The DWP — work and pensions
Responsible for benefits and the state pension. Its decisions, checks and the recovery of overpayments.
Articles on this topic: 46
The £10 Christmas Bonus: who qualifies and when it is paid
Before Christmas, some pensioners and people on benefits get a one-off £10 payment. Here is what GOV.UK says about who qualifies, when it is paid and what to do if it never arrived.
Budgeting Advance in Universal Credit: who qualifies and how much
A one-off loan of £100 to £812 for people already on the benefit: rules, amounts and repayment.
Flexible Support Fund: how Jobcentre Plus can pay for travel, work clothes and tools to get you into a job
Jobcentre Plus can give people on benefits money for travel, work clothes, tools, a course or childcare to help them start work — and it is a grant you never repay. Here is how to ask your work coach.
Scottish Child Payment: a weekly payment for families in Scotland
Scotland has a separate payment for children that the rest of the UK does not. Here are the amount, the ages covered and how to claim.
A default pension for private sector workers: what is changing
The government wants to give private sector workers a ready-made pension and new collective schemes. Here is what changes and when.
UK pension reform: government proposes a 'default pension' for 17 million workers
On 3 November 2026 the UK government proposed reforming private pensions: schemes would have to offer a 'default pension' — a lifelong income rather than just a savings pot. Here is what it means.
Carer's Credit: how caring for someone need not shrink your future pension
If you care for someone at least 20 hours a week, Carer's Credit fills the gaps in your National Insurance record — so years of caring do not cut your future State Pension. It is not a payment but a credit.
Tell Us Once: how to report a death to all government services at once
After a loved one dies, many organisations have to be told. The free Tell Us Once service lets you do it in one go — for HMRC, DWP, DVLA, the Passport Office and your local council. The limit is 28 days.
How to prove your right to work in the UK: passport or a share code
Before hiring you, a UK employer must check your right to work. For British and Irish citizens that is a passport; for everyone else it is an online share code. Here is what to prepare.
Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit: up to £233.90 a week for a work injury
Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit is paid to people injured or made ill at work. The amount depends on your assessed level of disablement — from £46.78 at 20% to £233.90 a week at 100%.
Sure Start Maternity Grant: £500 for your first baby you don't repay
Families on certain benefits can get a one-off £500 payment for their first baby. You don't repay it and it doesn't affect other benefits. Claim from 11 weeks before the birth to 6 months after.
Tell Us Once: how to report a death to government in one go
The Tell Us Once service lets you notify most government bodies of a death at once. Here is how to get the reference number, the deadline and who it notifies.
New Style ESA 2026: sickness and disability benefit — rates and stages
New Style Employment and Support Allowance supports people who cannot work because of illness or disability. Here are the rates, the 13-week assessment and the two groups.
PIP disability payment in the UK: the amounts and how it is made up
Personal Independence Payment (PIP) helps with the extra costs of a long-term health condition or disability. It has two parts and you can get one or both. Here are the current weekly amounts and how it is paid.
£303.94 for a third child
The two-child limit has ended. Families in England, Scotland and Wales can now receive a Universal Credit child element for every child — check whether a third child appears in your statement.
Are you missing £4,700?
Up to 2.6 million working-age families did not receive support they were entitled to, worth about £4,700 a year on average. It is the first new government estimate for this group in nine years. Here is what was counted and how to check for free.
UK interest-free government loans: £100 to £812
A washing machine, a move, a rent deposit or a funeral can be covered by an interest-free loan from the state. Who gets a Budgeting Loan, who gets a Budgeting Advance, how much, and what the money cannot be spent on.
Moving house in the UK: who needs your new address
Not telling the DVLA about a change of address can cost up to £1,000, though the process itself is free. And it is not one action but four: licence, V5C, tax Direct Debit and the personalised number document. Here is the full list.
Carer's Credit: 20 hours of care a week that protect your State Pension record
The National Insurance credit pays nothing, but it fills the gaps in the record behind a £241.30-a-week State Pension. You need 20 hours of caring a week and to be 16 or over.
DLA for children: rates from £30.30 to £194.60 and the three-month rule
The award is built from two components: care at £30.30, £76.70 or £114.60 a week, mobility at £30.30 or £80. The higher mobility rate starts at 3, the lower at 5, and DLA cannot be backdated.
Attendance Allowance: £76.70 or £114.60 a week and six months of needing care
A care payment for people of State Pension age. Income and savings are not counted, but you must have needed help for at least six months.
Universal Credit advance: same-day answer, 24 months to repay, 3-month deferral
The wait for a first Universal Credit payment can be bridged with an advance. The most you can get is your first estimated payment, you usually hear the same day, and it comes out of future payments.
Short on rent: what replaced Discretionary Housing Payments in England on 1 April 2026
Since 1 April 2026 England has the Crisis and Resilience Fund instead of Discretionary Housing Payments. It does not affect your benefits, you apply through your council, and every council sets its own rules.
Who gets carer money back?
The UK is reassessing old Carer’s Allowance overpayments caused by flawed guidance on irregular earnings. By September 2026 about 100 carers had received refunds and about 100 had debts reduced. Here is who is covered and why no separate application is needed now.
Help with funeral costs: up to £1,000 on top of the cremation, and £300 for a child’s coffin
Funeral Expenses Payment meets cremation, burial plot and moving the body, plus up to £1,000 for everything else. A separate fund for children ignores income entirely. You have 6 months to claim.
New Style JSA in 2026: £95.55 a week, 182 days and the Jobcentre interview
The unemployment benefit paid on your National Insurance record, not on need — savings are ignored entirely. Rates, who qualifies, what to bring to the interview and what triggers a sanction.
PIP: £76.70 or £114.60 a week and who can claim it
Personal Independence Payment helps with the extra living costs of a long-term illness or disability. It is not means-tested, it is tax free and it is paid alongside almost every other benefit. Here are the rates, the closed list of tasks you are assessed on and how to claim.
Money after a partner dies: what is paid and why the first three months decide it
Bereavement Support Payment is £3,500 plus 18 payments of £350 at the higher rate. Only a claim within three months brings the full amount; after 21 months there is nothing.
DWP posts 660,000 leaflets: pensioners reminded about £4,500 a year
The Department for Work and Pensions has launched a new Pension Credit push. Leaflets go to seven areas with many low-income pensioners: the top-up is worth more than £4,500 a year on average, yet around a million people who qualify do not claim it.
Attendance Allowance: £76.70 or £114.60 a week, and who can claim
Attendance Allowance is for people at State Pension age who need help or supervision because of illness or disability. Income and savings are irrelevant, you do not need a carer, and the rates are £76.70 or £114.60 a week. Here are the conditions, the deadlines and how to claim.
UK cinema tickets: prices, audiences and who can watch for free
The average UK cinema ticket cost £8.01 in 2025, but the price at checkout depends on location, time, format and booking fees. We explain concessions, genuinely free screenings and the key CEA Card rule: the companion enters free, not the cardholder.
Carer's Allowance in the UK: £86.45 a Week and the £204 Earnings Limit
Carer's Allowance pays for 35 hours of care a week and ignores your savings. But earning over £204 wipes out that week's payment, and the person you care for loses their severe disability premium.
How to challenge a DWP decision: mandatory reconsideration, form SSCS1 and the tribunal
A refused benefit can be challenged twice, and both stages are free: first the DWP must look at its decision again, then the case goes to an independent tribunal. Here are the one-month deadlines, which SSCS form to use, who sits on the panel and what travel costs are paid back.
From 29 October the DWP can take benefit debt straight from your bank account — and ask a court for a driving ban
From 29 October 2026 the Department for Work and Pensions can take benefit debt directly from a bank account without a court order, and, where the debt is at least £1,000, ask a magistrates’ court to disqualify the debtor from driving for up to two years. Here are the deduction caps, the deadlines to object and the hardship safeguards.
How to register a death in England and Wales: 5 days, the green form and Tell Us Once
Five days to register, but the clock does not start on the day of death. Here is the GOV.UK order of play: why the medical examiner comes first, what the green form is, what a certificate costs, how to use Tell Us Once within 28 days, and what bereavement support is available.
HMRC visits: how to check an officer's identity under the rules updated on 7 October
On 7 October 2026 HMRC rewrote the process for confirming the identity of its staff during an in-person visit. You now note the name and serial number from the officer's card and call 03000 565 656, a 24-hour line used only for these checks. Debt collectors have a separate number, 0300 200 3862, and their own hours: 8am to 6pm, Monday to Friday.
State pension triple lock to change from April 2030: what it means for payments
On 6 October 2026 DWP published a factsheet on the triple lock reform: from April 2030 the State Pension will rise by the highest of CPI inflation, 2.5%, or the amount needed to hold its value against earnings. DWP estimates this saves around £50 billion a year by 2049/50. Until April 2030 the current rule stands.
Free careers advice moves into Jobcentres from 6 October 2026
From 6 October 2026 the National Careers Service has been merged into DWP, with around 500 careers advisers now working through Jobcentres. The advice is free and does not depend on benefits: it is available online and on 0800 072 0288, with face-to-face appointments starting later in October.
Child maintenance in the UK in 2026: how much you pay and how the CMS works it out
Child maintenance in the UK is worked out by the Child Maintenance Service using an open formula: 12% to 19% of the paying parent's gross weekly income. DWP figures published on 29 September 2026 show 820,000 arrangements covering 1.1 million children at the end of June 2026, with 23% of paying parents on Collect and Pay paying nothing that quarter.
Pension Credit in 2026: who qualifies, how much it pays and how to claim
Pension Credit tops weekly income up to £238 for a single person and £363.25 for a couple, with extra amounts of up to £118.46 a week on top. DWP estimates published on 30 October 2025 show up to 910,000 entitled families did not claim, leaving up to £2.5 billion unclaimed — around £2,600 a year each. Here are the thresholds, the extras, the savings rule and how to apply.
Your gas and electricity debt can be written off in full: who Ofgem is clearing 2022–2024 bills for, and what you must do
While everyone was working out the new price cap, Ofgem quietly launched a scheme that writes off old energy debt — up to £500m for around 195,000 customers, in full and with no matching payment. There is no application form: your supplier finds you, which is exactly why a write-off is so easy to miss. Here are the conditions — debt billed between 1 April 2022 and 31 March 2024, a £100 minimum, means-tested benefits, and one non-obvious requirement that pushes people out of the scheme.
DWP debt recovery: from October money can be taken straight from your bank account, and debts over £1,000 can cost you your driving licence
The DWP is switching on new recovery powers: direct deductions from bank accounts without a court order and, in persistent cases, disqualification from driving for up to two years. Warning letters started on 24 June and the window to agree terms closes on 24 October 2026. It applies to people who are no longer on benefits and not in PAYE work.
Guaranteed jobs for young people on health benefits: the state will pay six months of wages
The Department for Work and Pensions announced on 27 September a major expansion of the Jobs Guarantee: from April 2027, young people on health benefits will be offered a guaranteed paid job 13 weeks after their Work Capability Assessment. Participation is voluntary, and the government will cover 100% of wages for up to 25 hours a week for six months. Here is who qualifies and what to do now.
Under-16 social media ban from spring 2027: UK hires 1,000 youth workers and puts £450m into teenagers
On 26 September the government announced 1,000 new youth workers and a £450m fund for clubs and activities — and confirmed the timetable for the under-16 social media ban: regulations before the end of the year, launch in spring 2027. Here is what it means for families, and what 18-to-24-year-olds can already claim.
The government built a free CV tool: 20,000 CVs through Work Hub — and how to use it
On 25 September the DWP published the first results from Work Hub, the free job-search platform it calls a “jobcentre in your pocket”. The CV builder is open to everyone, not only people on benefits. Here is what is inside, where to find it and what not to expect.
UK law does not require proof of address — and nine banks must open you a basic account
Checked against the rules themselves rather than the banks' websites: nine designated banks must open a basic account within 10 business days, the grounds for refusal are a closed list, and neither a poor credit file nor a missing address is on it. What to bring instead of a utility bill, where £120,000 of protection applies and where none does, and what changed on 28 April 2026.