Tag Archives: welfare
Food bank Britain: Thousands need charity handouts because of welfare system failings
THOUSANDS of people are relying on food banks to survive because of failings in the welfare system.
A Sunday Express investigation has uncovered scores of cases in which people need charity handouts after being denied benefits because of administration errors and punitive sanctions.
As many as 580,000 cuts to benefit payments were made between October 2012 and June 2013, a six per cent rise on the same period a year earlier, before rules were toughened.
Employment Minister Esther McVey said the sanctions, or cuts to benefits are used only against those who were “wilfully rejecting support for no good reason”.
Welfare changes for disabled people delayed
The government said the process of reassessing people was taking longer than planned
People will move from Disability Living Allowance to the Personal Independence Payment next week in only certain areas instead of the whole of Great Britain.
Work and pensions minister Mike Penning said the process of reassessing people was “taking longer than expected”.
Shadow work and pensions secretary Rachel Reeves said it was the “latest example of chaos” in the department.
‘Controlled approach’
Claimants will remain on Disability Living Allowance (DLA) for the time being except those in Wales, the East and West Midlands and East Anglia who will transfer to Personal Independence Payment (PIP) from Monday if their condition changes.
Towns and cities that will be hardest hit by government welfare reforms
Welfare reforms ‘will take £19bn A YEAR out of economy and hit poorest hardest’
CONTROVERSIAL new welfare reforms to be implemented by the Government will take almost £19 billion a year out of the UK economy, researchers revealed today.
Researchers assessed the financial impact of changes made by the Conservative-led coalition to housing benefit – including the so-called bedroom tax on public housing tenants who have unused rooms – disability living allowance, child benefit, tax credits, council tax benefit and several other hand-outs.
Professor Steve Fothergill, from Sheffield Hallam’s Centre for Regional Economic and Social Research, led the study, which was based on a range of official statistics.
