambling
21/02/2022 Local authority leaders have called on the Government to toughen up regulations on the gambling industry to help protect vulnerable people. |
Smoking 'single largest driver' of health inequalities
09/02/2022 A third of smoking households in England are living in poverty with rates highest in the North, a new study has revealed. |
Welsh winter fuel support payments double to £200
01/02/2022 The Welsh government today announced that the Winter Fuel Support Scheme payment will be doubled to £200 as the cost-of-living crisis intensifies. |
Calls for urgent reform of UK’s welfare system
24/01/2022 The UK’s social security system is failing to protect low-income families from extreme hardship and urgently needs reforming, researchers have warned. |
More children 'sinking deeper into poverty' report warns
18/01/2022 People on the lowest incomes should receive an emergency payment from the Government to prevent rising energy costs from 'devastating' the poorest families, a new report has warned. |
Households suffering ‘fuel stress’ set to treble to over six million
17/01/2022 The number of households suffering from ‘fuel stress’ is set to treble this April to over six million as a result of the new energy price cap. |
‘Levelling up’ agenda undermined by pandemic response
14/12/2021 Incomes in London and the south-east have increased six times faster than in ‘red wall’ regions since the general election, new research reveals. |
In-work poverty ‘blights’ the lives of children, charity warns
07/12/2021 In-work poverty ‘blights the lives of children and young people’ and often goes undetected and ignored, a new study warns. |
Millions of people facing financial crisis this winter, charity warns
26/11/2021 A charity has called for urgent action after finding more than three million families are facing financial crisis this winter. |
Government needs clear strategy to tackle child poverty say MPs
22/09/2021 The Government must commit to a cross-departmental strategy to tackle child poverty, cross-party MPs have said today. |
Report warns UC uplift is 'lifeline' for vulnerable young people
15/09/2021 Vulnerable young people leaving supported housing will be disproportionately affected by the cut to Universal Credit, a new report has warned. |
Rashford launches campaign to end child food poverty
06/09/2021 England International Footballer, Marcus Rashford MBE, is today launching a new campaign to end child food poverty. |
Families facing 'tidal wave' of debt warns think tank
26/07/2021 A new partnership between bailiff companies and charities has been launched to help families facing a 'tidal wave' of debt due to the pandemic. |
New map reveals rates of hunger at local authority level
22/07/2021 Rates of hunger are 150% higher than the national average in one out of every six local authorities, academics have warned. |
Million children of key workers live in poverty, TUC reveals
14/07/2021 Over a million children of key workers are currently living in poverty, the TUC has revealed. |
Inquiry finds people in poorest areas 'nearly four times more likely' to die from COVID
06/07/2021 People living in the poorest parts of England were almost four times more likely to die from COVID-19 than those in the wealthiest areas, new research has uncovered. |
Northern cities and towns face a debt ‘avalanche’ warns think tank
23/06/2021 The withdrawal of COVID support this summer will hit people in the in the North and Midlands disproportionately hard and risks derailing the Government’s levelling up agenda, Centre for Cities has warned today. |
Pandemic hits disadvantaged pupils hardest, study reveals
07/06/2021 Disadvantaged pupils have experienced ‘greater learning losses’ than their more affluent peers, new research has found. |
Around 700,000 households forced to use food banks
13/05/2021 A study into the extent of hunger in the UK has revealed that nearly three-quarters of a million households were supported by a food bank in 2019/20 alone. |
Charity gives out record 2.5 million emergency food parcels
22/04/2021 Food bank networks have called for local authority support schemes to be prioritised as a record?2.5 million emergency food parcels are given out by just one charity over the lockdown. |
Government urged to consult on a national 'right to food' in England
07/04/2021 MPs have urged the Government to consult on a national 'right to food' and appoint a new minster for food security to prevent food poverty in England. |
UCL study calls for ‘21st century approach to prosperity’
16/03/2021 A new study has criticised the Government’s top down levelling-up agenda and calls for what it calls a ‘21st century approach to prosperity’. |
Councils welcome boost to COVID Winter Grant Scheme
15/03/2021 Council leaders have welcomed the £59m funding boost to the COVID Winter Grant Scheme to help support vulnerable families over the Easter period. |
Household food insecurity at 'crisis' levels warns report
02/03/2021 The Government must make food insecurity a priority and move away from short-term emergency measures, a new report has urged today. |
Pandemic pushes 450,000 families into housing debt, says report
16/02/2021 A further 450,000 families have fallen behind on their housing payments due to the impact of the pandemic, a think tank has warned today. |
MPs calls for year-long extension of Universal Credit uplift
09/02/2021 Mps have urged the chancellor to extend the £20 weekly increase for Universal Credit for at least a year to stop hundreds of thousands of people falling into poverty. |
Report highlights furniture poverty in social housing
22/01/2021 Only 2% of social rented properties are let as furnished or partly furnished, compared to 29% of private rented properties, new research has shown. |
COVID-19 living standards hit ‘ahead, rather than behind us’, think tank warns
18/01/2021 The coming year is set to mark the peak of the pandemic-induced living standards downturn for households, especially those on lower incomes, think tank warns. |
Council chiefs call for restoration of local welfare funding
13/01/2021 Local authority leaders have called on the Government to restore local welfare funding as a study warns of the impact the pandemic is having on people who were already struggling with poverty. |
Lockdown piles extra financial pressures on low income families
12/01/2021 The extra cost of food, energy, and entertaining and home-schooling children has meant that low-income families with children are twice as likely to have increased their spending during the pandemic, according to a new study. |
One million households face UC debt deductions
07/01/2021 More than one million households who were forced to claim universal credit (UC) when coronavirus struck are having debt deductions taken from their benefit payments, according to a child poverty charity. |
Babies ‘largely invisible’ in pandemic response
21/12/2020 Babies and young children have been forgotten in the Government’s response to the pandemic, health visitors warn. |
Footballer Marcus Rashford launches child food poverty website
21/12/2020 The England international footballer Marcus Rashford has launched a new website to support children and vulnerable people over the Christmas period. |
Councils urged to back £20 Universal Credit uplift
10/12/2020 Councils have been urged to lobby the Government to make the £20 uplift in Universal Credit permanent by trade union Unite. |
Study highlights ‘appalling’ rise in destitution in the UK
09/12/2020 The number of people experiencing destitution in the UK has increased by 54% in two years, a new study has found. |
Food poverty linked to mental and physical distress
10/11/2020 New research has revealed that people who have experienced food poverty are more likely to live with obesity and suffer from increased levels of physical and mental distress. |
Councils welcome £170m COVID winter grant scheme
09/11/2020 A new £170m COVID winter grant scheme will be distributed to councils to stop children going hungry during the second wave of the pandemic. |
Councils urged to appoint 'Food Champion'
05/11/2020 Councils have been urged to appoint a Food Champion and work with a Food Partnership in a bid to tackle food poverty. |
Charities tell PM to protect children from ‘winter of hunger’
04/11/2020 The UK’s leading children’s charities have joined forces to urge the Government to do more to protect children this winter. |
Faith leaders call for ‘cross-party strategy’ for tackling child poverty
02/11/2020 Faith leaders praise footballer Marcus Rashford’s campaign to extend free school meals and urge the Prime Minister to establish a cross-party commission with the mandate and resources to tackle child poverty in England. |
Think tank calls for a 'family stimulus' boost
28/10/2020 A 'family stimulus' would help support hard-hit families through the pandemic, a new report has said. |
Charity warns parents are struggling to cover school food costs
23/10/2020 Nearly one million children are living in households that are struggling to afford to feed their children during a school day, according to a new survey. |
Child poverty has risen most in Northern areas and Midlands, research finds
14/10/2020 Child poverty has risen fastest in parts of the Midlands and Northern towns and cities in the past four years, new research has revealed. |
Universal Credit does not cover ‘basic day to day living costs’, campaigners say
13/10/2020 Four in five people claiming Universal Credit do not have enough money to cover rent, food and bills, shocking new research reveals. |
Nearly one million children sign up for free school meals
12/10/2020 Around 900,000 children have newly registered for free school meals this Autumn, according to the Food Foundation. |
Scottish council becomes first to set an end poverty target
08/10/2020 The City of Edinburgh Council has become the first local authority to set an official end poverty date. |
Automated benefit system 'pushing people into poverty'
30/09/2020 The UK’s automated benefits systems is threatening the rights of people most at risk of poverty, campaigners have warned. |
Thousands of families face ‘bleakest’ winter, charity warns
14/09/2020 A new report from a children’s charity has warned of a ‘bleak’ winter with thousands of families set to be plunged into financial crisis. |
Low-income families ‘struggling’ under lockdown
25/08/2020 Coronavirus has left low-income families struggling with a significant deterioration in living standards and high stress levels, child poverty charity finds. |
Calls to extend free school meals to children from migrant families
17/08/2020 Pupils from low-income migrant families should receive free school meals to prevent thousands of children from going hungry, 60 organisations have said. |
A third more families with children now claiming universal credit
12/08/2020 Over 400,000 more families with children started claiming universal credit since the start of the pandemic, a charity has said. |
Nearly two thirds of families on Universal Credit stuck in debt ‘nightmare’
18/06/2020 Two charities have called on the Government to increase the child element of UC by £20 to help struggling families ‘stay afloat’ during the Covid lockdown. |
PM forced into U-turn on free school meals
16/06/2020 Council chiefs have welcomed the decision to provide a £120m voucher scheme to allow children from the poorest families get free school meals over the summer. |
Councils call for tougher action on ruthless loan sharks
08/06/2020 Council leaders are calling for tougher sentences for loan sharks who are pushing vulnerable people further into debt. |
Children 'cut adrift' due to four-year rise in poverty, campaigners warn
20/05/2020 Child poverty is ‘rising rapidly’ in Britain’s poorest communities, a report has warned today. |
Food banks report record level of need
01/05/2020 Food banks have warned they have seen record levels of need as the coronavirus pandemic causes more financial hardship for vulnerable families. |
Charities call for frontline feedback
29/04/2020 Sam Royston calls on emergency support providers to provide feedback on how Covid-19 is affecting their services. |
London has highest poverty rates, report shows
21/04/2020 London has greater levels of poverty than any other region in the UK, new figures have revealed today. |
Three million people go hungry since lockdown
14/04/2020 New figures show that three million adults have gone hungry in the first three weeks of lockdown, with 1.5 million going all day without eating. |
Charity calls for ‘emergency measures’ to tackle child poverty
27/03/2020 A charity dedicated to fighting child poverty has called on the Government to introduce a package of ‘emergency measures’ to lift children out of poverty. |
Families living in poverty ‘struggling to keep heads above water’
23/03/2020 A children’s charity has launched an emergency appeal to help families who fear they will ‘go under’ as a result of the economic and health impacts of the coronavirus pandemic. |
Study finds a tenth of 14-year olds 'blighted' by poverty
12/02/2020 A tenth of 14-year olds are living in persistent poverty, analysis by the Children's Society has found. |
Government fails to 'break the grip of poverty'
07/02/2020 Poverty has risen for children and pensioners in the past five years despite efforts to ‘level up’ Britain, new research has revealed. |
Work alone cannot eliminate poverty, think tank says
04/02/2020 Policy makers need to focus on further interventions to reduce poverty, think tank says as a new report warns that work alone cannot eliminate poverty. |
Charity warns of ‘Christmas childhood crisis’
06/12/2019 Three children in every primary class face Christmas without warmth or fresh food, a children’s charity has warned. |
No parties would reduce child poverty, warns think tank
26/11/2019 None of the party manifestos would reduce levels of child poverty, new research from the Resolution Foundation has found. |
Private renters overspending £11bn a year on rent
26/11/2019 Private renters in England are spending £11bn more a year on rent than they can afford, new research has shown. |
Child poverty in working households up by 800,000, TUC finds
18/11/2019 The number of children growing up in poverty in working households has shot up by 38% since 2010, according to the TUC. |
Food bank use ‘shoots up’ by a quarter in one year
14/11/2019 The number of people using food banks has shot up by nearly a quarter in the last year, according to one of the main providers. |
London councils ‘fail’ to challenge inequality, campaigners say
13/11/2019 Many London councils are failing to challenge poverty and inequality, according to campaigners. |
Benefit problems ‘widespread’ among food bank users
05/11/2019 Problems with the welfare system affected two-thirds of people at food banks over the last year, a charity has revealed. |
Millions struggling to pay council tax and household bills, study finds
08/10/2019 Nearly 1.6 million people are falling behind on their council tax payments, new research has revealed. |
Universal Credit drives food bank use, charity says
19/09/2019 A report from the main provider of food banks has warned that the roll out of Universal Credit has been a major factor behind the increase in food bank use. |
Poverty result of ‘political decisions’, MPs say
31/07/2019 The poverty and destitution levels in the UK are the result of political decisions made since 2010, MPs have said. |
Shell is helping power the journey towards a circular paving industry with Shell Bitumen LT R, a new product for roads that uses plastics destined for landfill as part of the additives to make the bitumen.
Effective Energy Group is now offering its support to the 40 Local Authorities who have received a share of the £430m to deliver their projects on the ground by surveying properties and installing measures.
Dougie Belmore explains how one of the main interfaces between you and Bacs is about to change.