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‘Strikingly large’ sum being recouped from people who fell foul of system that did not flag overpaymentsMinisters are clawing back more than £250m from unpaid carers over benefit infringements that occurred largely as a result of government failures, it can be revealed.More than 134,000 people who care for loved ones are being forced to repay often huge carer’s allowance overpayments. The debts are incurred...

Ministers ramp up anti-welfare rhetoric a day after data showed increase in UK unemploymentUK politics live – latest updatesThe UK chancellor and the welfare secretary have suggested that too many people are claiming unemployment benefit as a lifestyle choice after a rise in joblessness.Jeremy Hunt and Mel Stride used a joint article in the Times to ramp up the government’s anti-welfare rhetoric in the...

Observer finds thousands of claims for conditions including cerebral palsy and multiple sclerosis are being rejected in England and WalesThe government is rejecting more than 40% of applications for disability benefit from people with multiple sclerosis (MS), cerebral palsy and arthritis – and one in four applications from amputees, the Observer can reveal.Analysis of personal independence payment (Pip) disability benefit data for England and...

Mel Stride says therapy or respite could be offered instead of Pip payments to those with ‘milder’ mental health issuesUK politics – latest updatesPeople with depression or anxiety could lose access to sickness benefits, the work and pensions secretary has said, as part of major welfare changes that have been described as a “full-on assault on disabled people”.On Monday morning, Mel Stride announced the...

PM launches consultation on personal independence payment amid ‘spiralling’ disability welfare billRishi Sunak has announced fresh curbs on disability benefits, saying he wants to explore whether some cash payments to claimants suffering from mental health conditions could be replaced by treatment or access to services.In a speech on welfare, the prime minister said he was launching a consultation on the personal independence payment (Pip),...

Hundreds of thousands could lose out in England and Wales under disability benefit reforms after general electionHundreds of thousands fewer disabled people could receive cold weather payments under the Conservatives’ planned post-election disability benefit reforms, according to an internal government report seen by the Observer.The briefing, by civil servants at the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), says that under the plans, new applicants for...

Services Australia is working with Ergon to return overpayments, prompting fears the issue first identified at AGL could be widespreadFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our morning and afternoon news emails, free app or daily news podcastA second Australian energy company wrongly received money from the welfare payments of former customers, prompting fears that the issue identified at AGL could be...

This blog is now closed.Coalition warned political point-scoring on Kevin Rudd’s US appointment not in national interestGet our morning and afternoon news emails, free app or daily news podcastExpect to hear a lot more on this today:Southern Australia could face gas shortages during “extreme peak demand days” from 2025 as Bass Strait supplies dwindle, the Australian Energy Market Operator has said. Continue reading...

New data reveals backlog of 1.1m claims across all payments while around half of all calls to Centrelink went unanswered in six-month periodGet our morning and afternoon news emails, free app or daily news podcastServices Australia has apologised to its customers over a sustained blowout in call centre wait times as new figures also reveal a backlog of more than 1.1 million payment claims...

Former PM criticises ministers for ‘moral outrage’ of ‘systematically shredding’ social security systemGordon Brown: Grinding child poverty calls for anger – and a plan Britain is in the throes of a hidden poverty “epidemic”, with the worst-affected households living in squalor and going without food, heating and everyday basics such as clean clothes and toothpaste, the former UK prime minister Gordon Brown has said.Brown...

Key senator calls for broader tax reform, while arguing changes to stage-three plan could fund increases to jobseeker and other paymentsGet our morning and afternoon news emails, free app or daily news podcastThe independent senator David Pocock has called on the Albanese government to use $28bn of savings from its new tax-cuts package to increase welfare payments and urged Labor to trim other tax...

Advocates say government failing to meet ‘basic obligation’ to process claims quickly after Tim McCabe spent weeks with ‘no income’Get our morning and afternoon news emails, free app or daily news podcastA New South Wales jobseeker says he was forced to complete welfare mutual obligations – including a 50km round trip for job agency appointments and enrolling in training courses – despite receiving no...