BBC News | In Depth | benefits | UK Edition
Visit BBC News for up-to-the-minute news, breaking news, video, audio and feature stories. BBC News provides trusted World and UK news as well as local and regional perspectives. Also entertainment, business, science, technology and health news.
- Tax credit errors 'waste £1.4bn'
Another £1.4bn is likely to be written off in overpaid tax credits, according to a report from a committee of MPs. - Mother jailed for fraud charges
A mother-of-five from Wakefield is jailed for fraudulently claiming nearly £60,000 in tax credits. - Private-sector welfare role urged
Private firms and voluntary groups should run schemes to get people off benefits and into work, a report will say. - Dead paid £57m in benefits
More than £57m of benefits were paid to dead people last year, government figures show. - Glasgow hits back at loan sharks
More than 500 people have benefited from a Glasgow project to combat loan sharks, according to a DTI report. - Child support trouble for 600,000
Up to 600,000 families will not receive maintenance once the Child Support Agency's replacement is scrapped, the BBC learns. - 'No sex' mother's benefit fraud
A woman is fined £60,000 after claiming benefits claiming she was a single mother as she no longer had sex with her live-in partner. - Q&A: Tax credit problems
What has gone wrong with the government's tax credit system? - Claiming benefits made easy
Pensioners are losing out on millions of pounds of government help, so how can they get money they are owed? - Breaking the cycle of child poverty
Poverty blights the lives of millions of children leading to truancy, poor diet and drug addiction. - Q&A: Childcare and state help
Some students can qualify for benefits, but the rules are complex and varied. BBC News offers an introduction. - Q&A: Overpayment of tax credits
BBC News website offers a survival guide to the new tax credits system for people who are still having problems. - Q&A: Child Trust Fund
Newborns are expected to receive up to £500 from the government but how does the scheme work? - Q&A: Child benefit
Child benefit is one of the few non-means tested benefits left. BBC News explains how it could help you. - Q&A: Parental rights
New rights for working mothers and fathers have been introduced what do they mean for you? - How to claim council tax benefit
Big increases in council tax has provoked outrage among many older people. Is there any help available to them? - Getting a benefits check-up
Many people who are in need of help are failing to claim the right benefits. How can you claim what is rightfully yours? - Arranging a funeral
Funerals costs on average £2,000, but you may qualify for help from the government - if you are struggling to pay the costs. - Q&A: Basic state pension
As part of its understanding pensions series, the BBC News website offers a brief guide to the basic state pension - Q&A: Pension Credit
As part of its understanding pensions series, the BBC News website offers a brief guide to the new Pension Credit. - Rich, poor food divide
A leading academic explains how income poverty can lead to poor diet. - Fuel poverty 'social evil'
Fuel poverty effects more than two million households and with energy prices rising a consumer group warns that more could find it harder to meet their bills. - How UK poverty has changed
How the way poverty is measured in Britain has changed over the past hundred years. - Homeowners in poverty
Over-extended first-time buyers are at risk of falling into poverty, experts warn. - The future of welfare reform
UK governments have been attempting torn reform the welfare state since it was created - with mixed results.