benefits

IOWA CITY, Iowa — A powerful U.S. senator on Tuesday called on the Trump administration to fix a growing backlog and longtime management problems at the program that promises benefits when police and firefighters die or become disabled in the line of duty.

Republican Chuck Grassley of Iowa, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said the Public Safety Officers’ Benefits program is failing the spouses and children of deceased and disabled first responders and needs new leadership. He said the mismanagement has caused significant hardship for grieving families, who often experience yearslong delays in processing and approving claims.

“This is absolutely unacceptable,” he wrote in a letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi, in which he suggested she consider replacing longtime program leader Hope Janke.

Grassley’s letter comes days after The Associated Press published an investigation detailing the claims backlog at the program, which provides a nearly $450,000 one-time payment to the families of deceased and disabled officers and firefighters in addition to education benefits.

The AP found dozens of families are waiting five years or more to learn whether they qualify for the life-changing payments, and more are being denied. As of late April, nearly 900 claims had been pending for more than one year, more than triple the number from five years ago, with a small number languishing for a decade.

Grassley cited a Government Accountability Office report issued last year that detailed deficiencies in the program’s management dating back to 2009. He said the program had failed to make changes recommended by outside reviewers but that “government bureaucrats” such as Janke have never been held accountable.

Janke has not responded to AP emails seeking comment, including one Tuesday. A request for comment to the DOJ wasn’t immediately returned.

DOJ officials said earlier this year that they are adopting several recommendations from the GAO, including improvements to make the program’s electronic claims management system more user-friendly. They say they are responding to a surge of claims after Congress has made more categories of deaths and injuries eligible for benefits.

Grassley demanded the DOJ provide updates and documents within two weeks related to the status of those changes.

Texas widow Lisa Afolayan, who is still fighting the program for benefits 16 years after her husband died while training for the Border Patrol, welcomed Grassley’s oversight of the program.

“We need movement. We need change and not only for my family,” she said. “They’ve lost sight of why the program was started.”

Foley writes for the Associated Press.

More than 100 Labour MPs are supporting a fresh effort to block the government’s planned changes to the benefits system.

The MPs have signed an amendment that would give them an opportunity to vote on a proposal to reject the welfare reform bill in its entirety.

Dozens of Labour MPs have expressed concerns about the plans to cut disability and sickness-related benefits payments to save £5bn a year by 2030.

Ministers have attempted to soften the impact of the welfare changes, but many Labour MPs remain discontented with the package of benefits reforms.

The welfare reform bill – called the Universal Credit and Personal Independence Payment Bill – will include proposals to make it harder for disabled people with less severe conditions to claim personal independence payment (Pip).

The amendment, published on the UK Parliament website, notes “the need for the reform of the social security system” before outlining reasons why the bill should be rejected.

The reasons it lists for thwarting the bill include the number of people the plans are expected to push into relative poverty, a lack of consultation, and an inadequate impact assessment on the consequences on the jobs market and on people’s health.

It is known as a reasoned amendment, which is a parliamentary mechanism which allows MPs to record their reasons for objecting to a bill.

If the reasoned amendment is selected by House Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle, and the majority of MPs vote in favour of it, the bill will not be allowed to continue its passage through Parliament.

While the success of the amendment is not assured, the level of support for it among Labour MPs indicates the extent of the potential rebellion facing ministers.

The Labour MPs who have signed the amendment include 10 Labour select committee chairs.

These are Tan Dhesi, Helen Hayes, Florence Eshalomi, Patricia Ferguson, Ruth Cadbury, Dame Meg Hillier, Ruth Jones, Sarah Owen, Debbie Abrahams and Cat Smith.

This number of Labour opponents to the government’s welfare plans could be enough to inflict defeat on Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer in the House of Commons, were all the opposition parties to oppose the plans too.

The government has a working majority of 165 in the Commons, meaning that 83 Labour MPs would need to oppose the bill to force a parliamentary defeat.

Earlier, Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch said she did not want to alert Labour to her plans before the welfare reform bill was voted on.

A senior Conservative source said the shadow cabinet would be discussing whether to help the government vote through the welfare reforms when they meet on Tuesday morning.

It is thought about half the amendment’s signatories so far are from the new intake of Labour MPs – those elected at the general election last year.

The vote on the government’s bill is currently due to take place a week tomorrow – on Tuesday 1 July.

In a meeting of Labour MPs on Monday evening, Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall defended the welfare reforms, arguing greater spending on benefits alone was “no route to social justice”.

“The path to fairer society – one where everyone thrives, where people who can work get the support they need, and where we protect those who cannot – that is the path we seek to build with our reforms,” Kendall said.

“Our plans are rooted in fairness – for those who need support and for taxpayers.

“They are about ensuring the welfare state survives, so there is always a safety net for those who need it.”

One of the main co-ordinators behind the amendment, who did not wish to be named, told the BBC the government’s U-turn on cutting winter fuel payments for pensioners “demonstrates that they are susceptible to pressure”.

They said the decision emboldened many of those who have signed the amendment, saying MPs “all voted for winter fuel [cuts] and have taken so much grief in our constituencies, so colleagues think why should I take that on again?”.

It is understood that plans for the amendment began when the government offered a partial olive branch, by expanding the transition period for anyone losing the personal independence payment.

The same MP who has been helping to co-ordinate the amendment said the offering by the government earlier this month was “pathetic” and “angered people even more”.

They said direct phone calls from Sir Keir and Chancellor Rachel Reeves that were supposed to placate would-be rebels had instead “been entrenching people” to vote against the bill.

They accused Number 10 of thinking MPs can be “bullied into voting with them” and said the aim of the amendment was to “send the government back to the drawing board” by forcing them to withdraw next week’s vote.

The welfare package as a whole could push an extra 250,000 people, including 50,000 children, into relative poverty, according to the government’s impact assessment.

The Department for Work and Pensions says it expects 3.2 million families – a mixture of current and future recipients – to lose out financially, as a result of the total package of measures, with an average loss of £1,720 per year.

This includes 370,000 current Pip recipients who will no longer qualify and 430,000 future claimants who will get less than they would previously have been entitled to.

But ministers have stressed the figures do not factor in the government’s plans to spend £1bn on helping the long-term sick and disabled back into work, or its efforts to reduce poverty.

Ministers hope these efforts will boost employment among benefits recipients, at a time when 2.8 million people are economically inactive due to long-term sickness.

If nothing changes, the health and disability benefits bill is forecast to reach £70bn a year by the end of the decade, a level of spending the government says is “unsustainable”.

The government is planning to put the welfare reforms in place by November 2026 and no one will lose out on benefits payments until that happens.

For 24 years, immigrants lacking documentation who graduated from high school in California have received in-state tuition benefits at public colleges and universities under a law that’s given tens of thousands access to higher education that many couldn’t otherwise afford.

When the California Legislature passed Assembly Bill 540 in 2001, it was the second state in the nation — after Texas — to embrace such tuition policies. Bipartisan efforts quickly grew across the country, with more than 20 states adopting similar policies.

But recent court actions by the Trump administration are causing alarm among immigrant students and casting a shadow over the tuition benefit in California, the state with the largest population of people living in the U.S. without legal authorization.

On June 4, the U.S. Department of Justice sued Texas over its tuition statute for immigrants without authorization, alleging it violated a federal law that prevents people who do not have legal status from receiving public benefits. Texas did not defend its law and instead put its support behind the Trump administration, leaving 57,000 undocumented college students in the state in educational limbo after a federal judge blocked the statute.

Last week, the DOJ launched a similar suit in Kentucky, asking a federal judge to strike down a state practice that it says unlawfully gives undocumented immigrants access to in-state college tuition while American citizens from other states pay higher tuition to attend the same schools.

“Under federal law, schools cannot provide benefits to illegal aliens that they do not provide to U.S. citizens,” Atty. Gen. Bondi said of the Texas lawsuit in a statement that signaled a broader fight. “The Justice Department will relentlessly fight to vindicate federal law and ensure that U.S. citizens are not treated like second-class citizens anywhere in the country.”

Is California next?

Legal experts say that it’s not a matter of “if” but when and how the Trump administration will come for California’s law. The White House is already battling the state over liberal policies, including support of transgender students in school sports; sanctuary cities opposing ongoing federal immigration raids; and diversity, equity and inclusion programs in education.

“We are just waiting to see when it’s California’s turn,” said Kevin R. Johnson, the dean of the UC Davis law school, who specializes in immigration. Johnson predicted the White House was going after “lower-hanging fruit” in more conservative states before California, where Trump will face “firm resistance.”

The potential threat has shaken California’s undocumented students.

“If I no longer qualify for lower tuition, I really don’t know what I would do,” said Osmar Enríquez, who graduated last month with an associate’s degree from Santa Rosa Junior College and will enroll at UC Berkeley in August to embark on an undergraduate degree in media studies.

The difference between in-state and out-of-state tuition for people like Enríquez can be thousands of dollars at a community college and tens of thousands at CSU and UC campuses. International students pay out-of-state rates. At Santa Rosa Junior College, the average tuition for two semesters for an in-state student is $621. For an out-of-state student, it’s $5,427.

“What I see the Trump administration doing is trying to exclude us,” said Enríquez, who aspires to one day operate a public relations company. “They don’t want us to get educated or to reach positions of power. And with everything going on now, they are just trying to dehumanize us any way they can.”

More than 80,000 undocumented college students in California

Campus and university-level data on undocumented student populations can be difficult to estimate.

Although universities and colleges keep track of how many students without documentation receive tuition exemptions under AB 540, the data also include citizens who qualify for in-state tuition. These students grew up in the state and graduated from a California high school before their families moved elsewhere.

Numbers are also complicated by changes in the California Dream Act Application, which was established for students lacking documentation to apply for state aid but has expanded to allow students who are citizens and have an undocumented parent.

Out of the University of California system’s nearly 296,000 students, it estimates that between 2,000 and 4,000 are undocumented. Across California State University campuses, there are about 9,500 immigrants without documentation enrolled out of 461,000 total students. The state’s biggest undocumented group, estimated to be 70,000, comprises community college students and recent graduates such as Enríquez.

Born in Mexico and brought by his family to the U.S. when he was a 1-year-old, Enríquez said in-state tuition has made his education monumentally more affordable. At his next stop, UC Berkeley, in-state tuition and fees last year amounted to $16,980. Out-of-state and international students had to pay a total of $54,582.

What students say

Several undocumented students from UCLA, Cal State Los Angeles and other schools declined interviews with The Times or requested to be cited without their names, saying they were fearful of identifying themselves publicly as the federal government undertakes a third week of immigration raids across Southern California.

“I just want to go to school. What is wrong with that?” said an undocumented graduate student at Cal State Los Angeles who received his undergraduate degree at a UC campus. The Latin American studies student asked for his name to be withheld because of concern over immigration enforcement agents targeting him.

“I don’t only want to go a school, I want to go to a public university. I want to contribute to my university. I want to become a professor and teach others and support the state of California,” he said. “Why are we so bent on keeping students from getting an education and giving back?”

Sandra, a Cal State Northridge student who asked to be only identified by her first name, had a similar view. An undocumented immigrant whose parents brought her from Mexico to Los Angeles at age two, she said she would not be in college without the in-state tuition law.

“I was not eligible for DACA, so money is thin,” Sandra said, referencing the Obama-era program that gave work authorization to undocumented immigrants who arrived in the U.S. as children but hasn’t taken new applications since 2021. “We save and we squeeze all we can out of fellowships and scholarships to pay in hopes that we use our education to make a difference and make an income later.”

Legal questions

The Trump administration’s challenge to the tuition rules rest on a 1996 federal law that says people in the U.S. without legal permission should “not be eligible on the basis of residence within a state … for any post-secondary education benefit unless a citizen or national of the United States is eligible for such a benefit … without regard to whether the citizen or national is such a resident.”

“There are questions about exactly what that means,” said Ahilan Arulanantham, co-director of the Center for Immigration Law and Policy at UCLA Law School. “Does that apply to universities that do not use residency as a requirement for the tuition rate but instead use high school graduation in the state?” he said, explaining that state practices differ.

In California, an undocumented immigrant who did not graduate from a high school in the state would typically not qualify for reduced tuition.

The Justice Department has argued in court that giving in-state tuition to immigrants without proper authorization violates the federal law. Some Trump opponents point out that the law does not speak specifically to tuition rates, although courts have interpreted the word “benefit” to include cheaper tuition.

In the recent Texas case, undocumented students, represented by the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund, have filed a motion in court, asking the judge to allow them to argue in support of upholding reduced tuition rates.

The tuition policies have survived other legal challenges.

Before Trump administration intervened, the Texas law appeared to be legally sound after a federal appeals court ruled in 2023 that the University of North Texas could charge out-of-state students more than it charges in-state undocumented immigrants. In that case, the court said the plaintiffs did not make good case that out-of state students were illegally treated differently than noncitizens. But the court suggested there could be other legal challenges to tuition rates for immigrants lacking documentation.

The California law has also withstood challenges. The state Supreme Court upheld its legality in 2010 after out-of-state students sued. The next year, the U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear an appeal of the case.

The California court concluded that undocumented immigrants were not receiving preferential treatment because of their immigration status but because they attended and graduated from California schools. Justices said U.S. citizens who attended and graduated from the state’s schools had the same opportunity.

Still, momentum has built to abolish in-state tuition rates for immigrants without legal documentation.

This year, lawmakers in Florida — which had a rule on the books for more than a decade allowing tuition waivers for undocumented students — eliminated the option. Prior to the federal action against Texas, legislators in the state also tried and failed to follow Florida’s lead. During this year’s legislative sessions, bills were also introduced in Kansas and Minnesota, although they have not passed.

Double the number of households in Britain will get £150 off their energy bills this winter as the government changes the rules on who qualifies for the Warm Home Discount.

Anyone on means-tested benefits will automatically see the money knocked off their bills no matter what size of property they live in.

However, the cost could be covered by raising fees on all customer bills through the standing charge, unless savings can be found by suppliers.

While debt charities and energy groups have welcomed the move, some say the scheme still leaves out some of those most at risk, including those on non-means tested benefits.

Simon Francis from the End Fuel Poverty Coalition said: “With bills still hundreds of pounds higher than in 2020, millions will continue to face unaffordable energy and cold, damp homes this winter.”

Energy companies pay for and distribute the £150 discount to people’s bills across England, Scotland and Wales, but the government sets the criteria for who should receive it.

Those rules were tightened under the previous administration, limiting the payment to those on the guaranteed element of pension credit, or those on means-tested-benefits living in a home with a high energy score.

Now the qualification about property size, type and home energy score is being scrapped. As a result this winter 2.7 million more homes will get this extra energy bill help, including almost a million households with children.

This extension comes hot-off-the-heels of the government U-turn to reinstate the Winter Fuel Payment to the majority of pensioners.

The bill for expanding the Warm Home Discount will be paid by energy companies and could be passed on through the standing charge, so it is possible all customers will see a slight increase in bills in the autumn to cover this announcement.

However, the government says any rise will be cancelled out by savings made by cutting energy companies’ expenditure and doing more to sort problem debt.

Household bills controlled by the energy price cap have been reduced over the summer months, and standing charges fell in all areas because the rules on what expenditure companies can pass on was restricted.

However, current market expectations are for another rise in gas and electricity bills from the start of October because of higher oil and gas prices.

Representing energy suppliers, Energy UK’s chief executive Dhara Vyas welcomed the announcement and said she hoped to see more help for those most in need “by accelerating progress on a new improved targeted support scheme”.

Earlier this month, Chancellor Rachel Reeves used the Spending Review to confirm £13.2bn will be spent on the government’s Warm Homes Plan, which aims to make homes more energy-efficient and cheaper for people to heat.

Meanwhile, the government said on Thursday that it wants to expand automatic compensation schemes for energy customers.

It wants consumers to get automatic compensation for people spending too long on hold when calling their energy companies, and for customers getting unexpectedly high bills due to firms not adjusting direct debits.

The proposals are also designed to cut the time suppliers have to respond to a complaint.

Under the current scheme, energy suppliers are given eight weeks to respond to a complaint.

If a customer does not hear back from the company in that time, or their request is not resolved, they would then need to contact the Energy Ombudsman to investigate further.

The proposals would speed up that process, giving suppliers four weeks to respond and automatically referring customers to the Ombudsman if they do not hear anything in that time.

Households are already entitled to automatic compensation under some circumstances, including if their switch to a new supplier goes wrong.

Sir Keir Starmer has hit back at potential rebels in the Labour Party over his plans to cut the benefits bill, insisting “we have got to get the reforms through.”

MPs will vote in the coming weeks on a package of measures aiming to cut the benefits bill by £5bn by 2030.

The Welfare Reform Bill will include proposals to make it harder for disabled people with less severe conditions to claim Personal Independence Payment, or PIP, in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Speaking to reporters, the prime minister said: “We have got to get the reforms through, and I have been clear about that from start to finish.

“The system is not working. It’s not working for those that need support, it’s not working for taxpayers.

“Everybody agrees it needs reform, we have got to reform it and that is what we intend to do.”

Last week, ministers sought to reassure nervy Labour MPs by introducing a transition period for those whose benefits are being withdrawn.

Dozens of Labour MPs have expressed concerns about the plans to cut Pip payments and the sickness-related element of Universal Credit.

Many have said they are prepared to vote against the primary legislation the government needs to pass to make the changes to welfare payments.

The welfare package as a whole could push an extra 250,000 people, including 50,000 children, into relative poverty, according to the government’s impact assessment.

Asked if there could be further concessions, Sir Keir said he was determined to press ahead with the changes:

“The principles remain the same, those who can work should work.

“Those who need support in to work should have that support in to work which I don’t think they are getting at the moment.

“Those who are never going to be able to work should be properly supported and protected. And that includes not being reassessed and reassessed.

“So they are the principles, we need to do reform and we will be getting on with that reform when the Bill comes.”

In March, the Trump administration deported 238 Venezuelans to El Salvador, allegedly for membership in the criminal organization Tren de Aragua. According to White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, these men were “terrorists” and “heinous monsters.” President Trump echoed her, calling them “monsters” on his social media platform, Truth Social. In May, ProPublica reported that the White House knew that most of the men had no criminal convictions in the U.S., and earlier reporting indicated that more than 50 of them had entered the U.S. legally and had not violated immigration law.

“Monster” conjures a threat distinct from “foreign,” “different,” “other” or even “alien.” Here it implies that the deportees are different from “normal” people (read “white, Anglo, native-born Americans”) in ways that go beyond merely committing a garden-variety crime. Their transgression of the social contract seemingly even exceeds the violent crimes of which they are accused, because U.S. citizens suspected of being “rapists, murders, kidnappers” — the administration’s allegations about these “monsters” — don’t get trafficked to gulags overseas.

Monstrifying these people was part of a strategy to justify deporting them by invoking the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 without proof of any crime or gang membership. By doing so the administration threatens to normalize not just the deportation of a handful of individuals but also depriving all residents (legal and undocumented) and U.S. citizens of the right to challenge the legality of their detention or imprisonment. Because one cannot prove legal residence or citizenship without due process, deporting people without legal proceedings is to deny rights that must be extended to all if they are to exist for anyone — a violation all the greater when individuals are sent to a prison from which, in the words of the Salvadoran president, “the only way out is in a coffin.”

Monstrifying individuals and groups is nothing new. The 11th-century chronicler Gerald of Wales, descended from Norman conquerers and Welsh nobility, dismissed the English as “the most worthless of all peoples under heaven … the most abject slaves” and Ireland as an island inhabited by werewolves, ox-humans and other human-animal hybrids. In 1625, an English Puritan travel editor published a claim (without having set foot in North America) that the Algonquians had “little of humanitie but shape … more brutish than the beasts they hunt.”

In 1558, the Scottish Protestant and firebrand preacher John Knox published a pamphlet against the rule of Mary I of England, arguing that a woman who ruled in her own right was “a monster of monsters,” her country a monstrous body politic, unlikely to survive for long. In the age of Atlantic slavery, legal instruments known as “black codes” invented Black Africans transported to the colonies as a new category: the chattel slave who served for life and had fewer rights than white Christian servants.

The current president’s history of monstrifying people extends to U.S. citizens. In August 2016, Trump called Hillary Clinton “a monster”: supposedly “weak,” “unhinged,” “unbalanced,” someone who would be “a disaster” as president and who allegedly threatened “the destruction of this country from within.” In October 2020, Trump twice called Kamala Harris “this monster.”

The distinctions drawn by people in power trying to divide a population are often unworkable. How do you tell a law-abiding person from a terrorist gang member? From their tattoos, according to this administration. Neither citizenship nor immigration status is visible on a person’s body or audible in their voice, yet people of color of every immigration and citizenship status have long faced racial profiling. Attempts to define visible signs of the monster are not new either; nor is the fact that monster-making sweeps up an immense number of people in its dragnet.

But monsters are never hermetically sealed from the group whose borders they were invented to define. This ham-fisted attempt at an evidence-based reason for trafficking people to El Salvador echoes earlier attempts to identify distinct groups in a population where human variety existed on a continuum. Notorious among these examples was the monstrification and mass slaughter, in Nazi Germany, of Jewish, Roma, Sinti, LGBTQ+, disabled and neurodiverse individuals as well as political dissidents.

In the U.S. today, to tolerate, permit or encourage the monstrification of any non-citizen and consequently deny them due process is to tolerate, permit and encourage this to happen to U.S. citizens.

The category of the human is shrinking as politicians, tech bros and right-wing pundits monstrify everyone who isn’t a cis-het white man. Today’s dehumanizing language extends beyond the Venezuelan deportees that this administration labeled as “monsters.” It extends to women, minorities and LGBTQ+ people by questioning their right to bodily autonomy, privacy and dignity. It extends to people who are unhoused, poor, disabled or elderly, as social services are cut.

These narratives hail back to a broader, centuries-long Western tradition of gazing at other people and framing them as monstrous: as beings who supposedly broke the category of “human” and could be legitimately denied of fundamental rights.

Monster-making campaigns always serve a purpose. For European colonizers, claiming that Indigenous people were less than human disguised European land grabs. Laws defining enslaved Black Africans as chattel property legalized their enslavement and broke the labor solidarity between white servants and enslaved Africans. And the Nazis claimed that Jews and other minorities had caused Germany to lose the First World War and were responsible for the nation’s economic collapse.

Again today, the goals of monstrification serve the myth of white supremacy, including the notion that the U.S. was meant to be a white ethnostate. Thus while the Trump administration terminated a program for refugees fleeing Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela, it welcomed white Afrikaners from South Africa by calling them refugees.

Furthermore, by exploiting Jews’ proximity to whiteness, this administration is monstrifying Palestinians in order to justify the Israeli government’s human rights violations. By declaring that protesters, including those who are Jewish, calling for an end to the Gaza slaughter are antisemitic, and by withholding research funds from and interfering with universities by calling them hotbeds of antisemitism, the administration attempts to convince people that Palestinian civilians do not deserve food, homes, safety or even life — and that recognizing the humanity of Jews requires denying that Palestinians are human and have human rights. Yet the administration’s own antisemitism is clear: Trump has pardoned leaders of antisemitic and white supremacist organizations and hosted prominent antisemites as dinner guests.

This multi-pronged campaign of monstrification strengthens the personal loyalty of white supremacists and Christian nationalists towards Trump and sows discord and poisons solidarity among his targets and critics.

Monstrifying narratives have been undermining the possibility of a more inclusive body politic for millennia. But there’s an antidote to us-them messages of hate, fear and exclusion that claim that only a tiny minority of people are truly human. That antidote is to realize that by recognizing the humanity of others we don’t disavow our own humanity: We demonstrate it. It behooves us to demand that all people receive equal protection under the law, and to call out monstrifying narratives that, in the end, dehumanize us all.

Surekha Davies is a historian, speaker and monster consultant for TV, film and radio. She is the author of “Humans: A Monstrous History” and writes the newsletter “Strange and Wondrous: Notes From a Science Historian.”

A SIMPLE holiday error could see a host of benefits including Universal Credit and PIP stopped.

You may even have to pay back any overpaid money and in a worse case scenario an up to £5,000 penalty too.

1

Going abroad is classed as a change in circumstances which must be reported to the office that pays your benefits.

If you do not, it may be reduced or stopped and you could be told to pay back any overpaid amounts.

If you are found to have deliberately not reported going abroad, it is classed as benefit fraud and you could be taken to court or asked to pay a penalty of between £350 and £5,000.

However, at which point you have to report going abroad varies based on the benefit you are receiving.

For example, you don’t have to report going abroad if you’re on Attendance Allowance (AA) and going away for less than four weeks.

If you do need to report going abroad, you need to tell your local Jobcentre Plus or the office that pays your benefit.

This is the full list of benefits where you may have to report going abroad this summer:

• Universal Credit
• Jobseeker’s Allowance
• PIP
• Disability Living Allowance (DLA)
• Employment and Support Allowance (ESA)
• Attendance Allowance
• Carer’s Allowance
• Pension Credit
• Housing Benefit
• Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP)
• Maternity Allowance
• Child Benefit
• Guardian’s Allowance

Here are the rules on reporting going abroad for the major benefits.

Universal Credit

If you’re on Universal Credit, you can stay abroad for one month and carry on receiving payments.

You still have to tell your work coach you’re going away and have to carry on meeting the conditions of your claim.

For example, if you are in the intensive work group and have to spend a minimum amount of hours per week looking for a job, you have to continue doing this.

There are exceptions to the one-month rule though – such as if a “close relative” dies while you are abroad and it is not deemed reasonable for you to return to the UK.

Meanwhile, you can carry on claiming Universal Credit for up to six months if you have gone abroad for medical treatment.

You can report going away on holiday by signing in via your Universal Credit account.

Jobseeker’s Allowance

If you are on New Style or income-based JSA you must report if you are leaving Great Britain for any length of time.

You can let the Government know you are going away by calling the JSA helpline on 0800 169 0310.

You can also write to the Jobcentre Plus office that pays your JSA.

You can find your nearest office by using its online branch locator.

PIP and DLA

You have to tell the DWP if you are on Personal Independence payments (PIP) Or Disability Living Allowance (DLA) and going away for more than four weeks.

You have to tell the Government the date you are leaving the country, how long you are going away for and which country you plan to visit.

You also need to tell the DWP why you plan to go abroad.

You can call the Disability Service Centre on 0800 121 4433 to inform them you are going away if you are on PIP or DLA.

Attendance Allowance

Like with PIP and DLA, you have to tell the DWP if you plan to go abroad for more than four weeks and are on AA.

You can claim AA for up to 13 weeks while abroad, or 26 weeks if you’re going away for medical treatment.

Carer’s Allowance

If you are on Carer’s Allowance, you can go away for up to four weeks over a six-month period while still receiving the benefit.

But you still have to report this or risk having to pay back your entitlement or paying a fine.

You can report going away via the Government’s website or by calling the Carer’s Allowance Unit on 0800 731 0297.

Pension Credit

You can claim Pension Credit for up to four weeks if you are abroad.

This is extended to eight weeks if the absence is due to the death of your partner or a child.

However, you still need to report going abroad.

You can do this via the Government’s website or by calling the Pension Credit helpline on 0800 731 0469.

Housing Benefit

You can usually only carry on claiming Housing Benefit for up to four weeks if you go abroad.

Like with Pension Credit, you can carry on receiving it for eight weeks if you have to go abroad because a close relative has died.

But you should contact the Benefits Service on 020 7364 5000 to let them know you’re going away.

You might also be able to via your local council’s website. You can find your local council by using the Government’s online locator tool.

Do you have a money problem that needs sorting? Get in touch by emailing [email protected].

Plus, you can join our Sun Money Chats and Tips Facebook group to share your tips and stories

June 6 (UPI) — Several thousand veterans converged on the National Mall on Friday to rally against proposed cuts to Veterans Affairs services, among 200 events nationwide.

Veterans, military families and others participated in the Unite for Veterans, Unite for America Rally on the 81st anniversary of D-Day, which was the Allies’ amphibious invasion of German-occupied France.

Veteran-led protests took place at 16 state capitol buildings and more than 100 other places across 43 states.

“We are coming together to defend the benefits, jobs and dignity that every generation of veterans has earned through sacrifice,” Unite for Veterans said on its website. “Veteran jobs, healthcare, and essential VA services are under attack. We will not stand by.”

Speakers in Washington included Democrats with military backgrounds: Sen. Tammy Duckworth of Illinois, former Rep. Conor Lamb of Pennsylvania and California Rep. Derek Tran.

There were signs against President Donald Trump, VA Secretary Doug Collins and Elon Musk, the multi-billionaire who ran the Department of Government Efficiency. They said those leaders are betraying the country’s promises to troops.

“Are you tired of being thanked for our service in the public and stabbed in our back in private?” Army veteran Everett Kelly, the national president of the American Federation of Government Employees, asked the crowd.

“For years, politicians on both sides of the aisle have campaigned on their support of veterans, but once they get into office, they cut our benefits, our services. They take every opportunity to privatize our health care.”

The Trump administration plans to cut 83,000 VA staffers and shift more money from the federal health care system to private-sector clinics.

The Department of Veterans Affairs employs approximately 482,000 people, including 500,000 workers at 170 hospitals and 1,200 local clinics in the nation’s largest health care system.

In all, there are 15.8 million veterans, which represents 6.1% of the civilian population 18 years and older.

VA officials said the event was misguided.

“Anyone who says VA is cutting healthcare and benefits is not being honest,” VA press secretary Peter Kasperowicz in a statement to Navy Times. “The Biden Administration failed to address nearly all of VA’s most serious problems, including rising health care wait times, benefits backlogs, and major issues with survivor benefits. Under President Trump and Secretary Collins, VA is fixing these problems and making major improvements.”

The event was modeled after the Bonus Army protests of the 1930s, when veterans who served in World War I gathered in the nation’s capital to demand extra pay denied after leaving the service.

Irma Westmoreland, a registered nurse working at a VA hospital and the secretary-treasurer of National Nurses United, told the crowd in Washington: “It’s important for every person to keep their job, from the engineering staff to the housekeeper to the dietary staff. When cuts are made, the nursing and medical staff will have to pick up all their work that needs to be done.”

June 6 (UPI) — The Department of Veterans Affairs’ Health and Benefits mobile app has achieved more than 3 million downloads, or nearly 20% of all veterans, since its launch in 2021.

The app has 1.4 million active users, according to an agency news release Friday on the 81st anniversary of D-Day, which was the Allies’ amphibious invasion of German-occupied France.

The app provides veterans access to healthcare and benefits information from their mobile phones, and features fingerprint and face recognition. Users can refill and track VA prescriptions, review appointments, review claims and appeals status, submit evidence for claims and appeals, review VA payment and direct deposit information, locate the closest VA facilities, access the Veterans Crisis Line and show proof of veteran status.

“We encourage all VA-enrolled Veterans to stay connected and informed by downloading the app,” Eddie Pool, acting assistant Secretary for Information and Technology and acting chief information officer, said in a news release.

In all, there are 15.8 million veterans, which represents 6.1% of the civilian population 18 year and older. Of those, 7.8 million served in the Gulf War era between 1990 and now, 5.6 million during the Vietnam era from 1950 to 1073, 767,000 during the Korean conflict in the 1940s and 1950s, and less than 120,000 World War II veterans, according to Pew Research in 2023.

As of 2023, 78% of veterans served during wartime.

The Department of Veterans Affairs employs approximately 482,000 people, including 500,000 workers at 170 hospitals and 1,200 local clinics in the nation’s largest health care system.

Like with other agencies, the agency is being downsized with plans to cut 83,000 jobs.

STRUGGLING households have just days left to apply for extra cost of living payments worth up to £1,000.

The cash is part of the Household Support Fund, which is a £742million fund distributed by councils in England.

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Local authorities have until March 31, 2026, to allocate their share of the fund and can set their own eligibility criteria.

Some councils have already starting distributing their share through cash bank transfers and vouchers while some are yet to.

Residents in Portsmouth in financial hardship and who are struggling to afford essentials can apply for an exceptional hardship payment worth up to £1,000.

Those on Universal Credit and other benefits can apply but you don’t need to be.

However, the city is closing applications at 12 noon on June 12 so you’ll need to move quickly.

Applications may also close early if the funds have been used up.

You’ll need to provide evidence of your income and bank accounts.

You also need to tell what you’ve done to improve your financial situation and why you need help.

The exact amount you receive depends on household size -the maximum amount is for six or more of £800.

Whereas one person gets £350, two people £420, three people £500, four people 600, and five people £700.

Households deemed to be in the highest level of need can be awarded a further £200 taking total payments up to £1,000.

To apply, visit the portsmouth.gov.uk website.

Can I get help if I live outside Portsmouth?

Most likely, yes. However, it will depend on your circumstances and where you live.

For example, the City of Doncaster Council is giving out up to £300 payments to families on Universal Credit.

While households in Middlesbrough can get vouchers worth up to £120.

The Household Support Fund was set up to help households cover essentials such as energy or water bills and food costs.

But, each council can set its own eligibility criteria meaning whether you qualify for help is a postcode lottery.

That said, funding is aimed at anyone who’s vulnerable or struggling to pay for essentials.

So, if you are financially hard-up or on benefits, it is likely you will be able to get help.

It’s worth bearing in mind, any help you receive via the Household Support Fund won’t affect your benefit payments.

The type of help on offer varies from supermarket vouchers to direct cash payments into your bank account.

Some councils are allocating their share of the fund to community groups and charities who you have to get in touch with.

If you’re on benefits, have limited savings, or are struggling to cover food and energy bills, it’s worth seeing if you’re eligible for help.

Contact your local council and see if you have to apply or whether support is being distributed automatically.

You can find what council area you fall under by using the government’s council locator tool – www.gov.uk/find-local-council.

MILLIONS of households could slash their water bills by up to hundreds of pounds a year.

But many Brits aren’t aware of the discounts they could be entitled to.

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All water companies in England and Wales now offer social tariffs to help lower-income customers.

But because each company sets its own rules, the support varies wildly depending on where you live.

Despite the growing cost of living and rising utility prices, millions of eligible people still aren’t claiming the discounts available.

Last year, consumer watchdog CCW said more than two million households had received help with their water bills, but millions more could be saving and aren’t.

Some of the biggest discounts are available through schemes like WaterHelp, run by Thames Water, which offers a 50% reduction.

The reduction is for households earning under £21,749 a year (not including disability benefits), or where bills account for more than 5% of net income.

There’s also WaterSure, a national scheme available to water meter customers on means-tested benefits.

If you have a medical condition that needs extra water or you have three or more children under 19 living at home, you could get your bill capped at the average annual charge.

With Thames Water, for example, that cap is currently £423 a year.

The average annual water and sewerage bill for a Thames Water customer is currently around £864.

So that means if you qualify for WaterHelp, you get 50% off your bill and would therefore save £432 a year.

What’s available at other providers?

Other providers offer even bigger savings.

Southern Water gives customers up to 90% off bills through its Essentials Tariff if they earn under £22,010 and have less than £16,000 in savings.

Wessex Water, South West Water, and Bournemouth Water also offer generous reductions, in some cases 85% or more, depending on your circumstances.

Meanwhile, Anglian Water, Essex & Suffolk Water, and Northumbrian Water offer discounts of up to 50% for households earning less than £23,933 or receiving Pension Credit.

In many cases, discounts kick in if your water bill makes up more than 3% of your income after housing costs.

To find out if you’re eligible, check your supplier’s website or give them a call.

Some schemes ask for proof of income or benefits, while others carry out a short financial assessment.

If you’re unsure who supplies your water, you can find out using this tool.

On top of that, many water firms also offer emergency grants to help with arrears, and free water-saving gadgets like tap aerators and shower timers to help cut your usage.

And with suppliers like Thames Water proposing price hikes of nearly 60% over the next six years, now’s the time to act.

Don’t wait until your bills go up, check if you can get help now and start saving.

If you’re struggling with the cost of living, it’s always worth checking what benefits you could be entitled to.

Do you have a money problem that needs sorting? Get in touch by emailing [email protected].

Plus, you can join our Sun Money Chats and Tips Facebook group to share your tips and stories

AS KING Canute found over a thousand years ago, it is quite difficult to stand on a beach and order the tide to recede. 

Today, it is equally difficult to make the argument that giving families cash is not always the best way of lifting them out of poverty. 

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This is especially true when one particular measure becomes the symbol of whether or not you’re on the right side of the debate about child poverty.

But as someone who now can afford the comforts of life, I constantly remind myself of my childhood.

The grinding poverty that I experienced when my father was killed
in a work accident when I was 12 – leaving my mother, who had serious health problems, to fight a long battle for minimal compensation.

Having only bread and dripping in the house was, by anyone’s standards, a hallmark of absolute poverty.

Why on earth would I question, therefore, the morality of reversing a Tory policy introduced eight years ago?

This restricts the additional supplement to universal credit – worth over £3,000 a child per year – to just two children. 

I should know, my friends tell me, that the easiest and quickest way of overcoming the growth in child poverty is to restore the £3.5 billion pounds it would cost to give this additional money for all the children in every family entitled to the credit.

It is true that the policy, introduced in 2017, failed its first test.

Women did not stop having more than two children even when they were strapped for cash. It is still unclear why. 

After all, many people have to make a calculation as to how many children they can afford.

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But one thing must be certain: namely, that if you give parents a relatively substantial additional amount of money for every child they have whilst entitled to benefits, they are likely to have more children.

Nigel Farage, leader of Reform UK, said as much last week. His argument for restoring the benefit to the third and subsequent children was precisely that we needed to persuade low- income families to have more children.

Surely having children that you cannot afford to feed is the legacy of a bygone era?

All those earning below £60,000 are entitled to the basic child benefit, so the argument is about just over £60 a week extra per child.

One difficulty in having a sensible debate about what really works in overcoming intergenerational poverty is the lack of reliable statistics.

Some people have claimed, over recent days, that over 50 per cent of children in Manchester and Birmingham live in poverty. 

I fear that such claims should be treated with scepticism.

Those struggling to make ends meet – sometimes having not just one but two jobs – who pay their taxes and national insurance and plan their lives around what can be afforded, have the right to question where their hard-earned wages go.

The simple and obvious truth is that child poverty springs from the lack of income of the adults who care for them.

Transforming their lives impacts directly on the children in their family.

There is a limit to how much money taxpayers are willing to hand over to pay for another family’s children. 

Helping them to help themselves is a different matter.

So, what would I do?

Firstly, I would ensure that families with a disabled youngster automatically have the entitlement restored.

This would self-evidently apply also to multiple births. 

In both cases, life is not only more difficult, it is also harder to get and keep a job.

I would come down like a ton of bricks on absent parents.

My mum was a single parent because she was widowed; many others are single in the sense that the other partner has walked away.

The Child Maintenance Service should step up efforts to identify and pursue absent parents who do not pay their fair share towards their child. 

We, the community, have a clear duty to support and assist those in need.

To help those where a helping hand will restore them to independence and self-reliance.

But there is an obligation on individuals as well as the State, and mutual help starts with individuals taking some responsibility for themselves.

Finally, if (and this is where I am in full agreement with colleagues campaigning to dramatically reduce child poverty) we make substantial sums of money available to overcome hardship, then a comprehensive approach to supporting the families must surely be the best way to achieve this.

As ever in politics there is a trade off. What you spend on handing over cash is not available to invest in public services: that is the reality.

Help from the moment a child is born, not just with childcare but with nurturing and child development.

Dedicated backing to gain skills and employment and to taper the
withdrawal of help so that it genuinely becomes worthwhile having and keeping a job. 

A contract between the taxpayer and the individual or household.
Government is about difficult choices, that is why Keir Starmer and his colleagues are agonising over what to do next.

EXPECTANT parents or those with young children may be able to get free milk from shops and supermarkets, thanks to a health eating scheme.

The initiative also provides nourishing food for free including fruit, vegetables and pulses.

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The NHS Healthy Start scheme is available to those expecting a baby or with children under four.

You’ll also need be on selected benefits such as Universal Credit.

If you’re eligible you could get up to £442 a year for essentials to feed your family.

The scheme also provides free vitamins to mothers and children.

Here’s what you need to know…

Can I use Healthy Start?

To be accepted for Healthy Start, you’ll need to be on one of the following benefits:

• Child Tax Credit (only if your family’s annual income is £16,190 or less
• Income Support
• Income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance
• Pension Credit ( including the child addition)
• Universal Credit, if your family’s take-home pay is £408 or less per month from employment
• Income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA)

However, if you’re under 18 and pregnant you can claim, even if you are not claiming any benefits.

How do I get the free food?

The funds to buy food is given through a prepaid card which can be used in any shop or supermarket that accepts Mastercard.

This includes major supermarkets such as Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Asda, Morrisons, as well as many smaller food shops.

The Healthy Start card is topped up every four weeks.

How much will I get?

You’ll get £4.25 each week of your pregnancy from the 10th week, £8.50 each week for children from birth to one, and £4.25 each week for children between one and four.

This works out as up to £442 worth of free food over a year.

The scheme stops when your child is four, or if you no longer receive benefits.

What can I use the card to buy?

With the funds you can buy plain cow’s milk or baby formula milk

You can also be used to buy fresh, frozen, and tinned fruit and vegetables, as well as fresh, dried, and tinned pulses.

You can also use the card to get free vitamin supplements.

These are tablets for women and drops for children.

How do I get the vitamins?

Women can get Healthy Start vitamin tablets while they’re pregnant and up to their child’s 1st birthday.

Children can have free Healthy Start vitamin drops from the age of four weeks until their 4th birthday.

Children who are having 500ml or more of formula a day do not need Healthy Start vitamins.

How do I apply?

Apply for the healthy start scheme online on the government website.

You can also print out a paper form from the Heathy Start website here or ask for one from your GP or midwife.

If you can’t apply online, or you need help applying, contact NHS Healthy Start on 0300 330 7010 or by emailing [email protected]

To apply, you will need to provide some basic details such as you name and address, plus your National Insurance number and benefit award letter.

THOUSANDS of struggling households are eligible for free cash worth £100 to cover the cost of living.

The help comes via the Household Support Fund, a £742million pot of money that has been shared between English councils.

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Local authorities then have to decide how to distribute their share of the fund before March 31, 2026.

Hartlepool Borough Council has been given £1.75million to share between hard-up households.

The local authority is giving £40,000 to Hartlepool Food Bank to distribute food parcels across the borough and £90,000 to Citizens Advice to help residents struggling with their energy bills.

But, it is also distributing £100 food vouchers to all children eligible for free school meals aged between two and 19.

Meanwhile, £100 bank payments or food vouchers will be shared between pensioners on council tax support.

Details on how either of the £100 payments will be distributed are yet to be revealed.

However, if you meet the criteria, you will likely be contacted by Hartlepool Council about when to expect them or any next steps.

We have also contacted Hartlepool Council to find out when families with children on free school meals and eligible pensioners will receive the payments and will update this story when we have heard back.

Councillor Brenda Harrison, leader of Hartlepool Borough Council, said: “We know that a lot of households across the borough are struggling financially, and we hope that these measures will help to bring them some much-needed relief and ease the pressure they are currently under.

“This demonstrates the Council’s on-going commitment and determination to tackle financial hardship and to improve the lives of Hartlepool residents.”

Can I get help if I live outside Hartlepool?

Put simply, yes. However, it will depend on your circumstances and where you live.

The Household Support Fund was set up to help households cover essentials such as energy or water bills and food costs.

But, each council can set its own eligibility criteria meaning whether you qualify for help is a postcode lottery.

That said, funding is aimed at anyone who’s vulnerable or struggling to pay for essentials.

So, if you are financially hard-up or on benefits, it is likely you will be able to get help.

It’s worth bearing in mind, any help you receive via the Household Support Fund won’t affect your benefit payments.

The type of help on offer varies from supermarket vouchers to direct cash payments into your bank account.

Some councils are allocating their share of the fund to community groups and charities who you have to get in touch with.

If you’re on benefits, have limited savings, or are struggling to cover food and energy bills, it’s worth seeing if you’re eligible for help.

Contact your local council and see if you have to apply or whether support is being distributed automatically.

You can find what council area you fall under by using the government’s council locator tool – www.gov.uk/find-local-council.

Other help if you’re on a low income

It’s not just the Household Support Fund you can lean on if you’re struggling to cover the cost of essentials like energy bills or food.

You might be able to get free money covering the cost of food if you’re on benefits through the Healthy Start scheme.

The scheme is open to pregnant women and families with young children on low incomes.

You get a prepaid card which you top up and can use to buy healthy foods for your kids at the supermarket.

You can get £8.50 per week for newborns up to one-year-olds – worth £442 a year. Find out more via healthystart.nhs.uk.

Meanwhile, several energy firms offer grants to households who are struggling to pay their energy bills worth up to £2,000.

This includes British Gas, Octopus Energy and EDF.

It’s also worth checking if you’re eligible for benefits if you haven’t already – billions of pounds worth is going unclaimed, according to Policy in Practice.

You can use one of the below calculators to find out if you could be eligible for help:

Do you have a money problem that needs sorting? Get in touch by emailing [email protected].

Plus, you can join our Sun Money Chats and Tips Facebook group to share your tips and stories

THOUSANDS of households on Universal Credit will continue getting a huge pay rise in the coming days.

Benefit payment rates rose by 1.7% on April 7, in line with the consumer price index (CPI) level of inflation for September 2024.

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It’s important to note that, although the new rates are now in effect, most people won’t see an increase in their payments until later this month or in June.

This is because those on Universal Credit have to wait a bit longer to receive the uprating because of how the benefit is assessed.

It means that the date you’ll receive the pay boost will depend on when your last assessment period was.

Universal Credit is paid monthly and is based on your circumstances each month.

This is called your “assessment period”, and it starts the day you make your claim.

The new Universal Credit rates will not come into effect until after the first full one-month assessment period, which starts on or after April 7.

Those whose assessment periods started after April 7 saw their benefits rise as early as May 13.

However, those whose assessment periods started before this date could be waiting until June 12 to receive the payment boost.

Here’s how your previous assessment period affects when you’ll get the payment boost:

• March 17 to April 16 – increase applied in May, you’ll get it in your payment on May 21
• March 18 to April 17 – increase applied in May, you’ll get it in your payment on May 22
• March 19 to April 18 – increase applied in May, you’ll get it in your payment on May 23
• March 20 to April 19 – increase applied in May, you’ll get it in your payment on May 24
• March 21 to April 20 – increase applied in May, you’ll get it in your payment on May 25
• March 22 to April 21 – increase applied in May, you’ll get it in your payment on May 26
• March 23 to April 22 – increase applied in May, you’ll get it in your payment on May 27
• March 24 to April 23 – increase applied in May, you’ll get it in your payment on May 28
• March 25 to April 24 – increase applied in May, you’ll get it in your payment on May 29
• March 26 to April 25 – increase applied in May, you’ll get it in your payment on May 30
• March 27 to April 26 – increase applied in May, you’ll get it in your payment on May 31
• March 28 to April 27 – increase applied in June, you’ll get it in your payment on June 1
• March 29 to April 28 – increase applied in June, you’ll get it in your payment on June 2
• March 30 to April 29 – increase applied in June, you’ll get it in your payment on June 5
• March 31 to April 30 – increase applied in June, you’ll get it in your payment on June 6
• April 1 to April 31 – increase applied in June, you’ll get it in your payment on June 7
• April 2 to May 1 – increase applied in June, you’ll get it in your payment on June 8
• April 3 to May 2 – increase applied in June, you’ll get it in your payment on June 9
• April 4 to May 3 – increase applied in June, you’ll get it in your payment on June 10
• April 5 to May 4 – increase applied in June, you’ll get it in your payment on June 11
• April 6 to May 5 – increase applied in June, you’ll get it in your payment on June 12

Here’s a full list of the new benefit rates for 2025-26 so you can check how much extra you might get.

Universal Credit

Universal Credit standard allowance (monthly)

• Single, under 25: £316.98 (up from £311.68)
• Single, 25 or over: £400.14 (up from £393.45)
• Joint claimants both under 25: £497.55 (up from £489.23)
• Joint claimants, one or both 25+: £628.10 (up from £617.60)

Extra amounts for children

• First child (born before April 6, 2017): £339 (up from £333.33)
• Child born after April 6, 2017 or subsequent children: £292.81 (up from £287.92)
• Disabled child (lower rate): £158.76 (up from £156.11)
• Disabled child (higher rate): £495.87 (up from £487.58)

Extra for limited capability for work

• Limited capability: £158.76 (up from £156.11)
• Work-related activity: £423.27 (up from £416.19)

Carer’s element

• Caring for a severely disabled person at least 35 hours a week: £201.68 (up from £198.31)

Work allowance increases

• Higher work allowance (no housing): £684 (up from £673)
• Lower work allowance (with housing): £411 (up from £404)

Everything you need to know about Universal Credit

WE all know keeping hydrated is even more important when the sun is shining.

Getting enough liquid in your body means fewer headaches, more energy, lubricated joints, organ function and much, much more.

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To get your two litres of water a day you just need to turn on the tap.

But there are now waters with health benefits.

Today I’ve put some to the test to see if they are worth the cost . . .

Alkaline water

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ACTIPH Water from Shropshire undergoes a unique process of purification before having electrolytes magnesium sulphate, sodium bicarbonate and potassium bicarbonate added to it.

You are left with an alkaline water with a PH of 9+ compared to your average water, which is about 7.

Some studies suggest higher PH might help with hydration, acid reflux and bone health.

This water has a smooth, clean taste.

My favourite of the three.

I loved the 600ml bottle size, which is great to carry about.

£1.40 for 600ml, Tesco.

Protein water

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IN each 500ml bottle of Warrior Protein Water there is 10g of protein as well as essential vitamins, with zero sugar and only 48 calories.

It comes in two flavours, tropical and berry, and is a clever way to boost your protein intake if you don’t want to eat any actual food – plus you are obviously hydrating at the same time.

But this stuff is sweet. I tried the tropical flavour, which reminded me of Lilt.

Although it doesn’t contain sugar, it does contain plenty of sweetener.

So unless you’ve got a sweet tooth, this is not for you.

I thought the lid was great, unlike some other bottles where they can flick open.

I had this one in my sports bag and it didn’t spill.

From £1.67 for a 500ml bottle, Spar stores or teamwarrior.com.

Collagen water

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TIDE has just launched a sparkling raspberry collagen water that can help support glowing skin, strong hair and healthier nails.

It is a premium collagen formula with 3.5g of high-quality, hydrolysed collagen peptides sourced from wild-caught North Atlantic and Pacific Ocean fish.

When you drink marine collagen, studies have shown it can hydrate and firm skin, reduce wrinkles, improve skin elasticity and enhance the overall structure and appearance of skin.

There are zero artificial sweeteners or additives but this one is very sweet thanks to the addition of fructose, a natural sugar that is found in fruit, vegetables and honey.

It comes in at just 27 calories per 250ml can.

If you’re drinking it for the collagen benefits I would recommend having two.

A clever idea for skin, but only if you have a sweet tooth.

From £27 for 12 cans or £2.25 each, wearetide.com.

SIR Keir Starmer yesterday told Labour rebels to fall into line over welfare cuts – as more than 100 of his own MPs are demanding a U-turn.

The PM insisted the system is “not working for anybody” and vowed to press ahead with slashing the health element of Universal Credit and tightening disability benefit rules.

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Asked if he would soften the package, he said: “The argument for reform is overwhelming and that’s why we will get on and we will reform.”

It comes as furious MPs are urging him to delay the cuts and have slammed the lack of proper impact checks. 

In a blistering letter to the Chief Whip, they said: “We regret we are unable to support a Bill before this has taken place.”

If all the MPs who have signed the letter follow through and vote against the plans, it could wipe out Sir Keir’s majority and trigger the biggest rebellion of his leadership.

Such is the worry inside Labour, that a party source warned dissenting MPs they could be punished at the ballot box.

The source said: “There is only going to be so much money, time and resources at the next election. 

“How people behave now will make a difference to how those resources are allocated.”

It comes as some furious MPs are poised to rebel against Sir Keir because they think they’re toast at the next election.

Moderate backbenchers who have so far towed the party line are mulling taking a public stand on issues including disability benefit cuts, immigration and winter fuel payments – even if it means losing the whip.

There is also growing anger around the two-child benefit cap still being in place.

The Sun understands some MPs want to work “with a clear conscience” until the end of this parliament – knowing that they are unlikely to return because of the threat of Reform.

A Red Wall Labour MP said: “Multiple colleagues with slim majorities think they have no chance of winning their seat.

“They want to hold the PM to account on issues causing an uproar locally, including PIP payments, and think they have nothing to lose if they defy party whips going forward.”

Another Labour MP told The Sun: “The numbers willing to rebel are much higher than expected.

“I think people shouldn’t underestimate just how much welfare is a driver of why a lot of Labour MPs, particularly moderates, are in the Labour party in the first place.

“A lot of our politics was defined by the performative cruelty of the Osborne era, and that casts a long shadow.”

Over 150,000 on benefits will see their payments cut under Personal Independence Payments (PIP) changes, the DWP has confirmed.

The Government is shaking up the way PIP is assessed meaning hundreds of thousands will miss out from November 2026.

From late next year, new and existing PIP claimants being reassessed will have to score a minimum of four points in at least one activity to receive the Daily Living Component.

It will see those unable to cook qualify, but not those who can use a microwave.

Likewise, assistance required to wash your lower body would not deem you eligible but your upper body would.

And, while requiring help to use the toilet meets the threshold, needing reminded to go would fall below it.

The higher rate of the Daily Living Component is currently worth £110.40 a week.

Claimants will also have to score at least eight points when being assessed.

The Government estimates this means by 2029/30 around 800,000 won’t receive the Daily Living Component of PIP.

But it has also confirmed 150,000 will be missing out on Carer’s Allowance or the Universal Credit Carer’s Element by 2029/30 too.

This is because to receive either of these carer’s benefits you have to be caring for someone who receives the Daily Living part of PIP.

It means new and existing PIP claimants finding they are no longer eligible will disqualify their carer’s from next November when the changes kick in.

STRUGGLING households in parts of the UK could get up to £500 in cost of living help – but you’ll need to meet strict rules.

The cash boost is part of the Household Support Fund (HSF), a £421million pot, which helps low-income families with food, energy bills, and essentials.

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But it’s only available if you live in Worcestershire – that includes the districts of Malvern, Worcester, Wychavon, Bromsgrove, Redditch or Wyre Forest.

To check if you qualify, go to gov.uk/find-local-council – Worcestershire County Council must be listed.

You’ll also need to meet income and vulnerability rules.

Who is eligible?

To qualify, your gross annual income must be:

• £24,570 or less (for a single adult with no children)
• £31,000 or less (for all other households)

You must also have no savings, unless you’re of state pension age – in which case you can have up to £5,000.

And at least one person in your household must meet ONE of the following:

• Be of state pension age
• Have a long-term diagnosed health condition or be registered disabled
• Have a child under four
• Be in receipt of DWP benefits like Attendance Allowance, Carer’s Allowance, PIP or Disability Living Allowance
• Be receiving support from services such as food banks, Citizens Advice, Age UK, mental health or housing support, or your GP’s social prescribing team

How much can I get?

The amount depends on your household:

• Up to £500 for homes with children under 18 or full-time students under 21
• Up to £300 for adult-only households aged 18–66
• Up to £300 for pensioner households

Payments can go straight to your energy provider, be credited via an online portal or come in the form of Post Office vouchers for prepayment meters.

You’ll need to supply:

• A recent energy or water bill (dated within 3 months) showing your name, address and account number
• Evidence of your vulnerability
• Extra documents if applying for help with energy debts or heating repairs

What else is covered?

Help is also available for:

• Repairing or replacing broken boilers
• Installing first-time heating systems
• Servicing and upgrading smart heating controls

You’ll need to complete a separate application if applying for these – but forms will be sent to you once your initial claim is made.

Where to send your evidence:

• Email digital copies to: [email protected]
• Post paper documents to:
  Act on Energy
  Unit 2, Lauriston Business Park
  Salford Priors
  Warwickshire WR11 8SN

Applications will be closed if evidence isn’t sent within 28 days – so act fast.

In other related benefit news, pension savers have been pocketing thousands in tax refunds after being overcharged — and now fresh HMRC changes could stop millions more being stung.

Over 15,000 people got an average refund of £2,881 between January and March this year after being overtaxed when they dipped into their pension pots.

In total, £44million was handed back in just three months, according to new figures — with hopes the amount overpaid will fall thanks to recent rule tweaks.

HMRC rolled out a new system this month, aimed at stopping retirees from being wrongly whacked with a sky-high emergency tax bill when making a withdrawal.

Other help you can claim

If you’re not eligible for the Household Support Fund, you might qualify for other forms of help to cover energy bills or food.

Support may vary depending on your local council – so even if you don’t live in Worcestershire, it’s worth checking what’s on offer in your area.

Several energy firms offer grants to households who are struggling to pay their energy bills worth up to £2,000.

This includes British Gas, Octopus Energy and EDF.

New parents might also be eligible for free food worth up to £442 a year to cover the cost of healthy food and milk via the Healthy Start scheme.

Or, you can get an emergency food parcel from a Trussell Trust food bank.

You can find your nearest via www.trussell.org.uk/emergency-food/find-a-foodbank.

To get a food parcel, you need a voucher from a community organisation like Citizens Advice or your GP. You can then exchange this voucher for a food parcel at the food bank.

It’s also worth checking if you’re eligible for benefits if you haven’t already – billions of pounds’ worth is going unclaimed, according to Policy in Practice.

There are three free calculators you can use to see what you might be entitled to:

• Policy in Practice better off calculator
• entitledto benefits calculator
• Turn2us benefits calculator

SACRAMENTO — In the largest gathering of 2026 gubernatorial candidates to date, seven Democrats vying to lead California courted labor leaders on Monday, vowing to support pro-union agreements on housing and infrastructure projects, regulation of artificial intelligence, and government funding for university research.

Throughout most of the hourlong event, the hundreds of union members inside the Sacramento hotel ballroom embraced the pro-labor pledges and speeches that dominated the candidates’ remarks, though some boos rose from the crowd when former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa strayed from the other Democrats on stage.

Villaraigosa was the only candidate to raise objections when asked if he would support providing state unemployment benefits to striking workers, saying it would depend on the nature and length of the labor action. Gov. Gavin Newsom in 2023 vetoed a bill that would have provided that coverage, saying it would make the state’s unemployment trust fund “vulnerable to insolvency.”

The Monday night event was part of a legislative conference held by the California Federation of Labor Unions and the State Building and Construction Trades Council of California, two of the most influential labor organizations in the state capital.

Villaraigosa was joined on stage by former state Assembly Speaker Toni Atkins, former U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Xavier Becerra, Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis, former Rep. Katie Porter of Irvine, state Supt. of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond and former state Controller Betty Yee. All are running to replace Newsom, who is serving his second and final term as governor.

Throughout most of the event, the candidates were peppered with yes-or-no questions, answering with the wave of a red flag for “no” or green flag for “yes.”

The event was not without its frosty moments, including when the candidates were asked whether, as governor, they would be “pragmatic and stop targeting California’s oil and gas industry in ways that jeopardize union jobs and force us to rely on dirtier imported energy.”

Some of the candidates raised their green flags timidly. California’s Democratic leaders, including Newsom and top state lawmakers, have been major proponents of transitioning to renewable energy and imposing more restrictions on the state’s oil and gas industry.

“We all want a clean environment going forward,” Yee said, “but it cannot be on the backs of workers.”

Villaraigosa, in remarks after the event, said he challenged the idea of jumping into electrification too quickly, which would affect union jobs and increase the cost of utilities and energy across the state.

“Closing down refineries, telling people to get rid of their gas stove and gas water heater is just poppycock,” he said.

Lorena Gonzalez, president of the California Labor Federation, praised the Democratic candidates for showing strong support for unionized workers. She’s hopeful that each would be more receptive to some pivotal union concerns than Newsom, such as the regulation of artificial intelligence, a major threat to union jobs, she said.

“When we’re talking about things like regulating AI — we can’t even get a conversation out of Gavin Newsom about any regulation — I think that was, that was a key thing. They all threw up their green flag,” Gonzalez said.

Former Vice President Kamala Harris, who is weighing a run for governor, declined an invitation to address the conference.

The State Building and Construction Trades Council represents hundreds of thousands of workers in the state, including bricklayers, ironworkers and painters, among many others.

The Labor Federation is a formidable power in California politics and policy, expected to help coordinate the spending of as much as $40 million by unions in next year’s election. The federation is an umbrella group for about 1,300 unions that represent around 2.3 million workers in the public and private sectors.

The organization has backed all of the gubernatorial candidates in various prior races, although it opposed Villaraigosa in the 2005 mayor’s race and supported Newsom over Villaraigosa in the 2018 gubernatorial race.

The latter decision was driven by the arc Villaraigosa has taken from his roots as a union leader to a critic of Los Angeles’ teachers union and supporter of charter schools and reform of teacher-tenure rules.

Times staff writer Phil Willon contributed to this report.

OVER 150,000 on benefits will see their payments cut under Personal Independence Payments (PIP) changes, the DWP has confirmed.

The Government is shaking up the way PIP is assessed meaning hundreds of thousands will miss out from November 2026.

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It comes as ministers look to cut the increasing welfare bill by clawing back billions of pounds of benefits.

But the changes will also have a knock-on effect on carers who qualify for benefits because they look after someone on PIP.

From late next year, new and existing PIP claimants being reassessed will have to score a minimum of four points in at least one activity to receive the Daily Living Component.

The higher rate of the Daily Living Component is currently worth £110.40 a week.

Claimants will also have to score at least eight points when being assessed.

The Government estimates this means by 2029/30 around 800,000 won’t receive the Daily Living Component of PIP.

But it has also confirmed 150,000 will be missing out on Carer’s Allowance or the Universal Credit Carer’s Element by 2029/30 too.

This is because to receive either of these carer’s benefits you have to be caring for someone who receives the Daily Living part of PIP.

It means new and existing PIP claimants finding they are no longer eligible will disqualify their carer’s from next November when the changes kick in.

What are Carer’s Allowance and the carer’s element of Universal Credit?

Carer’s Allowance is paid to those caring for someone else (who is on benefits) for at least 35 hours a week and is worth £83.30 a week.

You don’t have to be related to the person you care for, or live with them, to qualify.

If you are on Carer’s Allowance you also receive National Insurance credits which contribute to your NI record.

What classes as someone needing “care” is based on them qualifying for a number of benefits. These are:

• Personal Independence Payment – Daily Living Component
• Disability Living Allowance – the middle or highest care rate
• Scottish Adult Disability Living Allowance – the middle or highest care rate
• Attendance Allowance
• Pension Age Disability Payment
• Constant Attendance Allowance at or above the normal maximum rate with an Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit
• Constant Attendance Allowance at the basic (full day) rate with a War Disablement Pension
• Armed Forces Independence Payment
• Child Disability Payment – the middle or highest care rate
• Adult Disability Payment – daily living component at the standard or enhanced rate

The person you are caring for must also need help with certain tasks including: washing and cooking, being taken to the doctors and household tasks like managing bills or going food shopping.

Carer’s Allowance is issued to those living in England, Wales or Scotland aged 16 or over.

It’s worth noting, receiving Carer’s Allowance can impact the benefits the person you are caring for gets.

For example, they will usually stop receiving a severe disability premium or an extra amount for severe disability premium if they are on Pension Credit.

You can apply for Carer’s Allowance and find out more about the exact eligibility criteria via www.gov.uk/carers-allowance/how-to-claim.

The carer’s element of Universal Credit is added to your Universal Credit standard allowance if you care for someone and they receive a number of qualifying benefits. These are:

• Adult Disability Payment – standard or enhanced award
• Armed Forces Independence Payment
• Attendance Allowance
• Child Disability Payment – middle or highest care award
• Constant Attendance Allowance – full day rate, intermediate rate or exceptional rate with Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit
• Constant Attendance Allowance – full day rate with a War Disablement Pension
• Disability Living Allowance – middle or highest care rate
• Personal Independence Payment – either rate of the Daily Living Part

To get the carer’s element you’ll also need to be providing 35 hours a week of care to the person receiving the qualifying benefit.

You get an extra monthly amount worth £201.68.

If you are receiving an extra amount because you have a limited capability for work and work related activity (LCWRA), you won’t qualify for the extra carer’s element part.

Meanwhile, if the person you care for gets the severe disability premium, it will stop when you claim the carer’s element of Universal Credit.

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