Research Briefing
State Pension age – background
Looks at changes in the State Pension age up to and including the Pensions Act 2011
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Research Briefing
Draft Universal Credit Regulations 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.
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Research Briefing
Draft Social Security (Personal Independence Payment) Regulations 2013
Personal Independence Payment (PIP) is to replace Disability Living Allowance (DLA) for people of working age, starting from April 2013. Part 4 of the Welfare Reform Act 2012 provides the framework for PIP, but the detailed rules for the new benefit – including the assessment criteria – are to be set out in regulations.
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Research Briefing
State Pension Reform
Looks at proposals to introduce a single-tier flat-rate State Pension
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Research Briefing
Constituency casework: tax credits
This is an archived Commons Library briefing on constituency casework: tax credits, from 2013.
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Research Briefing
State Second Pension
This note outlines the development of the State Second Pension
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Research Briefing
MPs Pension Scheme – background
This note provides background on the pension scheme for MPs - the Parliamentary Contributory Pension Fund - and its development to 2011. The current debate on reform of the scheme is covered in SN 6283 MPs pensions - 2012 onwards
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Research Briefing
Welfare Benefits Uprating Bill
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.
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Research Briefing
2013 Benefit Uprating
State pension, benefits and tax credits increase in April 2013 - this note sets out how the new rates are calculated
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Research Briefing
The Work Capability Assessment for Employment and Support Allowance
The Work Capability Assessment (WCA) was introduced in October 2008 to assess entitlement to Employment and Support Allowance (ESA). Between now and 2014, 1.5 million incapacity benefits claimants will also undergo the WCA. The WCA has however proved controversial and remains so, depsite changes to the test itself and how it is applied as a result of Government an independent reviews.
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Research Briefing
Public Service Pensions Bill: Committee Stage Report
This is a report on the Public Bill Committee stage of the Public Service Pensions Bill. It is designed to complement Research Paper RP 12/57, which covers in more detail the background to the Bill.
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Research Briefing
Localisation of the Social Fund
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.
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Research Briefing
Personal Independence Payment: an introduction
Personal Independence Payment (PIP) is to replace Disability Living Allowance for people of working age, between April 2013 and March 2016. The changes will affect existing working age DLA claimants, as well as those making a new claim. For those existing DLA claimants found not to satisfy the conditions for PIP on reassessment, their DLA will stop.
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Research Briefing
Universal Credit: an introduction
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.
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Research Briefing
European Union (Croatian Accession and Irish Protocol) Bill [Bill 76 of 2012-13]
Croatia is expected to join the EU in July 2013. This Bill would allow the UK to ratify Croatia’s accession treaty and would also cover the Protocol to the Lisbon Treaty put forward by the Irish Government.
Total results (page 40 of 51)