Family benefits Archives

Research Briefing

Further proposals to restrict migrants’ access to benefits

Friday, 20 March, 2015

In his keynote speech on immigration on 28 November 2014, the Prime Minister set out plans to secure agreement on changes to European law on free movement of persons in order to allow the UK to, among other things, deny EEA migrants in-work benefits for four years and prevent Child Benefit being paid for children living abroad. Proposals to further restrict EEA migrants’ access to benefits have also been put forward by Labour and by the Liberal Democrats.
Research Briefing

Benefit Entitlement (Restriction) Bill 2014-15

Thursday, 27 November, 2014

The Benefit Entitlement (Restriction) Bill is a Private Members’ Bill presented by Christopher Chope. The Bill makes provision “to restrict the entitlement of non-UK Citizens from the European Union and the European Economic Area to taxpayer-funded benefits.” The Bill provides that the restrictions on entitlement are “notwithstanding the provisions of the European Communities Act 1972.”
Research Briefing

Statistics on migrants and benefits

Thursday, 27 November, 2014

This note collates the main data available on UK benefits paid to migrants or in respect of children living abroad.
Research Briefing

Cold Weather Payments for winter 2014/2015

Thursday, 13 November, 2014

Cold Weather Payments are made from the Social Fund to certain recipients of Income Support, income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance, income-related Employment and Support Allowance, Universal Credit or Pension Credit during periods of very cold weather. The amount is £25 a week for eligible benefit claimants.
Research Briefing

Impact on the UK of Scottish independence: social security and tax credits

Thursday, 07 August, 2014

In the event Scotland becoming an independent country, the Scottish and Westminster governments would have to address two main issues with regard to welfare provision: how to deliver benefits and tax credits in the initial transitional period following independence; and how the two countries' systems should relate to each other in the longer term.
Research Briefing

Child Benefit and Child Tax Credit for children resident in other EEA countries

Friday, 18 July, 2014

Domestic legislation provides that both Child Benefit and Child Tax Credit cannot normally be paid in respect of children resident abroad. However, under provisions in EU law on social security coordination within the European Economic Area (EEA), Child Benefit and Child Tax Credit may be payable to EEA migrants in the United Kingdom in respect of their dependent children resident in another Member State.
Research Briefing

Government support for childcare under the Labour Government 1997-2010

Wednesday, 29 January, 2014

This note gives an overview of support for childcare under the Labour Government 1997-2010.
Research Briefing

Cold Weather Payments for winter 2013/2014

Monday, 11 November, 2013

Cold Weather Payments are made from the Social Fund to certain recipients of Income Support, income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance, income-related Employment and Support Allowance, Universal Credit or Pension Credit during periods of very cold weather.
Research Briefing

Short Term Benefit Advances and Budgeting Advances

Friday, 12 July, 2013

From 1 April 2013, a new advance of benefit facility administered by DWP replaced Social Fund Budgeting Loans, interim payments of benefits and "alignment payments". This note gives details of the new system of Short Term Benefit Advances and Budgeting Advances.
Research Briefing

Draft Universal Credit Regulations 2013

Thursday, 07 February, 2013

Starting in selected “Pathfinder” areas from April 2013, Universal Credit (UC) will begin to replace a range of means-tested benefits and tax credits for working age families. The Draft Universal Credit Regulations set out the detailed rules for the new benefit.
Research Briefing

Constituency casework: tax credits

Thursday, 17 January, 2013

This is an archived Commons Library briefing on constituency casework: tax credits, from 2013.
Research Briefing

Welfare Benefits Uprating Bill

Friday, 04 January, 2013

Social security legislation requires the Secretary of State to review benefit levels each year to determine whether they have retained their value relative to prices. For most benefits annual uprating is not mandatory, but historically governments have exercised their discretion by increasing the principal means-tested working-age benefits each April in line with prices. In his 2012 Autumn Statement, the Chancellor announced that increases in most working-age benefits would be limited to 1% a year for three years from 2013-14, as part of a package to deliver additional welfare savings of £3.7 billion a year by 2015-16. The Bill amends primary legislation to enable the decisions on uprating in 2014-15 and 2015-16 to be implemented.
Research Briefing

Localisation of the Social Fund

Friday, 16 November, 2012

As a result of measures in the Welfare Reform Act 2012, certain elements of the discretionary Social Fund scheme will be replaced by new locally based provision delivered by local authorities in England and the devolved administrations in Scotland and Wales.
Research Briefing

Universal Credit: an introduction

Friday, 09 November, 2012

Starting from next year, Universal Credit (UC) will begin to replace a range of means-tested benefits and tax credits for working age families. The intention is to simplify and streamline the benefits system for claimants, making it easier for people to understand; to reduce the financial and administrative barriers to work; to tackle in-work poverty; and to bear down on fraud and error.
Research Briefing

Cold Weather Payments for winter 2012/2013

Thursday, 25 October, 2012

Cold Weather Payments of 25 pounds a week are made to certain recipients of Income Support, income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance, income-related Employment and Support Allowance or Pension Credit during periods of very cold weather. To ‘trigger’ the payments, the average temperature at a specified weather station must be recorded as, or forecast to be, zero degrees or below for seven consecutive days.

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