In the run up to the long awaited Comprehensive Spending Review the Chancellor, George Osborne, had promised that he was "not going to balance the (budget) books on the backs of the poor". He also assured that "fairness" would be at the heart of welfare reforms. Read more...
The Chancellor, George Osborne, recently announced that the Child Benefit is to be withdrawn for higher tax payers from 2013. The Secretary of State for Works and Pensions, Ian Duncan Smith, further stated that Child Benefit will be absorbed into ‘Universal Credit’ and so become means- tested by 2017.
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The coalition government announced a spending review that is due to be published on the 20th October and all of the Departments have been told to slash at least 25% and for the Department for Work and Pensions [DWP] who deal with Benefits have been told to slash up to 40%. Why? Because according to the Coalition, the benefits system is one of the biggest offenders of public spending.
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In the emergency budget earlier this year, the government announced reforms to Disability Living Allowance (DLA), the government aim to introduce a medical assessment in 2013/2014 for all claimants. Read more...
The General Election in Britain is only a few weeks and in its wake the first Presidential style debate between leaders of the three main political parties in Britain was recently conducted. In that debate, which of course received considerable publicity and media coverage each leader set out its party’s Welfare Benefit and Tax Credits manifesto amongst other things in summary.
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There is a common stigma about people who are ‘claiming’ to be ill in order to receive sickness benefits.
Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) is a new benefit directed at those who are incapable of work due to illness or disabilities. It is often referred to as ‘being on the sick.’ ESA came into force on 27th October 2008 and replaced Incapacity Benefit or Income Support paid on incapacity grounds. Read more...
Everyday the newspapers and the media report soldiers dying everyday in Iraq and Afghanistan, we hear of the tragic circumstances of how they died and what regiment they were a member of. There is also a short piece informing us of the grieving relatives they leave behind. These stories are very upsetting and distressing for us however the war still goes on and lives are lost everyday. Read more...
A recent Court of Appeal decision considered whether a local authority had a duty of care towards its social housing tenants. Read more...