Good morning, As I’m sure you’re already aware, the Government has, on a number of occasions, flagged up the likelihood of Housing Benefit entitlement being withdrawn from the majority of 18-21 year olds from April 2017. The House of Commons library has just produced a briefing, which can be found…

Good morning, The Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne, announced a number of welfare measures as part of yesterday’s Summer Budget. The measures will be phased in and will not affect any claimants until April 2016 at the earliest, with many changes affecting only new claimants. The main changes include:…

Good Morning, DWP recently announced the Discretionary Housing Payments budget for 2015/16. Surprisingly, this year’s budget has been cut by around 25% from £165M to £125M nationally – through cuts to previous core funding, benefits cap and LHA allocations, although, in the case of LHA a further £45M of targetted funding…

Good afternoon, DWP has now confirmed that tranches 3 & 4 of the national rollout, should complete between September to November 2015 and January to April 2016 respectively. The announcement, including details of areas and associated dates, can be found here It also confirms, traches 1 & 2 have been completed…

As of today, 15th July 2015, a new e-mail facility is available allowing Social Landlords to make Alternative Payment Arrangement (APAs) applications, in respect of Universal Credit. Background DWP introducing the new approach said: “We are committed to making UC work for landlords as well as claimants. As a result…

Good morning, One of our website members has shared with me a copy of a very informative & helpful Universal Credit leaflet they have produced for tenants in preparation for rollout later this year. They also agreed that I can share this information with other members, believing, like me, this…

A few weeks ago, a new e-mail facility was made available, allowing Social Landlords to make Alternative Payment Arrangement (APAs) applications, including requests for payment redirection, in respect of Universal Credit. by e-mail, rather than sending applications and associated back-up evidence, by post, to Wolverhamption. I’m pleased to say, DWP…

Good morning, The House of Commons library has just published a briefing paper to help your understanding of state benefit & tax credit rules, relating to people who come to the UK from abroad. As the paper’s introduction suggests: “The rules on eligibility for benefits for people coming to the…

Good morning, DWP has just published its latest set of statisitics on Universal Credit and have created an interactive map which allows you to key in your post code and establish whether your area is now “live” for claiming or approximately when you’ll be affected. Main Findings 1. 110,890 people…

Good afternoon, Two of my most recent bulletins explain: 1. DWP’s complaints process – http://universalcreditadvice.com/housing-associations/2015/09/universal-credit—complaints-process-explained 2. What to do when things go wrong – http://universalcreditadvice.com/housing-associations/2015/08/universal-credit-apas—what-to-do-when-dwp-get-it-wrong I encouraged you to challenge any Alternative Payment Arrangement (APA) request, which is: a) Refused unreasonably or without adequate reasons being given; or b) Payment of the…