BBC About a quarter of the working age population – those aged 16 to 64 – do not currently have a job. Caring responsibilities and ill health are the most common reasons given by those who would like one. With a four-year mandate and a towering majority, Labour might have been expected to have invested...
Sir Keir Starmer has said his welfare reforms strike “the right balance” after making concessions to his own backbench MPs. The government’s initial plans, aimed at bringing down the welfare bill, would have made it harder for people to claim personal independence payment (Pip), a benefit paid to 3.7 million people with long-term physical or...
Munaza Rafiq Disability news producer Handout Kailee Kember-Brown says she has only heard back from 10 of the 40 job applications she’s sent “I don’t want to live off benefits all my life.” Teenager Kailee Kember-Brown, a wheelchair user, says she has so far applied for more than 40 jobs without success. Kailee, from Dover,...
About 80 Labour MPs are supporting a fresh effort to block the government’s planned changes to the benefits system, the BBC has been told. The MPs have signed an amendment that would give them an opportunity to vote on a proposal to reject the welfare reform bill in its entirety. Dozens of Labour MPs have...
Double the number of households in Britain will get £150 off their energy bills this winter as the government changes the rules on who qualifies for the Warm Home Discount. Anyone on means-tested benefits will automatically see the money knocked off their bills no matter what size of property they live in. While debt charities...
Sir Keir Starmer has hit back at potential rebels in the Labour Party over his plans to cut the benefits bill, insisting “we have got to get the reforms through.” MPs will vote in the coming weeks on a package of measures aiming to cut the benefits bill by £5bn by 2030. The Welfare Reform...
Stuart Whincup & Nathan Bevan BBC News, North East and Cumbria Supplied Jodey Whiting, from Stockton-on-Tees, was found dead in 2017 Having her benefits cut led to the death of a mother of nine, an inquest has found. Housebound Jodey Whiting, from Stockton-on-Tees, who had numerous physical and mental health issues, was found dead in...
Adam, Alex, James and Dharshini discuss a jam-packed news week. Read full article at source...
A number of Labour MPs have said they will vote against the government’s proposed cuts to disability benefits. Nine Labour MPs voiced concern over the government’s plans to make it harder for people with less severe conditions to claim disability payments during a debate on Wednesday. Calls to rethink the benefits cuts, as well as...
Anna Varle BBC South West health correspondent BBC Caroline Langley has severe arthritis and receives the Personal Independent Payment to help her A hospital clerk says she will not be able to live without the benefits she gets from the government. Caroline Langley, 65, of Twelveheads, Cornwall, has severe arthritis and receives £72.65 a week...
Eve Watson BBC News, South West Dom Robinson Dom Robinson bought a shipwreck from Facebook Marketplace for £300 A diver from Plymouth has bought a World War One shipwreck off the Cornish coast for £300 after he saw it advertised on Facebook Marketplace. Dom Robinson, 53, purchased the SS Almond Branch – a 3,000-tonne cargo...
“Overall, I would say I am a more complete player,” is the assessment of Kevin Nisbet who has been enjoying a career “reset” at Aberdeen. Twelve goals from the 28-year-old Scotland striker have helped the Pittodrie club in the league chase for European places, while two of those have come in a Scottish Cup run...
Kate Whannel Political reporter PA Media Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has criticised how the Office for Budget Responsibility watchdog has analysed the impact of his benefit changes. Appearing at a parliamentary committee, he said the OBR, which monitors public spending plans, had assumed that “not a single person” would change their behaviour as a...
A Belgian prince’s attempt to claim social security benefits on top of his six-figure royal allowance has been rejected by a court. Prince Laurent – the younger brother of King Philippe – received €388,000 (£295,850; $376,000) from state funds last year but said that his work entitles him and his family to social security. He...
The plans of Elon Musk — the richest man on Earth — to slash Social Security and force mass layoffs will cause tens of thousands more Americans to die while waiting for their disability benefits to be approved, a new report by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) has found. Right-wing cuts to Social Security have already...