New call for urgent social energy tariff to help people with a disability or on a low income

An online petition urging the UK Government to increase the current Basic State Pension payment rate from £156.20 to £203.85 each week has now passed the 10,000 signature threshold and is entitled to an official written response, most-likely from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP).

New figures from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) show that by the end of August 2023, there were more than 1.5 million older people receiving additional financial support through Attendance Allowance, including over 136,200 living in Scotland. The payment is worth either £68.10 or £101.75 each week and is designed to help people of State Pension age with daily living expenses.

A British family is living mortgage free in their dream home - after buying the property for just £7,000. Laura Phoenix, and her husband, Anthony, migrated to Bulgaria amid spiralling housing costs in the UK.

More than 45,200 people have signed an online petition calling for a ‘universal’ weekly State Pension payment of nearly £550 in order to match the current hourly rate of the National Living Wage. Petition creator Michael Thompson also suggests making the option to claim State Pension available to everyone from the age of 60.

Katie Waissel has become the latest former X Factor contestant to criticise former X Factor judge Louis Walsh.Earlier this week, Jedward took aim at their former manager Walsh, following him branding them as “vile” during his time on Celebrity Big Brother (March 12). After another contestant asked Walsh what it was like working with the pop duo, he replied: “They were vile…But they were great.

Humza Yousaf has repeated his government's belief that all drugs should be decriminalised for personal use in Scotland.

Dozens of flood warnings and alerts have been issued across the UK as more heavy rain is forecast - with Greater Manchester braced for downpours.

“bullying” on social media while she was pregnant with her kids, Archie, 4, and Lilibet, 2. The Duchess of Sussex spoke on the dangers of social media during the “Breaking Barriers, Shaping Narratives: How Women Lead On and Off the Screen” keynote discussion at South By South West in Austin, Texas.Moderator Errin Haines asked, “Social media really has become the place for women and girls to, be scrutinized, objectified, bullied, and unfortunately I know this is something you are all too familiar with.

Jem Aswad Executive Editor, Music It’s no surprise that British-Ghanaian R&B singer/songwriter Raye was the center of attention at last weekend’s BRIT Awards — she won a record six trophies at the British Grammy-equivalent ceremony, including Best Artist, Album of the Year and Song of the Year, and during her acceptance speeches made empowering statements like “I’m in control — I’m my own boss.” Yet obscured in all the headlines was the strong business statement she made on behalf of fellow songwriters, calling for them to receive a share of the master recording income of the songs on which they’re credited. Multiple other participants receive such shares — “points on the master” — including artists, labels, producers and others, but not songwriters.

Kneecap, Lauren Mayberry, Wunderhorse, Lambrini Girls and more have been announced as performers for The Great Escape 2024.The annual Brighton festival featuring up-and-coming artists from across the world – taking place from May 15-18 this year – has added 150 new names to their line-up spanning pop, electronic, punk, rap and more.The latest additions include Soft Play (formerly known as Slaves), Bradley Simpson (frontman of The Vamps), Been Stellar, Fred Roberts, Love Fame Tragedy, Milk. and more.The festival has also released individual single-day and two-day tickets for fans who are unable to attend the entire weekend.

Girls Aloud are making a huge comeback and have teased their brand new single, ahead of their big tour around the UK and Ireland, which kicks off this summer.The famous girl group, which started on the TV show Popstars: The Rivals in 2002, is bringing back their album from 2004 called What Will The Neighbours Say? next week.This special version for the 20th anniversary will have thirty songs, including some that weren't on the original album. On the Girls Aloud Instagram page, fans were able to hear a snippet of their new track, name Disco Bunny.The lyrics include: ""Disco Bunny, On the floor, Give 'em more, Because it's not over/Disco Bunny, Let off steam, It's a dream, But that's ok." The caption reads: "Disco Bunny...

Glastonbury is giving away free tickets to this year’s festival to support people affected by conflict – find all the details below.Fans can be in with a chance of winning one of 20 pairs of tickets on offer by entering a prize draw via Crowdfunder.“Money raised will be donated to the British Red Cross, Oxfam and War Child who are working in areas of conflict delivering humanitarian support to those who need it most,” the page reads.The prize draw is open to UK residents until 12 noon (GMT) on Thursday, March 28. One entry costs £10, and you may enter multiple times.

More than 42,200 people have signed an online petition calling for a ‘universal’ weekly State Pension payment of nearly £550 in order to match the current hourly rate of the National Living Wage. Petition creator Michael Thompson has also suggested making the State Pension available to everyone from the age of 60.

Rishi Sunak will head to Aberdeen today to rally Scottish Conservative members as his party continues to slide in the polls.

Austin Butler and Tom Hardy’s upcoming film, The Bikeriders, has arrived – check it out below.From Midnight Special writer and director Jeff Nichols, the film was due to arrive last year but was put on hold due to the SAG-AFTRA strike.The official synopsis for the film from Focus Features reads: “The Bikeriders follows the rise of a midwestern motorcycle club, the Vandals. Seen through the lives of its members, the club evolves over a decade from a gathering place for local outsiders into a more sinister gang, threatening the original group’s unique way of life.”The story is centred around the character of Benny (played by Butler), who joins The Vandals.

The elegant Queen Letizia of Spain, 51, debuted a beautiful new haircut as she stepped out with King Felipe to receive the President of Paraguay and his wife for lunch in Madrid on Wednesday, February 28.The latest appearance came just hours after royal couple were pictured at St George's Chapel, Windsor with members of the British and Greek Royal Families to celebrate the life of the late King Constantine II who died in Athens on January 10, 2023. Letizia had clearly wasted no time since since returning to Spain as she debuted a sleek new cropped hairdo outside the Zarzuela Palace, after booking an appointment with her personal hairdresser Luz Valero.

A fifth of households claiming legacy benefits have had them stopped after failing to switch to Universal Credit before the deadline on the Migration Notice letter, a new report has found. The National Audit Office (NAO) called on the UK Government to ensure people are getting the benefits they are entitled to as the Managed Migration process of moving people from the older benefits system continues.

Selome Hailu Tubi has released a trailer for “Boarders,” a British teen dramedy series the service acquired from BBC. The series will be branded as a Tubi Original in North America and premieres with all six hour-long episodes on March 8. Per the official description, “‘Boarders’ is a high energy, warm and funny coming of age drama which follows lives of five Black inner city school teenagers who find themselves on scholarships to one of Britain’s oldest and most prestigious boarding schools, St.

Piers Morgan has caused concern as he spoke out about the Royal Family. The talkTV star took to social media to call for "more clarity" after Prince William's last minute decision to pull out of an appearance at his godfather's memorial service on Tuesday.

“Urgent and joined up action” has been demanded from the UK government by broadcasting union Bectu, which has called for an industry-wide summit and criticized the culture secretary for saying the creative industries are “booming.”