Half a million older people will not be due new State Pension pay rates from April

Adult Disability Payment and Child Disability Payment are new health benefits replacing Personal Independence Payment (PIP) and Disability Living Allowance for Children (DLA for Child) for existing claimants living in Scotland. The devolved benefits provide financial support for young children and those between 16 and State Pension age, who are disabled, have a long-term health condition or a terminal illness.

The final report from the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) on its independent investigation into changes made to the State Pension age is expected to be published early this year. However, Labour MP Alistair Strathern, has asked the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) if any recent assessment of the “potential merits of compensating women born in the 1950s affected by changes to State Pension age legislation” has been made.

State Pension payments are due to rise by 8.5 per cent and most benefits by 6.7 per cent in April, however, many people may not be aware that the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) and HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) will implement the annual uprating on two separate dates. New HMRC payment rates for 2024/25 will start from April 6 while DWP rates will begin on April 8.

Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) figures indicate that fraud and error in the benefit system is falling after the UK Government restated its determination to drive levels down further and protect taxpayers’ money. The latest national statistics show that in the 2022/23 financial year, fraud and error rates fell to 3.6 per cent (£8.3 billion) from 4.0 per cent (£8.7 billion).

A new online petition is calling for the concessionary bus pass for people of State Pension age to be extended to cover travel across all parts of the UK. Petition creator, Charles David Smith, argues that giving older people the option to travel for free across Scotland, England, Wales and Northern Ireland would “enhance their lives”.

Perth and Kinross Council has amassed almost £600 million-worth of debt, according to new data.

The latest statistics from the Stroke Association indicate that there are 1.3million stroke survivors across the UK. The charity’s research also suggests 100,000 people have a stroke each year and that someone will suffer a cerebrovascular accident (stroke) or a transient ischaemic attack (TIA) - often referred to as a ‘mini-stroke’ - every five minutes.

TOWIE star Mark Wright's BBC travel show A Wright Family Holiday is reportedly not going to return for a second series as it "wasn't meant to be". The travel show first aired last summer and featured Mark alongside his footballer brother Josh and dad Mark Snr as they travelled from Scotland to Cornwall.

Households could end up paying less for their energy bills than they have in over two years according to new predictions from Cornwall Insight.

The latest figures from the Scottish Government indicate there are around 850,000 people living in Scotland with some form of hearing loss and of those, 70 per cent are over 70 - some 595,000. Across Great Britain, there are believed to be 12 million adults living with a hearing condition or deafness, however, just 44,838 of them are receiving extra financial support through Personal Independence Payment (PIP), Adult Disability Payment (ADP) or Attendance Allowance.

Prince Harry has decided to drop his libel case against the Mail on Sunday newspaper, which could have resulted in him having to pay huge costs.The Duke of Sussex abandoned the case just hours before a key deadline, when his lawyers were due to hand over documents. Harry, 39, sued Associated Newspapers Limited (ANL) over a February 2022 article about his legal challenge against the Home Office following a decision to change his publicly funded security arrangements when visiting the UK.The duke’s lawyers claimed the story “purported to reveal, in sensational terms” that information from court documents “contradicted public statements he had previously made about his willingness to pay for police protection for himself and his family whilst in the UK”.

The latest figures from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) show that at the end of May last year, there were nearly 1.5 million people across Great Britain receiving additional financial support through Attendance Allowance. The data also indicated that over 132,600 people living in Scotland are receiving either £68.10 or £101.75 each week through the benefit.

The Uk Government has announced further details on its plans to ensure parents and carers are able to claim National Insurance (NI) credits for years where they have not claimed Child Benefit. This will help more people to fill gaps in their National Insurance record to claim more State Pension in retirement.

Burial has new music on the way. The reclusive British producer, whose official releases have all come through Hyperdub up to this point, will share the two-track single “Dreamfear / Boy Sent From Above” via XL Recordings on February 9, the label announced Thursday.

Mumford & Sons have opened up about their collaboration with Pharrell on new single ‘Good People’ – their first new music in five years.The British band returned with the single yesterday (January 16), which was produced by Pharrell and features his backing vocals.The artists also brought in the vocals of a six-piece vocal choir from the USA and Canada, hailing from Native American Tribes within the Northern Great Plains.In a new interview with The Zane Lowe Show on Apple Music, Marcus Mumford recalled meeting Pharrell almost 10 years ago on the festival circuit, sharing that they “instantly got on”.“There was a mutual kind of respect and admiration straight away,” he added.”And we’ve always talked about making music together. We’ve always talked about just getting in the studio and seeing what happened.”The band were performing at Pharrell’s festival Something in the Water in Virginia Beach last year when they committed to getting in the studio.“And I said to him, man, we’ve got to do that thing we’ve always talked about doing and get in the studio together,” Mumford said.

Retirement may be a while off for some people or just around the corner for others, but pensions expert Helen Morrissey, is urging everyone to give some serious thought to deferring making a claim for State Pension, as it could boost their annual later-life income by more than £600.

A new online petition is calling for the UK Government to reform the State Pension system and link the payment rate to the National Living Wage. Petition creator Michael Thompson, also proposes making a ‘universal State Pension’ available to everyone over the age of 60, worth £549.12 each week - equivalent to 47 hours at the National Living Wage rate.

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) confirmed just before Christmas that 11.9 million Winter Fuel Payments and Pensioner Cost of Living Payments - worth over £4.8 billion - have been made across the UK. This means that around 99 per cent of all eligible pensioner households have received up to £600 to help with energy bills and additional household costs this winter.

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has published online guidance for next of kin, or an executor of someone’s estate, on requesting information about State Pension underpayments - worth up to an average of £112,383 - for someone who has died. DWP explained that changes have been made to “provide further clarity” on the situations when people should contact them, if they believe an underlayment may have occurred.

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) confirmed just before Christmas that around 11.9 million Winter Fuel Payments and Pensioner Cost of Living Payments - worth over £4.8 billion - have been made across the UK. This means around 99 per cent of all eligible pensioner households have received up to £600 in tax-free cash to help with energy bills and household budgets this winter.