Autumn Statement: Last News

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has already implemented a series of benefit changes this year, with more expected in the coming months.

A fifth of households claiming legacy benefits have had them stopped after failing to switch to Universal Credit before the deadline on the Migration Notice letter, a new report has found. The National Audit Office (NAO) called on the UK Government to ensure people are getting the benefits they are entitled to as the Managed Migration process of moving people from the older benefits system continues.

The People’s Forum on the channel on February 12, answering questions from a live audience, with many complaining that no alternative point of view was offered during the broadcast.In a statement, Ofcom said: “We have received around 500 complaints about the programme which aired on GB News.“We are investigating under Rules 5.11 and 5.12 of the Broadcasting Code which provide additional due impartiality requirements for programmes dealing with matters of major political controversy and major matters relating to current public policy.“Specifically, Rules 5.11 and 5.12 require that an appropriately wide range of significant views must be included and given due weight in such programmes, or in clearly linked and timely programmes.”The presenter Stephen Dixon said during the show that the questions were being posed by undecided voters, and that they had not been seen in advance, either by GB News or by Sunak.An official spokesperson for Sunak said that the prime minister has no regrets about his appearance on the show and that “this is a matter for Ofcom”.Ofcom, which sets the rules by which broadcasters must abide, does not insist that equal time is given to opposing political views, but does say that audiences must be exposed to alternative ways of thinking.GB News has been found to have fallen foul of Ofcom rules in the past, including when Chancellor Jeremy Hunt was interviewed by fellow Conservative MPs Esther McVey and Philip Davies about his Autumn Statement.The channel’s policy of allowing active political figures to host shows, including Jacob Rees-Mogg and Lee Anderson, is also contentious.

Millions of employees are set for a boost in their take-home pay from this month after the main rate of class 1 National Insurance (NI) deductions was cut from 12 per cent to 10 per cent on Saturday, January 6. The change will mean an average worker on a salary of £35,400 will get a tax cut of more than £450 in 2024/25, while an employee earning £50,000 will pay £3,743 in National Insurance after the change, saving about £749.

A new online petition is calling on the UK Government to remove income tax on the State Pension to “reduce the tax burden on pensioners”. The personal tax allowance threshold will remain frozen at £12,570 during the 2024/25 financial year, which means that older people with an income of more than £242 per week may have to pay income tax.

Nearly 1.5 million older people with a long-term health condition claiming Attendance Allowance are set for a significant income boost in April following confirmation from Chancellor Jeremy Hunt that benefits will rise in line with the September Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation figure of 6.7 per cent. During the Autumn Statement, the Chancellor also announced that the State Pension will increase by 8.5 per cent - the earnings growth measure of the Triple Lock policy.

Cuts to national insurance will see millions of workers earn more money on their paycheck, according to the government.

Millions of workers will see a cut to their National Insurance obligations this week.

Nearly 1.5 million older people with a long-term health condition claiming Attendance Allowance are set for a significant income boost next April following confirmation from Chancellor Jeremy Hunt that benefits will rise in line with the September Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation figure of 6.7 per cent. During the Autumn Statement, the Chancellor also announced that State Pensions will increase by 8.5 per cent - the earnings growth measure of the Triple Lock policy.

Millions of people on disability benefits including Personal Independence Payment (PIP), Disability Living Allowance (DLA) and Attendance Allowance will see their payments rise by 6.7 per cent next April after the uprating was confirmed by Chancellor Jeremy Hunt during the recent Autumn Statement.

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt announced a series of new measures to reward people in work, help make work pay, and reform the welfare system, during the Autumn Statement on Wednesday. The measures aim to build on the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) new ‘Back to Work’ plan, which focuses on helping disabled people and those with long-term health conditions who have difficulties finding employment to overcome barriers to secure and stay in work.

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt is set to announce tax cuts, measures to boost business investment and a tougher approach to welfare benefits in his Autumn Statement on Wednesday. Speculation has been mounting on whether the annual uprating on working age benefits will be calculated using the traditional measure of the September Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation figure of 6.7 per cent, or the lower October rate of 4.6 per cent.

Scotland’s Finance Secretary has urged the Chancellor to avoid "ill-timed tax breaks" for wealthy people in the upcoming Autumn Statement.

A number of health, poverty, housing and environmental organisations along with academics have written to Chancellor Jeremy Hunt MP, to request the introduction of an ‘Emergency Energy Tariff’ in his Autumn Statement, which is due to be delivered in Parliament on Wednesday, November 22.

An extra £20 per week should be given to those receiving Universal Credit to help reduce the number of people living in poverty, a senior Labour MP has said. Speaking in the Commons during the ‘Breaking Down Barriers to Opportunity’ debate on Wednesday, former shadow chancellor John McDonnell made an appeal to the UK Government to “help our children out of poverty” in the upcoming Autumn Statement.

Jeremy Hunt poked fun at former health secretary Matt Hancock as he set out the details of his spring budget on Wednesday (March 15).

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) recently announced that following the success of its summer 2022 campaign to increase take-up of a benefit designed to boost the income of older people on a low income, the Pension Service has received an “unprecedented” number of new claims for Pension Credit. The latest figures from DWP show that during the week commencing December 12, 2022, it received over 7,200 claims for Pension Credit - an increase of 177 per cent on the same period in 2021.

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has announced the payment schedule for the next wave of cost of living support worth up to £1,350 for those on a low-income, people claiming disability benefits and pensioner households. The next round of support was previously unveiled in the Autumn Statement, building on payments made to more than eight million people in 2022.

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) recently announced new plans to continue encouraging more than 11 million people of State Pension age to check if they qualify for an annual income boost worth over £3,500.

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has announced that it will continue to encourage more than 11 million older people to check if they qualify for an annual income top-up worth, on average, more than £3,500 throughout December and the new year.

Millions of people across the UK claiming disability benefits from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) and Social Security Scotland are set for a bumper payment boost next year following the Autumn Statement.