Latest editorial
The hands of an elderly woman
AN OLDER person could have to answer as many as 450 questions when applying for financial support from the government, according to new research published today.
Independent Age looked at the applications for four main entitlements: pension credit, attendance allowance, housing benefit and council tax reduction.
It found the applications to be complex, taking up to four hours to fill out with the help of a trained adviser.
DYLAN MURPHY reports that far from helping people back into work, the sanctions regime is inflicting unnecessary trauma on working-class families
While claiming to target fraud, Labour’s snooping Bill strips benefit recipients of privacy rights and presumption of innocence, writes CLAUDIA WEBBE, warning that algorithms with up to 25 per cent error rates could wrongfully investigate and harass millions of vulnerable people