Iain Duncan Smith is to signal a further crackdown on welfare in a speech suggesting that changes to the benefit system have lowered unemployment.
The Conservative might promise to lower the benefit cap from £26,000 to nearer to £18,000 in its general election manifesto.
Ministers’ attempts to slash fraud and error in the benefits system could be undermined because of uncertainty over how the housing element of universal credit will work, MPs have warned.
The work and pensions select committee said in a report today it was unclear how officials would be able to cross-check universal credit claims against other information to prevent benefit fraud and error.
Payday loan companies are nearly twice as popular as credit unions with hard-up Brits, a new report has revealed.
Insolvency body R3's survey of over 2,000 British adults found that 4% – equivalent to 1.9m people – had taken out a payday loan in the last six months, while just 2% – 754,000 – said they have taken a loan from a credit union in the same period.
Hundreds of tenants have escaped the impact of welfare reform, but their housing association landlord warns the real problem may be how tenants are paying.
Mark Rogers, chief executive of Circle Housing, said 20 per cent of its tenants who were hit by the bedroom tax, and 40 per cent of those hit by the overall benefit cap, were no longer affected by the changes.
Thousands of people are signing up to credit unions as an ethical and affordable alternative to high-interest money lenders.
In the last two months of 2013, Glasgow Credit Union dealt with more than 1600 inquiries and signed up 733 new members - a 260% increase on the previous year. The influx followed the Scottish Government's '12 Days of Debtmas' and 'A Helping Hand with Debt' campaigns.
A credit union will open in Barton next week as volunteers bid to help estate residents with money woes.
The service is first being showcased on Monday – the day known as “Blue Monday”.
A Cabinet minister has urged middle-class savers and borrowers to cast aside their prejudices and join credit unions.
These non-profit organisations have long been regarded as the preserve of low-paid families who would otherwise struggle to obtain a mortgage or bank account.
Residents are being encouraged to seek help from their local credit union rather than go to payday loan companies when times get tough.
Credit unions are financial co-operatives, owned and managed by the members who use them.
A Credit Union in North Somerset has seen its membership double in the past 12 months – following warnings about the dangers of pay-day loans.
The Somerset Savings and Loans, which was previously North Somerset Credit Union, has seen its membership increase in the last 12 months from 1,000 members to just under 2,000.
Its nearly Christmas and shoppers are being urged not to spoil the festive fun by creating mountains of personal debt which will take months to clear.
Instead there are other ways to make the most of what you have and consumers who are canny could end the year by saving themselves a few pounds.