A change is coming to child benefit. This Saturday, more families will become eligible as the earnings threshold at which you start losing child benefit increases. The government has finally recognised that ‘the way we treat child benefit in the tax system is confusing and unfair’ and proposed two changes to try to simplify it. It’s ironic that this confusion and unfairness was introduced by the government in the first place.
This blog explores some of the pros and cons of getting short-term assistance while challenging a determination to reduce or remove an award of adult disability payment (ADP) or child disability payment (CDP). Advisers should be aware that some people can be worse off in the long run.
More than 8,500 individuals and organisations gave evidence to the latest Work and Pensions Committee inquiry into benefit assessments. Carri Swann considers the government’s response.
We welcome the commitment from the Scottish government that tackling child poverty is a top priority. Scottish government policies are working. However, soaring inflation and real terms UK benefit cuts in 2022 mean the gap between family incomes and the minimum cost of raising a child is widening horribly. It is more important than ever that all budget decisions are developed through a child poverty lens to understand the direct and indirect impacts on low-income families.
Frances Ryan, Welfare Rights Worker at CPAG in Scotland, takes a look at ‘adult disability payment’ (ADP), a new disability benefit for working-age people who live in Scotland.
An update to the report we published at the beginning of 2021 highlighting that delays carrying out assessments for disability benefits meant that many disabled people were not receiving or were losing support intended to help them meet the additional costs of their disability.
This report highlights that delays carrying out assessments for benefits mean that many disabled people are not receiving, or are losing support, intended to help them meet the additional costs of ill health or disability.
This report focuses on social security issues during lock down, highlighting problems making and maintaining claims without support, difficulties participating telephone assessments and appeals, some PIP awards stopping and uncertainty about whether others would be extended, a number of severely disabled and terminally ill people not receiving additional amounts they were entitled to and a gap in support for some carers.