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The Great Welfare Experiment. Universal Credit… and the rest. By Lee Healey The long awaited Welfare Reform Bill was introduced to Parliament today, outlining the Coalition Government’s plans for modernising the welfare system. The bill provided further information on key elements of change previously announced by the Government, including: The introduction of Universal Credit Household [...]

Havering MIND and IncomeMAX are proud to announce the launch of a brand new early intervention service for Carers, funded by the Department of Health. Becoming a Carer can be a difficult time, especially if there are financial and social wellbeing implications.  It is therefore essential that Carers get the right help, advice and support. The Havering MIND and [...]

An IncomeMAX expert has discovered that the Government has brought forward the change to set Local Housing Allowance rates at the 30th percentile instead of at the median. This change was set for October 2011 but it would appear that the change has now been brought forward to April 2011. Existing Housing Benefit claimants will only be affected by this [...]

By Lee Healey, IncomeMAX Managing Director Saturday 22nd January 2011 Entitlement experts IncomeMAX have discovered that some higher earning parents may still be entitled to tax credits from April 2011, even though the second earnings threshold has been reduced to £40,000. The second tax credit threshold reduction, announced in the emergency budget, has been widely [...]

I’ve already blogged about this years’ forthcoming changes to the benefits and tax credits system. It is pretty much business as usual in 2011 with a few tweaks but if you haven’t already it is well worth having a look at our free, downloadable IncomeMAX Benefits & Tax Credits Checklist which we will be fully [...]

2010 will go down in history as the year a British Government finally tried to get to grips with and make changes to the complex and expensive labyrinth that is the welfare system.   The benefits and tax credits system is incredibly confusing, not to mention expensive. A dizzying array of contributory, non-contributory and means-tested benefits, allowances, tax [...]

IncomeMAX welcome the fact that the Government has accepted Professor Harrington’s conclusions on the Work Capability Assessment and that they will implement the report’s recommendations in full. The Work Capability Assessment, which is used to assess eligibility for Employment & Support Allowance (ESA) is not that different from the tests that were used for Incapacity Benefit. Over the years, both ESA and [...]

IncomeMAX were shocked today as the Chancellor continued to cut benefit and tax credit payments, this time as part of the Comprehensive Spending Review. This was the fourth round of announced cuts, coming on top of the emergency budget, the subsequent extra welfare savings announcement and the recent child benefit and mortgage interest help cuts. The announcements included: [...]

The Sun this week declared war on what they refer to as Britain’s Benefits culture.  http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/features/3091717/The-Sun-declares-war-on-Britains-benefits-culture.html The story featured a young couple with two children that believe their benefits would be ‘cut’ if they work. This is a common pre-conception about the benefits system along with the idea that people are always ’worse off’ when they start work and come off [...]

David Cameron today unveiled plans to recruit private firms to help track down fraudulent benefit claims, in the hope of reducing the £1.5 billion lost by taxpayers to benefit fraud every year. The use of credit check records in benefit fraud cases is already common practice and can be useful from the point of seeing if someone [...]