Sickness, disability and carers' benefits

All Standard Notes
31 Documents
DateDescription
25.04.2013Support for Mortgage Interest scheme
Help with mortgage costs is available to claimants of certain means-tested benefits for people not in full-time work. The schemes are collectively known as Support for Mortgage Interest (SMI). Payments are made towards mortgage interest payments and are generally made direct to lenders.
19.02.2013Draft Care and Support Bill 2012-13
This note provides general information on the draft Care and Support Bill that was announced in the Queen's Speech on 9 May 2012 and published by the Government on 11 July 2012.
07.02.2013Draft Universal Credit Regulations 2013
Starting in selected 'Pathfinder' areas from April 2013, Universal Credit (UC) will begin to replace a range of means-tested benefits and tax credits for working age families. The Draft Universal Credit Regulations set out the detailed rules for the new benefit.
07.02.2013The housing element of Universal Credit
This note highlights some of the key differences between the current Housing Benefit system and the housing element of Universal Credit.
28.01.2013Draft Social Security (Personal Independence Payment) Regulations 2013
Personal Independence Payment (PIP) is to replace Disability Living Allowance (DLA) for people of working age, starting from April 2013. Part 4 of the Welfare Reform Act 2012 provides the framework for PIP, but the detailed rules for the new benefit - including the assessment criteria - are to be set out in regulations.
30.11.2012The Work Capability Assessment for Employment and Support Allowance
The Work Capability Assessment (WCA) was introduced in October 2008 to assess entitlement to Employment and Support Allowance (ESA). Between now and 2014, 1.5 million incapacity benefits claimants will also undergo the WCA. The WCA has however proved controversial and remains so, depsite changes to the test itself and how it is applied as a result of Government an independent reviews.
16.11.2012Localisation of the Social Fund
As a result of measures in the Welfare Reform Act 2012, certain elements of the discretionary Social Fund scheme will be replaced by new locally based provision delivered by local authorities in England and the devolved administrations in Scotland and Wales.
13.11.2012Personal Independence Payment: an introduction
Personal Independence Payment (PIP) is to replace Disability Living Allowance for people of working age, between April 2013 and March 2016. The changes will affect existing working age DLA claimants, as well as those making a new claim. For those existing DLA claimants found not to satisfy the conditions for PIP on reassessment, their DLA will stop.
09.11.2012Universal Credit: an introduction
Starting from next year, Universal Credit (UC) will begin to replace a range of means-tested benefits and tax credits for working age families. The intention is to simplify and streamline the benefits system for claimants, making it easier for people to understand; to reduce the financial and administrative barriers to work; to tackle in-work poverty; and to bear down on fraud and error.
25.10.2012Cold Weather Payments for winter 2012/2013
Cold Weather Payments of 25 pounds a week are made to certain recipients of Income Support, income-based Jobseeker's Allowance, income-related Employment and Support Allowance or Pension Credit during periods of very cold weather. To 'trigger' the payments, the average temperature at a specified weather station must be recorded as, or forecast to be, zero degrees or below for seven consecutive days.
13.07.2012ESA and Incapacity benefit statistics
A summary of statistics relating to Employment and Support Allowance and other incapacity-related benefits.
08.06.2012Carer's Allowance and the Retirement Pension
Carer's Allowance cannot be paid in addition to the Retirement Pension because of the "overlapping benefits" rule. This note looks at the rationale for this rule, and at the positions of both the current Government and the previous Labour Government on payment of Carer's Allowance to people over State Pension Age.
16.05.2012ESA and incapacity benefits - constituency statistics for Great Britain
Statistics on working-age claimants of Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) and its predecessor incapacity-related benefits in each constituency in Great Britain. In November 2011 there were 2.57 million claimants of these benefits in Great Britain.
27.04.2012ESA assessments and reassessments: Social Indicators article
A summary of the latest figures on outcomes of ESA Work Capability Assessments - published as part of the April 2012 edition of Social Indicators.
25.04.2012Time limiting of contributory Employment and Support Allowance from 30 April 2012
The 2010 Spending Review announced that contributory Employment and Support Allowance for claimants in the Work-Related Activity Group would be limited to 12 months. The time limit takes effect on 30 April 2012. For some claimants, benefit will stop immediately. All recipients of contributory ESA in the WRAG, including Incapacity Benefit claimants 'migrated' to ESA on reassessment, will be affected by the time limit. Savings of almost £1.5 billion a year are expected by 2015-16.
27.01.2012Welfare Reform Bill 2010-12: amendments at the Lords Committee and Report stages
The Welfare Reform Bill has its Third Reading in the House of Lords on 31 January 2012. At Report Stage in the Lords, the government suffered defeats on amendments relating to under-occupation of social housing, the Employment and Support Allowance, the proposed benefit cap, and child support maintenance
28.12.2011Employment and Support Allowance: an introduction
Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) replaced incapacity benefits for new claimants from 27 October 2008. It replaced both Incapacity Benefit, and Income Support for people judged incapable of work. There are two forms of Employment and Support Allowance: contributory ESA, for those who have a sufficient National Insurance contribution record; and income-related ESA, which is means-tested.
05.12.2011Uprating of social security benefits
Most but not all benefits are uprated in April each year, by reference to the increase in prices over the year to the previous September. The current Government has adopted the Consumer Prices Index (CPI) as the measure of inflation for uprating purposes. CPI tends to rise more slowly than the measures used. previously. The CPI for September 2011 was higher than expected, and media reports have suggested that the Government was considering changing the basis for uprating benefits. In the Autumn Statement the Chancellor announced that while benefits would increase by the full CPI from April 2011, the couple and lone parent elements of Working Tax Credit would be frozen and the child element of Child Tax Credit would increase by less than was planned.
17.02.2011Welfare Reform and the Universal Credit
On 11 November 2010 the Government set out plans for a 'Universal Credit' to replace most in work and out of work benefits for people of working age. This note gives an overview of the main features of the Universal Credit and looks at some of the issues raised by the proposals.
14.02.2011Disability Living Allowance reform
The June 2010 Budget announced that a new "objective medical assessment" would be introduced for both new and existing working age DLA claims from 2013-14, saving over £1 billion a year by 2014-15 and reducing the DLA caseload by 20%. On 6 December the Government published a consultation paper, Disability Living Allowance reform, which sets out plans for an entirely new benefit - the "Personal Independence Payment" - to replace DLA, starting from 2013-14.
03.02.2011Time-limiting contributory Employment and Support Allowance
The Spending Review on 20 October 2010 announced that, from April 2012, for those Employment and Support Allowance claimants assessed as eligible for the Work Related Activity Group, contributory ESA will only be payable for up to one year. Some claimants affected by the change will be able to claim income-based ESA, but it is estimated that around 280,000 could lose entitlement to ESA completely.
26.01.2011Disability Living Allowance mobility component for people in care homes
The October 2010 Spending Review announced that the DLA mobility component would be withdrawn from people in care homes whose place was funded by a public body. The proposal was dropped by the Government during the passage of Welfare Reform Bill 2010-12. This note gives background to the original proposal and summarises initial reactions to it.
05.01.2011Support for Mortgage Interest: the standard rate from 1 October 2010
The Support for Mortgage Interest (SMI) scheme provides help with mortgage interest payments for claimants of certain means-tested benefits. From 1 October 2010 the standard interest rate used to calculate SMI payments was cut from 6.08 per cent to 3.63 per cent. This note looks at the background to the change and at the issues it raises.
23.12.2010Cold Weather Payments for winter 2010/2011
Cold Weather Payments are made to certain claimants of means-tested benefits during periods of very cold weather. To trigger the £25 payments, the average temperature in an area must be recorded as, or forecast to be, 0°C or below for seven consecutive days.
05.11.2010June Budget and Spending Review 2010: DLA and ESA changes
The Coalition Government's June 2010 Budget announced that a new "objective medical assessment" would be introduced for Disability Living Allowance claims from 2013-14. The Spending Review on 20 October announced that that the DLA mobility component is to be withdrawn from people in care homes whose place is funded by a public body. The Spending Review also announced that, from April 2012, for those Employment and Support Allowance claimants assessed as eligible for the "Work Related Activity Group", contributory ESA would only be payable for up to one year.
26.05.2010Armed Forces Compensation Scheme
The Armed Forces Compensation Scheme (AFCS) replaced both the War Pensions Scheme and 'attributable' benefits payable under the old Armed Forces Pension Scheme (AFPS) for service personnel experiencing ill health, injury or death arising from service-related incidents on or after 6 April 2005. This note outlines the scheme and changes made to it since its introduction.
25.01.2010Support for domestic energy users
This note sets out financial support available to domestic energy consumers, including grants for central heating, insulation, microgeneration equipment and social security measures. It also explains how to seek advice or information about gas and electricity problems from Consumer Direct and the Energy Ombudsman.
22.01.2010Cold Weather Payments
Cold Weather Payments. By Steven Kennedy. SN/SP/696.
30.10.2009The future of Attendance Allowance
This note gives details of the proposal in the July 2009 Green Paper, Shaping the Future of Care Together, to integrate some elements of disability benefits with other funding streams to create a new system of care and support for older people in England.
15.12.20082009 Benefit Uprating
Sets out the basis for the uprating of benefits and tax credits in 2009
03.12.2008Means-tested benefits: help with mortgage costs
Means-tested benefits: help with mortgage costs. By Steven Kennedy. SN/SP/737.
All Research Papers
8 Documents
DateDescription
04.01.2013Welfare Benefits Uprating Bill
27.04.2012Social Indicators
A compendium of the latest social statistics. This edition includes articles: Constituency-level crime data, ESA assessments and reassessments and Measuring well-being
04.03.2011Welfare Reform Bill: reform of disability benefits, Housing Benefit, and other measures
This paper has been prepared for the Second Reading debate in the House of Commons. For information on the provision in the Bill relating to the introduction of Universal Credit, please see the complementary Library Research Paper, 11/24. Besides Universal Credit, the Bill proposes a number of other significant welfare reforms, including replacement of the current Disability Living Allowance, restriction of Housing Benefit entitlement to social housing tenants whose accommodation is larger than they need, time-limiting the payment of contributory Employment and Support Allowance to twelve months, and capping the total amount of benefit that can be claimed.
13.03.2009Welfare Reform Bill: Committee Stage report
This is a report on the Committee Stage of the Welfare Reform Bill. It complements Research Papers 09/08 and 09/09 prepared for Commons Second Reading.
23.01.2009Welfare Reform Bill: social security provisions
This paper is one of two which examine the main proposals of the Welfare Reform Bill 2008-09. It deals with Part 1 of the Bill, which includes provisions to establish a 'work for your benefit' scheme for the long-term unemployed, to allow piloting of the 'personalised conditionality' regime, and to enable the future abolition of income support. See also Research Paper 09/09.
19.07.2006The Welfare Reform Bill [Bill 208 of 2005-06]
16.12.1999Social sec. war pension and National Insurance provisions in the Child Support Pensions and Social Security Bill (Bill 9 1999/2000)
Social security, war pension and National Insurance provisions in the Child Support Pensions and Social Security Bill (Bill 9 of 1999/2000). House of Commons Library Research Paper 99/108.
19.02.1999Welfare Reform and Pensions Bill (Bill 44 of 1998/99)
Welfare Reform and Pensions Bill (Bill 44 of 1998/99). House of Commons Library Research Paper 99/19.