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THE full effect of sweeping changes to the welfare system has yet to become clear.

A cross-party group of councillors has heard from senior officials from the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) about the new Universal Credit, which was introduced in Rugby last Monday.

The meeting was part of the early stages of its fact-finding work as the council seeks assurances over the support to residents affected by the benefit cap, changes to local council tax support, the so-called bedroom tax and Universal Credit.

Last year, eight million loans, totalling £2billion, were agreed by high cost lenders and - “quick and easy” process costs can cause financial pain

It’s the most expensive time of the year for many Brits and with high street banks tough on who they will lend to many are forced to turn to a payday loan to help with the cost of christmas.

The Government's benefits cap will struggle to meet its objectives of saving taxpayers' money and encouraging people into work, a report has found.

The Chartered Institute of Housing (CIH) studied the results of the cap in Haringey, one of four London boroughs chosen as pilot areas for the scheme. 

The government's benefit cap will struggle to meet its aims of encouraging people into work and saving taxpayers' money, a report suggests.

The Chartered Institute of Housing (CIH) looked at the London borough of Haringey, one of four pilot areas.  

The average buy-to-let investor in England and Wales earned a total return of £12,129 in the year to September, and that figure could double over the next 12 months.

According to the latest buy-to-let index from LSL Property Services, the average BTL investor enjoyed a total annual return of 7.4% in September, up sharply from 6.1% in August. 

David Cameron may be forced to rethink his plan to deny under-25s an automatic right to state benefits because many of the people losing out would be single parents.

Nick Clegg is worried that parents could be affected by proposals to restrict housing benefit for the more than one million “Neets” – young people not in education, employment or training – under a strategy announced by the Prime Minister at last week’s Conservative Party Conference. 

Domestic violence affects one in four women in their lives. Two women a week are killed by a partner or former partner and three quarters of a million children in the UK witness domestic violence every year.

The introduction of the bedroom tax is having an unacceptable and dangerous impact on women who have experienced domestic violence, and councils must take action. 

The Conservative Party will look at axing housing support for under-25s as part of its manifesto for the next election, the prime minister confirmed this week.

Setting a clear direction of travel, David Cameron told delegates at the Conservative Party conference in Manchester on Wednesday that he wanted to see ‘bold action’ in ending welfare dependency among young people. 

‘Bizarre’ government guidelines place onus on landlords not local authorities to define a bedroom

Government guidance issued to local authorities this week on how to classify a bedroom for the purposes of the bedroom tax has been panned as ‘bizarre’ and ‘wrong’ by experts. 

Rents have hit an 11-year high with 17 per cent more tenancies being granted this year than last, a report has shown.

Sequence, a chain of estate agents with 290 branches nationwide has published their most recent report, which shows rents rose 4 per cent in August and 11 per cent annually to £779 a month.