Richard Keen

The briefing sets out the background to Spring Budget 2017 which will take place on Wednesday 8 March 2017. The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) will publish revised forecasts for the economy and public finances on the same day.

MPs will debate ‘Impact of DWP policies on low income households’ on Tuesday 17 January 2017 in the Main Chamber. This is an Opposition Day debate moved by the Scottish National Party. This House of Commons Library briefing provides background to the debate and includes a summary of the issues, statistics and press and parliamentary coverage.

This Commons Library Briefing Paper brings together details of the main Housing Benefit changes announced since 2010. Not all of the measures announced in 2015 have been implemented at this point.

This note sets out the main benefit and tax credit rates for the 2017/18 financial year.

This Commons Library Briefing Paper provides information on the Benefit Claimants Sanctions (Required Assessment) Bill 2016-17. This Private Member's Bill, introduced by Mhairi Black MP, is due to have it Second Reading on 2 December 2016.

This House of Commons Library briefing paper explains how the household benefit cap operates and considers evidence of its impact to date. It also covers the reductions in the benefit cap being phased in from 7 November 2016, and their likely impact.

Universal Credit (UC) is a new benefit which is to replace means-tested social security benefits and tax credits for working-age claimants by 2022. UC work allowances, the maximum a claimant can earn before their award is withdrawn, were reduced from April 2016 onwards. Limits to support for new claimants will also apply from April 2017. This paper provides an introduction to Universal Credit and analyses the impact of these changes.

The House of Commons Library Welfare Expenditure and Savings Tool combines multiple sources of expenditure and savings data into one easy to use, up-to-date analysis tool. Users can track changes in welfare expenditure over time, analyse savings as a proportion of expenditure and identify key policy measures by benefit announced since June 2010. Total spending on UK social security and tax credits will be £218.4 billion in 2016-17, 28.3% of total managed expenditure. Measures announced since 2010 will save around £26 billion in the same year, roughly 10% of what welfare spending might otherwise have been.

This introductory guide provides sources of statistics on UK industries.

This introductory guide provides sources of statistics on trade.