welfare reform
Flagship welfare reform is now not expected to be fully introduced until September 2024.
The UK sought to save £18 billion with the Welfare Reform Act of 2012. Today, one in five in Scotland are living in poverty.In this short documentary HuffPost UK and The Ferret follow Kim and Susan, two single mums trying to raise their children on Universal Credit.Just Surviving: A Decade Of Austerity In Scotland is a four-part documentary series.
Poorest families pushed to "breaking point", work and pensions select committee warns.
"Our welfare safety net is no longer holding up those most vulnerable in society."
Universal Credit, the largest welfare reform in a generation was supposed to make receiving benefits and getting back into work easier but for many this has had the opposite effect. Delays in payments, sanctions and underpayments have seen a rise in people being forced to use food banks, falling into rent arrears and even homelessness. Drawing on the experiences of those in The Wirral, where there’s been a 32% increase in food bank use since the roll out of UC in November 2017, volunteer groups like Fans Supporting Foodbanks and local politicians in Liverpool, are bracing themselves for the full rollout of universal credit.
The two child policy and the rape clause are not justifiable policies for a government which claims to support families
The government's own figures show the majority of single parents are not securing work to escape the cap, instead leaving them exposed to eviction and poverty
Figures show vast sums spent on health and disability assessment of benefit claimants - as charities call for urgent reforms.
Foodbank use is up 87% in Rudd's constituency since Universal Credit was rolled out - it's entirely appropriate she is now in charge of the policy
We’re seeing in foodbanks, debt centres and soup kitchens people being plunged deeper into poverty, misery and suffering