Universal Credit

Scottish benefits claimants are being reminded to take action as a key date approaches for the switch to Universal Credit. Advice Direct Scotland, which runs the national advice service advice.scot, said that households should prepare for changes as the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) continu

Citizens Advice Scotland (CAS) is voicing fears that vulnerable people could miss out on a lifeline payment amid the cost-of-living crisis.

Iain Hardie explores the impact of the UK’s Universal Credit rollout on housing insecurity, examining research findings that suggest an increase in housing problems and approaches for assistance due to the policy implementation, as well as discussing the key aspects of Universal Credit that c

At least 630,000 families with children have been pushed on to Universal Credit since before the pandemic, new figures from Action for Children suggest.

A major new study into the effect of Universal Credit on social housing tenants has revealed the detrimental impact it is having on lives and how it is driving people into debt and poverty.

New research from Action for Children paints a sobering picture of the impact of the £20-a-week cut to Universal Credit on some of the UK’s poorest families amidst the soaring cost of living crisis.

Housing benefit advisor Bill Irvine details a case where DWP had refused to include a 'housing costs element' (HCE) in the award of Universal Credit to a tenant.

The UK Government has published its Autumn Budget and Comprehensive Spending Review which altered the Universal Credit ‘taper rate’ and allocated £170 million in levelling up funding for Scotland.

Today's removal of the £20 uplift to Universal Credit will have a dramatic impact on thousands of children in Scotland, charities have warned.

CIH Scotland has called for the UK Government to provide long-term support for people at risk of homelessness post-pandemic after its new report highlighted that households across the UK are likely to be on "cliff edge" following the removal of the £20 Universal Credit top up later t

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has joined with the First Minister of Wales and the First Minister and deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland to demand Prime Minister Boris Johnson “do the right thing” by reversing the decision to withdraw the £20-a-week uplift to Universal Credi

In a year blighted by the Covid-19 pandemic, 88 struggling households from across the Lothians, Lanarkshire and Edinburgh are almost £800,000 better off thanks to the hard work of an award-winning welfare benefits advice service. Last year, Melville Housing Association’s two dedicated we

The Scottish Parliament has voted overwhelmingly to oppose the £20 cut to Universal Credit by the UK Government.

Hairdressers, shelf stackers and carers will be among those working families facing the biggest overall drop in their benefits income since 2010 when the cut to Universal Credit goes ahead next month, according to new research by UK children’s charity Action for Children.

The Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish governments have written a joint letter to the UK Government calling for a reversal of plans to cut the £20 uplift to Universal Credit. The £20 increase to the benefit was introduced during the coronavirus pandemic, but is due to end on October 6.