Benefits news: page 7
- April 2025
Fair Repayment Rate introduced
The Fair Repayment Rate took effect in April 2025, cutting the maximum that can be deducted from a Universal Credit standard allowance for debt repayments from 25% to 15%.
LHA rates to be frozen at 2024 values
Local Housing Allowance rates are to be frozen at 2024 values from April 2025, continuing a pattern that has seen the housing benefit rate held down in seven of the last 14 years.
Resolution Foundation publishes Saving Penalties report on Universal Credit capital rules
The Resolution Foundation published Saving Penalties, a report on Universal Credit capital rules, estimating 2 million families had reduced entitlement because of savings thresholds.
Scotland replaces Attendance Allowance with Pension Age Disability Payment
Scotland has replaced Attendance Allowance with Pension Age Disability Payment, a new benefit administered by Social Security Scotland, with rollout completed across the country in April 2025.
Social security benefits rise 1.7%
Social security benefits rose by 1.7% in April 2025, with state pensions and the Pension Credit minimum guarantee rising faster at 4.1%, alongside changes to Carer's Allowance and the National Minimum Wage.
Tax Credit system closes, affecting pension-age CTRS eligibility
The Tax Credit system closed in April 2025, and pension-age recipients who moved to Universal Credit became ineligible for pension-age Council Tax Reduction in Wales under existing rules.
Working-age benefits uprated by 1.7%, below CPI of 3.5%
Benefits rose by 1.7% in April 2025, pegged to September 2024 inflation, while CPI had reached 3.5% by that month, leaving a gap between benefit income and rising prices.
- March 2025
Scottish Adult Disability Living Allowance introduced and DWP Disability Living Allowance awards transferred
All adults in Scotland receiving Disability Living Allowance from the Department for Work and Pensions had their awards moved to Scottish Adult Disability Living Allowance from 21 March 2025, with no new claims accepted.
Government announces changes to PIP claiming rules
The government said in March 2025 that it will change the rules for claiming Personal Independence Payment, meaning fewer people can get it, with the changes not happening before November 2026.
Government publishes impact assessments on disability benefit cuts
The government has published impact assessments alongside the Spring Statement showing its disability benefit plans will cut the incomes of one in five disabled people and push 50,000 more children into absolute poverty.
Household Support Fund ends 31 March 2025
The Household Support Fund ends on 31 March 2025, the same date as the deadline to claim the 2024/25 Winter Fuel Payment and the extension of Northern Ireland's Welfare Supplementary Payments.
OBR publishes forecast alongside Spring Statement 2025
The Office for Budget Responsibility's Spring Statement forecast found no clear evidence that the government's disability benefit plans will move more disabled people into work, as new impact assessments set out the cuts' effects.
Scottish Adult Disability Living Allowance first introduced in Scotland
Adults in Scotland receiving Disability Living Allowance had their awards moved automatically to a new Scottish Adult DLA from the end of March 2025, with no application and no change in payment amount.
Spring Statement announces payroll option for paying the high-income child benefit charge
Families liable for the high income child benefit charge will be able to pay it through their tax code and company payroll from summer 2025, under changes announced in the Spring Statement.
Spring Statement commits to above-inflation UC standard allowance increase from April 2026
The Spring Statement committed to an above-inflation rise of around 2 per cent in the Universal Credit standard allowance from April 2026, while most benefits rose by 1.7 per cent in April 2025.
Supreme Court hears DWP appeal in Bereavement Support Payment case
The Supreme Court has ruled against a widower denied Bereavement Support Payment because his late wife could not work, overturning earlier judgments in his favour and backing the DWP.
Warm Home Discount rebates to be applied to bills by end of March 2025
Confirmed Warm Home Discount rebates of £150 for winter 2024/25 should be applied automatically to electricity bills in England, Wales and Scotland by the end of March 2025.
- February 2025
Government consults on removing the high cost to heat threshold for the Warm Home Discount in England and Wales
The government is consulting on removing the high cost to heat threshold for the Warm Home Discount in England and Wales, which would make all households on means-tested benefits eligible for the £150 rebate.
Shelter Cymru warns of increased homelessness risk from UK Government housing benefit freeze
Shelter Cymru says the UK Government's freeze on housing benefit levels will leave low-income renting households in Wales facing average shortfalls of £604 a year and raise the risk of homelessness.
Transfer process to Pension Age Disability Payment begins
Social Security Scotland will start moving existing Attendance Allowance and Disability Living Allowance claims in Scotland to Pension Age Disability Payment from February 2025, with no reapplication needed.
Universal Credit receipt among clients rises to 41%
Two in five clients seeking debt advice from StepChange in February 2025 were receiving Universal Credit, up from 39% in January 2025 and 37% in February 2024.
- January 2025
New bar on tax credit claims for tax year 2025-26 inserted
Northern Ireland regulations have inserted a new rule barring claims for tax credits for the tax year beginning 6 April 2025 and any later tax year, under the Universal Credit transitional provisions.
DWP publishes Abstract of benefit rate statistics 2024
The Department for Work and Pensions has published its annual abstract of benefit rate statistics, covering uprating history, the value of benefits over time and price and earnings indices for Great Britain.
Lords committee calls for urgent reform of health-related benefits
The House of Lords Economic Affairs Committee has called for urgent reform of health-related benefits, saying the system is financially unsustainable and that work does not pay for claimants.
High Court rules DWP consultation on Work Capability Assessment reforms unlawful
The High Court has ruled the DWP's 2023 consultation on Work Capability Assessment reforms unlawful, finding it misleading, rushed and unfair for failing to disclose cost savings as a primary rationale.
Route map for phase 1 of Streamlining Welsh Benefits published
The Welsh Government has published a route map for the first phase of its work to streamline Welsh benefits, covering Council Tax Reduction, Free School Meals and the Schools Essentials Grant up to April 2026.
Adult Disability Payment replaces PIP in Scotland
Adult Disability Payment, run by Social Security Scotland, has replaced Personal Independence Payment in Scotland, with existing PIP claimants transferred and DLA claimants moved before 21 March 2025.
Legislation for welfare mitigation scheme extension planned
The Minister for Communities has secured agreement to extend Northern Ireland's welfare mitigation schemes, which were due to end on 31 March 2025, by a further three years to 31 March 2028.
Scottish Attendance Allowance transfers to Pension Age Disability Payment begin
People in Scotland receiving Attendance Allowance are being moved automatically to Pension Age Disability Payment, a new Scottish benefit paid at the same two weekly rates.
Work Capability Assessment changes planned from 2025
The government plans to change the activities and descriptors used to pass a Work Capability Assessment from 2025 for new claimants of new style ESA and some Universal Credit elements.