? This is?disgusting!   Just been made aware that the DWP have sanctioned someone for missing a JSA appointment due to having treatment for cancer! A letter from a desperate mother: Trish Lewis Walton My son was diagnosed with testicular cancer on 28th nov so he couldn?t go for an jobseekers appointment on 4th dec.… Read More


One of the main problems that people that I speak to face when having been sanctioned is that they soon find that housing benefit is also stopped and this causes stress and debt that can easily be avoided!. Hosing benefit ( like several other benefits) is PASSPORTED, this means that if you are in receipt… Read More


As part of his recent budget speach the Chancellor announced that he was going to increase the number of waiting days when claiming JSA from the present 3 to 7, meaning that claims are only payable after the 8th day for those who have not recenlty made a claim to state benefits ( if you… Read More


This week has been a very busy week for the DWP in terms of refusing Short Term Benefit Advances according to the number of requests that we have seen for help, so now is a good time to dig through the legislation and share the process that you must follow to get your negative STBA… Read More


Before the recent welfare reforms came into effect people who had been found fit for work and who had been told that they no longer qualify for ESA were told to either claim JSA or appeal the decision (this takes up to 18 months) and were advised that they can be paid the base rate… Read More


SPEED-UP-BENEFITS

In the UK the process for claiming state Benefits including Jobseekers Allowance, Income Support Pension Credit and Employment and Support Allowance can take anywhere from 10 days to 2 months depending on the benefit claimed and your personal circumstances, however you can speed up the claim process by following 10 basic rules. Understanding the claim… Read More


short-term-benefit-advance

Keeping Hush? We find it interesting that the DWP have not widely publicised the existence of additional help that people making new claims may be entitled to. Before the recent welfare reforms came into effect on 1/4/13 that saw the end of Crisis Loans, customers who were waiting for a new claim to benefits to… Read More


armed-forces-pip

How Does this effect you? From 8 April we will start to make the first Armed Forces Independence Payments to eligible service and ex-service personnel. Armed Forces Independence Payment (AFIP) has been designed to provide financial support to service personnel and veterans seriously injured as a result of service, to cover the extra costs they… Read More


What is Social Fund Reform and when does it happen? Social Fund Reform addresses the need to simplify processes and ensure that the right support is targeted at those in genuine need, as part of the wider Welfare Reform agenda. The main change is that the discretionary Social Fund (Crisis Loans and Community Care Grants)… Read More


inside-givernement

300,000 families better off under new benefit system The next step in the government?s radical welfare reform programme will begin early, in parts of Greater Manchester and Cheshire, from April. The newly unemployed will be the first to claim Universal Credit, which replaces a number of means tested benefits including Jobseeker?s Allowance, Income Support, Employment… Read More