The minimum cost of living has soared by a quarter since the start of the economic downturn creating an "unprecedented erosion of household living standards", according to research published by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation.
The research finds rising inflation and flat-lining wages are two of the key reasons for the additional pressure on families along with increasing childcare, food and housing costs.
The number of people seen rough sleeping in London has risen by 13% in the past year, a new report has revealed.
The ‘Street to Home 2012/13’ report shows that 6,437 people were seen sleeping on the streets of the capital between 1 April, 2012 and 31 March, 2013 - compared to 5,678 the previous year.
Tenants are continuing to vote with their feet in the most expensive parts of London, by moving out to cheaper areas.
Agents are reporting the ongoing exodus, amid an over-supply of properties, with landlords having to freeze or cut rents.
Minister for Welfare Reform Lord Freud says the Universal Credit demonstration projects have helped to shape new thinking around direct payments to tenants.
The demonstration projects were set up to learn how we could best support landlords and tenants with the introduction of direct payment. That learning is regularly shared and I’m sure all members of the social housing community have views on what it is teaching us. Because the roll out of Universal Credit is progressive we have time to get this right.
The majority of the British public believe the government should be tackling the root causes of the country’s high housing benefit bill.
A survey by the Fabian Society asked people if they agreed with the statement: "The size of the housing benefit bill has risen because there are more people claiming due to unemployment, low wages and rents rising quickly. Instead of planning further cuts, the government should be focusing on solving these underlying problems. The government should do this even if it took a long time and meant tax rises or spending cuts elsewhere."
The Universal Credit direct payment demonstration projects will be extended for a further six months, Minister for Welfare Reform Lord Freud recently announced, as new findings from the projects are published.
The Department for Work and Pensions says the extension will help to further develop the support needed for social housing tenants moving onto Universal Credit. The projects will now run until the end of the year.
Six in ten landlords and agents are concerned about receiving rent if they accept housing benefit tenants.
A new survey of 500 landlords and agents by website Dssmove found that rent apart, most landlords and agents (75%) were happy to let to Local Housing Allowance tenants.
The Welsh government's minister for tackling poverty has warned that the coalition's Universal Credit (UC) system has thrown a question mark over the state's ability to deliver support to most vulnerable people.
Huw Lewis told assembly members in the Senedd how UC will have a knock-on impact on Welsh government support such as free school meals.
Four families have launched a legal challenge against the government’s benefit cap on the grounds it is ‘discriminatory and unreasonable’.
The families have issued judicial review proceedings against the work and pensions secretary Iain Duncan Smith today at London’s High Court.
The government's Work Programme (WP) has been slammed by the Works and Pensions Committee, which has concluded that it is "unlikely" to help the most disadvantaged long-term unemployed.
“The performance of the WP in its first 14 months was poor. There are signs that it is now improving significantly for mainstream jobseekers. However, it has proved much less successful to date in addressing the problems faced by jobseekers who face more serious obstacles to finding a job – people with disabilities, homeless people, and those with a history of drug or alcohol abuse," said Dame Anne Begg MP, the committee's chair.