Ongoing News

The Government has confirmed that they will be freezing the Local Housing Allowance(private sector) rates again

for 2026/2027. The rates will be set again the April 2024 fgures. Rents on the other hand continue to rise.

Our new poster with all the Benefit Rates you need -

Benefits Rates Poster 2026/27

https://www.socialwelfaretraining.co.uk/node/3646

The poster is marked draft as it will be fnalised in April 2026.

The government is aiming to save around £1.9 billion by 2030/2031.

Part of that process are changes to the limited capability for work element of UC in April 2026.

As more people are migrated off ESA and onto Universal Credit the proportion of those with Limited Capability for

Work is increasing.

the government has confrmed the amounts they contribute for Discretionary Housing Payments will be the same

Click on the picture to get our at a glance guide to the Budget 2025 or

The removal of the 2 child limit will mean large reductions in child poverty, predicts the government.

'...there will be 600,000 fewer individuals in relative low income after housing costs in the fnal year of parliament

(FYE 2030) as a result of the removal of the two-child limit within Universal Credit, compared to baseline

It's hard to keep up to date with Welfare Reform changes...

click below 

At a Glance Guide to Benefit Changes announced in the Spring Statement 2025

At a glance guide to UC housing costs and Housing Benefit.

Caselaw sets precedent. That may help with your clients cases. These can be used at the tribunal stage but also

before eg at Mandatory reconsideration/revision/ supersession.

The 3 Upper tribunal decisions below may be helpful in your clients' case. If you want to use them at a hearing,

The work capability assessment applies for Universal Credit and also

Employment and Support Allowance claimants. Many new claimants from April

2026 will only get a reduced increase (for being in the support group).

There are currently long waits for the medical assessment that usually

The Household Support Fund and DHPs are administered by local Authorities.

From April 2026 they will start to be replaced by a new Crisis and Resilience Fund. This will be supported by £1 billion

each year until 2028/2029. the phased approach will means that by March 2029, unitary/upper tier LAs will receive all

funding.

A Law(The Universal Credit Act 2025) has been passed by Parliament which includes changes to Limited Capability for Work.

Some of the changes are-

● Standard allowance for tax years 4 years - 2026-27 to 2029-30- increases

The government has said-

Work Capability Assessments decide if a client has ltd capability for work and whether they are in the support group or work related activity group.

The government has supplied figures that show new claims assessments are being prioritized with few reassessments for existing clients.