New update for people on legacy benefits due Universal Credit Migration Notice letter from DWP this year

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).

The latest statistics from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) show that the number of people claiming Personal Independence Payment (PIP) at the end of October 2023 rose to an all-time high of nearly 3.5 million - and that figure does not include the 137,490 on Adult Disability Payment (ADP) in Scotland. Some 254,034 people on PIP living in Scotland will have their case transferred automatically to the devolved welfare system by the end of 2025.

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.

The latest statistics from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) show the State Pension currently provides regular financial support for nearly 12.7 million older people across the country, including over one million retirees living in Scotland. This payment is available for those who have reached the UK Government’s eligible retirement age, which is currently 66 for men and women, and have paid at least 10 years' worth of National Insurance Contributions.

Kensington Palace has issued an update on the Princess of Wales confirming that she left Windsor with her husband this afternoon.

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) is planning to stop six benefits for millions of people in 2024. If you're one of the many people on older benefits, you might see changes to your payments this year.

The Real Housewives of New Jersey have seen many ladies leave throughout the past 13 seasons!

Madonna had a very special guest at her third of five Celebration Tour shows in Los Angeles!

Thousands of disabled children and young people across Scotland will receive a one-off payment for £251.50 later this year to help with higher heating bills during the 2024/25 winter season. The Scottish Government has now confirmed all the new payment rates for devolved benefits and payments, including the Child Winter Heating Payment.

Marcus Rashford is set to be available for Manchester United's Premier League fixture at home to Everton on Saturday.

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has said it is “cooperating fully” with the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) while it conducts its independent investigation into ‘injustice caused by the maladministration’ of changes to the State Pension age, which has affected millions of WASPI women (Women Against State Pension Inequality). Pensions Minister Paul Maynard MP said the DWP will “carefully consider any findings that arise from the final report”.

People making a new claim for devolved benefits, or those transferring from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) IT system to the Social Security Scotland platform, are being warned not to be caught out by cold-callers, pretending to be official local client support advisers.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor Following its world premiere in the competition section of the Berlin Film Festival, Beta Cinema has revealed first sales across Europe and to Australia and New Zealand for Andreas Dresen’s “From Hilde, With Love.” The drama about anti-Nazi activists in Berlin, which is led by “Babylon Berlin’s” Liv Lisa Fries and introduces Johannes Hegemann in his first big screen appearance, will be released in France by Haut et Court, in Italy by Teodora and throughout Scandinavia by Angel Films. Beta Cinema also closed deals for Benelux (September Film), Portugal (Outsider), former Yugoslavia (Discovery), Hungary (Cirko) and Czech Republic (Film Europe). Palace Film picked up the film for Australia and New Zealand.

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.

The latest task on the BBC One's hit show 'The Apprentice' will see candidates challenged to launch their own Formula E team.

Every year, the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) issues letters to people in receipt of the State Pension or benefits to let them know how much their payments will be after the annual uprating has been applied in April. Everyone over State Pension age (66) will receive this letter, and Labour peer Lord Davies of Brixton, has confirmed that they are now being issued as he received his last week.

A new online petition is urging the UK Government to introduce a new social energy tariff for “disabled and financially vulnerable people who are rationing energy”. Petition creator Dan White argues that “an energy social tariff based on household income and household energy consumption could lift millions out of fuel poverty”.

A bit of new information about Prince Harry and Meghan Markle has been released amid the UK court ruling that came in today.

A fifth of households claiming old-style benefits from the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) have had them stopped after failing to switch to Universal Credit, a new report has found.

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has announced that some 440,000 Personal Independence Payment (PIP) award reviews for existing claimants were outstanding at the end of December, 2023. DWP also confirmed that anyone coming to the end of their PIP award, or those with an overdue review, will be kept updated by text message and payments will continue uninterrupted for up to 12 months.