People over State Pension age to be urged to claim £3,900 annual income boost next week

The Scottish Government is set to introduce a new devolved, annual heating payment this winter to help more than one million State Pensioners with higher energy bills during the colder months. Pension Age Winter Heating Payment (PAWHP) will be administered and delivered by Social Security Scotland and replace Winter Fuel Payments from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP).

The Women Against State Pension Inequality (WASPI) campaign is warning those affected by changes to the State Pension age not to be duped by a “deeply concerning” spike in fake compensation claim forms appearing online. WASPI reports that multiple unofficial websites have emerged in recent days, claiming those impacted by short-notice State Pension age increases can claim up to £2,950, depending on their circumstances.

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 35,633 of them are receiving extra financial support through Personal Independence Payment (PIP), Adult Disability Payment (ADP) or Attendance Allowance.

More unpaid carers across Scotland will be able to apply for a new devolved benefit from next week when it launches in three additional council areas. Carer Support Payment is currently available to new claimants living in Dundee City, Perth and Kinross and the Western Isles, however, it will rollout in North and South Lanarkshire and Angus on Monday, June 24.

After a chilly start to June, the weather may be a little brighter next week.

What happens when long-distance lovers who've only ever met online actually get to meet in person? That's the premise of Channel 4's five-part reality series, The Nevermets, which has been following five couples separated not only by vast distances but, sometimes, differing cultures. The six-part Channel 4 series has introduced us to people like British catering assistant Sarah, 38, who travelled to the Phillipines to meet a 27 year old Filipino virtual assistant, called Jgoy.There were tears when Sarah had to travel home, with both admitting they had deep feelings for each other. Also on the show is 17 year old A-level student Jay, aged just 15 when he met now-26 year old Veena in a Game Of Thrones chatroom, but who travelled around 5,000 miles to meet her at home in India.

The BBC and Jimmy Savile: A British Horror Story producer 72 Films are teaming on a feature-length documentary about the state of Georgia‘s fight to put Donald Trump behind bars.

Earlier this week the Conservative Party confirmed in its manifesto that if elected as the next UK Government, it will press ahead with welfare reforms which include a new Fraud Bill. This will be in addition to the Data Protection and Digital Information Bill which was announced last year and due to the General Election has not progressed beyond the second reading in the House of Lords to the Committee Stage.

The latest statistics from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) show that the State Pension currently provides a regular financial income for nearly 12.7 million older people across the country, including more than 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 both men and women, and have paid at least 10 years' worth of National Insurance (NI) contributions.

The Conservative Party manifesto confirms that a General Election win on July 4 will see the introduction of the ‘Triple Lock Plus’, a new measure that will ensure the Personal Allowance - which has been frozen at £12,570 since April 2021 - rise in-line each year with the Triple Lock. This guarantee would mean that the Personal Allowance is always higher than the maximum rate of the New State Pension, which is now worth £11,502 annually.

The Liberal Democrats have launched their Party manifesto which pledges to maintain the State Pension Triple Lock, in a move similar to that of Labour and the Conservatives. They have also pledged to ensure women born in the 1950s, who have been affected by changes to the State Pension age, are “finally treated fairly and properly compensated”.

The State Pension now provides a regular income for nearly 12.7 million older people across Great Britain, including more than one million living in Scotland. The payment is administered by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) to those who have reached the UK Government’s eligible retirement age - now 66 for both men and women - and have paid at least 10 years' worth of National Insurance contributions.

The latest figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show UK inflation fell to the lowest level in nearly three years in April. The Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation rate slowed to 2.3 per cent, down from 3.2 per cent in March and is now the lowest level since July 2021 when inflation was recorded at 2 per cent, which is the Bank of England’s target level.

Cloaked celebrities return to the legendary Scottish castle for a game of detection, backstabbing as The Traitors returns for a brand-new series.The second American season of the show will air on BBC Three next week - beginning on Wednesday 12 June. Alan Cumming will take Claudia Winkleman’s place as host and will welcome 22 contestants to compete in games and gruelling roundtables all in the hope of winning a cash prize. As it’s the US series, most of the celebrities won’t be well-known to a UK audience.

Prince Harry is reportedly "upset" over King Charles' intention to relocate Prince Andrew into Frogmore Cottage, a Royal commentator has suggested.

A Falkirk group campaigning for justice for women affected by changes made to their pensions without proper warning has called for the support of candidates in the General Election.

The Women Against State Pension Inequality campaign (WASPI) have written to shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves, following her comments on compensation for 1950s-born women made during a press conference in Edinburgh earlier this week. Speaking to journalists alongside Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar at the head office of NatWest Group on Tuesday, Ms Reeves was asked about compensation promised to WASPI women under Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership of the Labour party. Ms Reeves said that she recognised the injustice, but added that no costing of compensation has been carried out yet.

During the first televised General Election debate on ITV on Tuesday night between Rishi Sunak and Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer, the Prime Minister warned that “for the first time in our country’s history, if Labour are elected, pensioners will pay tax.”

Nigel Farage has said he will stand as the Reform UK parliamentary candidate for Clacton, Essex, in the General Election.

Sunak v Starmer: The ITV Debate – will be moderated by presenter Julie Etchingham, who also hosted debates in 2015, 2017 and 2019.ITV said it also planned to broadcast an interview programme with other party leaders and a multi-party debate.Michael Jermey, ITV’s director of news and current affairs, said: “Millions of viewers value the election debates. They provide a chance to see and hear the party leaders set out their pitch to the country, debate directly with each other and take questions from voters.“ITV is pleased to be broadcasting the first debate in this year’s election campaign.”Other broadcasters, including the BBC, Channel 4 and Sky News, have not yet announced plans for any televised debates.