Councils click into the future of planning
In town halls across the country, planning officers are racing to update their Local Plans — but this time, the process looks very different.
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. |
Children face holiday hunger without support fund
21/08/2024 Children in more than a quarter of council areas could go hungry during the upcoming school holidays if the Household Support Fund (HSF) is not extended. |
Local welfare assistance in London increased 368% during pandemic
24/09/2021 London boroughs dramatically increased welfare assistance for residents during the pandemic and warn that the financial pressure is only going to worsen. |
COVID welfare claimants seen as more deserving than pre-pandemic claimants
02/09/2021 New research has revealed that COVID-19 benefit claimants are seen as much more deserving of welfare support than pre-pandemic claimants. |
Councils must strengthen the safety net to aid recovery
30/03/2021 Toby North of The Children’s Society argues that councils should be providing a safety net for struggling residents through Local Welfare Assistance Schemes. |
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. |
Budget 2021: Universal credit boost extended for six months
03/03/2021 The £20 uplift to Universal Credit has been extended for a further six months, the chancellor has confirmed in his Budget today. |
Red Cross calls for £250m top up for local welfare assistance schemes
08/02/2021 Local authorities should receive an extra £250m a year to help improve access to emergency cash, a charity has said today. |
Johnson to launch £63m local welfare assistance fund
11/06/2020 The prime minister has announced the creation of a £63m local welfare assistance fund to support the most vulnerable families. |
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Local welfare schemes cut by £250m in past decade
29/05/2020 Councils should be allocated an extra £275m to help give emergency support to families in crisis, a charity has said. |
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DWP admits overestimating number of disabled people due benefit refunds
21/10/2019 The Department for Work and Pensions has overestimated the number of sick and disabled people due benefit refunds. |
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Housing benefits should be ‘at least’ 30% of market rates, London Councils says
09/05/2019 London boroughs have called on Whitehall to lift the Local Housing Allowance to at least 30% of local market rates for private sector accommodation to help ease the pressure on councils. |
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Children missing out on ‘vital emergency support’ due to cuts
18/03/2019 New research from a children’s charity has revealed that young people are paying the price of Government cuts in crisis support, with many parents struggling to afford food and clothing. |
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Local welfare cuts leave millions facing ‘financial exclusion’
19/02/2019 Local authority leaders have warned that millions of low-income households are ‘facing debt and financial exclusion’ due to Whitehall cuts. |
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Minister claims UC claimants ‘happy with service’ despite criticisms
22/06/2018 A minister has defended Universal Credit against damning criticism from auditors, describing it as ‘an agile, adaptable system, fit for the 21st century’. |
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Benefit cuts forcing young people into homelessness, charity says
01/06/2018 Welfare restrictions are forcing young people into homelessness despite recent Government reforms, charity says. |
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Ombudsman criticises council for cutting disabled man’s support
31/05/2018 A London council has been fined nearly £3,000 for cutting support for a disabled man. |
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Call for more support for young people living independently
23/05/2018 The Government must do more to support young people who are living independently, MPs say. |
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Calls to Universal Credit helpline free, Whitehall confirms
30/11/2017 All calls to helplines for the Universal Credit benefits are now free, the Government has confirmed. |
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Councils warn welfare reforms are undermining efforts to reduce homelessness
21/09/2017 Councils and housing associations have reported it is becoming harder to work together to reduce homelessness due to welfare reforms, new survey has revealed. |
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Local welfare schemes at 'risk of collapse'
13/09/2017 Local schemes to help people facing financial emergencies is 'in meltdown' and at risk of collapsing altogether, researchers have warned. |
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Housing benefit freeze risks increasing homelessness, charity says
06/03/2017 The Government’s freeze on housing benefits could leave some private renters in work at risk of eviction, new study says. |
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Proposed Jobcentre Plus reforms ‘significant missed opportunity’
27/01/2017 The Government’s proposals to merge Jobcentre Plus offices and benefit centres are ‘a significant missed opportunity’, say council chiefs. |
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Council blasts 'false economy' of lowering benefit cap
30/09/2016 A study by welfare chiefs at Liverpool City Council has revealed an additional 710 families will be affected by the government’s lowering of the benefit cap. |
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Report: Boost to poorest from jobs boom will be undone by welfare cuts
02/03/2016 Despite jobs growth lifting 400,000 children out of poverty over the last year, welfare and tax credit cuts will result in the poorest seeing no growth in their incomes for the next five years, a report has found. |
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130k children pushed into poverty by childcare costs, warn campaigners
22/06/2015 Hundreds of thousands of children have been into poverty thanks to rising childcare costs, campaigners have warned. |
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Government leaving £15bn payment by results schemes ‘unmonitored’, says watchdog
19/06/2015 The Government has no idea whether its payment-by-results schemes are providing value for money, according to its own spending watchdog. |
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UK ‘ashamed’ as foodbank use reaches historic high
22/04/2015 A record one million people received at least three days of emergency help from foodbanks run by the Trussell Trust last year, figures reveal. |
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Cuts to local services and welfare linked to soaring foodbank use
09/04/2015 A rapid rise in the number of foodbanks across the UK has been linked to cuts in local services and welfare. |
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Charity blames rise in rough sleepers on benefit cuts
27/02/2015 A 55% rise in the number of people sleeping rough since 2010 has been linked to Coalition benefit cuts and welfare reforms. |
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Upper-tier councils secure £74m for welfare and social care
04/02/2015 Councils have been awarded an extra £74m for social care and local welfare, as the government confirms local government funding for 2015/16. |
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Scrapping of local welfare funding an ‘expensive mistake’, say councils
29/01/2015 Plans to scrap government support for local welfare assistance could put thousands at risk of homelessness and cost hundreds of millions of pounds, councils claim. |
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Plans to raise maximum fine for benefit fraud to £5,000
29/01/2015 Maximum penalties for benefit fraud could be more than doubled under government proposal to be debated by MPs today. |
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‘Punitive’ benefit curbs means bleak Christmas for 80,000 families
22/12/2014 Families hit by the Government's ‘punitive and controversial’ benefits policy will lose an estimated £20m – £250 each on average – according to the Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS). |
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Welfare reforms fail to deliver expected savings finds report
18/11/2014 The Government’s programme of welfare reforms has fallen way short of its target to reduce spending by £19bn this year – opening the door to further benefit cuts. |
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LGA: Cut to council crisis funding would affect ‘thousands’
06/10/2014 Three-quarters of councils will scrap or shrink support for England’s most vulnerable people if the Government cuts funding next year, leaders claim. |
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Cuts to emergency support put vulnerable at risk, says new report
01/07/2014 London Councils is warning that government plans to withdraw £27m of emergency support put the most vulnerable at risk. |
