Today (Wednesday November 29) Labour MPs joined Unite Community members to call on the government to stop and fix the problems with Universal Credit before rolling it out any further across the UK….Read more…
Universal Credit crisis
Relentless Tory austerity threatens to plunge a million more children into poverty, a damning new report warns. Experts found the impact of years of Conservative cuts coupled with slashed…Read more…
PIP verdict victory
A man with a severe mental illness who was refused proper disability benefits has had the decision overturned at a tribunal thanks to the help of Unite Community volunteers. The vulnerable…Read more…
‘What a mess’
The incompetence of this Tory government is so palpable it is almost embarrassing. It’s an incompetence compounded by a heartlessness to those least able to resist. Chaos at the heart of the…Read more…
Why is housing benefit stopped when claiming Universal Credit?
The difficulties facing people on Universal Credit are now widely known. People making a claim are faced with a wait of 6 weeks or more before they get their first payment. One of the critical components of UC is the housing element which replaces hous…Read more…
Credit where it’s due
In a symbolic victory against the government’s cruel and botched rollout of Universal Credit (UC) – which has seen thousands of families fall through the cracks, facing eviction and hunger as their…Read more…
‘Toxic mix’
A ‘toxic mix’ of falling wages, a freeze to in-work benefits, along with cuts to Universal Credit and its botched introduction will hammer the incomes of workers this winter, Unite warned today…Read more…
‘Complete shambles’
The Tories botched roll out of a new benefit system will continue the government has said, despite cross-party warnings that it is leaving people without cash for months. Unite has demanded…Read more…
Universal Credit halt call
Calls for the Tories’ botched introduction of a new benefits system to be halted have grown louder, after it was revealed the roll out has led to an up-swing in food bank usage because people are…Read more…
#AutumnStatement Universal Credit changes won’t make up for cuts that hit families and low-paid workers
The Chancellor’s announcement of a small cut in the Universal Credit taper rate goes nowhere near making up for the cuts his predecessor announced in July 2015, which will leave many low-paid working families hundreds – even thousands – of pounds worse off a year. As the End Child…Read more…
Official: Universal Credit is “less generous” than tax credits
For the first time, an authoritative statutory body has recognised that the cuts to Universal Credit announced in last summer’s Budget will mean that it is much less generous than was originally planned, making it effectively a cut when compared with Working Tax Credit and Child Tax Credit which it…Read more…
‘Dehumanising’ trial extended
Hardworking families are now being targeted by the government’s vicious benefit sanctions regime, a major new study has found. As well as finding that vulnerable unemployed people are being…Read more…
Are you claiming the tax credits you’re entitled to?
If you’re eligible for tax credits, you really should check that you’re claiming all that you’re entitled to. It only takes a couple of minutes.
The article Are you claiming the tax credits…Read more…
Low-income workers urged to claim tax credits before universal credit arrives
Across the country the one million people in low-paid jobs who have yet to apply for tax credits should hurry up and do so before it’s too late and universal credit arrives in their area, say UNISON…Read more…
Chancellor creating a northern poorhouse with universal credit cuts, says UNISON
Nearly 31,000 working people in the North West stand to lose out as government cuts to universal credit work allowances kick in from today (Monday) warns UNISON. Cuts to universal credit were…Read more…
Punished for working
One would be forgiven for thinking that Google’s recent tax deal with the HMRC, which held the tech giant liable for only £130m over the last decade, must be an anomaly. Surely, the UK’s…Read more…
War on the poor
Benefits sanctions, in which people out of work are punished by having their benefits stopped for often absurd reasons, were significantly ramped up in 2012 under work and pensions secretary Iain…Read more…
The Six Week Wait – Already Causing Hardship
People getting the government’s new Universal Credit often have to wait six weeks for their first money and this is causing them problems with their bills, according to a new report. Some have had to turn to food banks. Waiting for Credit is a new report written by a group of 16…Read more…
Counting the cost of the tax credit changes
In his speech the Chancellor said that “It’s because we’ve taken…difficult decisions….that Britain is able to afford a pay rise. Because let me be clear: Britain deserves a pay rise and Britain is getting a pay rise.” It sounds great but when you look at his plans it turns out that…Read more…
Universal Credit: its impact on women experiencing financial abuse
This afternoon at TUC Women’s Conference, Women’s Aid CEO, Polly Neate, will launch a new TUC and Women’s Aid report on women’s experiences of financial abuse and how the introduction of Universal Credit will affect women in abusive relationships. We can’t say for sure how prevalent financial abuse…Read more…