Welfare reform

Members of parliament are due to vote on Tuesday on controversial government plans to place a 1% cap on annual rises in some benefits and tax credits for three years.

The majority of UK adults have no awareness of limited state support should they be unable to work through illness or disability, according to Zurich research.

Welfare spending will be cut in a further £6.6bn savings package, the chancellor of the exchequer announced in the Autumn Statement today.

The bill for benefit fraud bill has dropped but more action is still needed, the minister for welfare reform said today.

The challenge for income protection continues. The current focus for most providers is currently on the legislative issues of Solvency II, RDR and gender neutral pricing. These issues are large and distracting from product development.

NHS chief executive David Nicholson has written to NHS leaders to outline the next major step in the health and care system transition.

The Department for Work and Pensions and the Local Government Association have named fifteen local authorities in England recommended as potential pilot sites for Universal Credit.

Two thirds of over-50s NHS users have concerns about hospital service, a Saga Health Insurance study has reported.

WELL FAIR REFORM?

Workplaces must keep pace with changing services and the growing older generation, Carers UK has said.