After the Chancellor's Autumn Statement introduced a freeze on Tax Credits which will send a further 100,000 children into poverty, the Guardian online reports that Government ministers have sent the clearest indication yet that they intend to abandon the Child Poverty targets laid down in the Child Poverty Act.

Read the Guardian story here

The Government has confirmed it will increase to 2 years the minimum length of service required to bring a claim for Unfair Dismissal to Employment Tribunal, and will introduce fees of £1250 to be paid by all claimants granted an ET hearing.

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Agency Workers gain the right to equal treatment compared to directly employed workers after 12 weeks service, under the new Agency Workers regulations which came into force on 1st October 2011. But did you know that the 12 weeks do not always have to be continuous?

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The heads of 30 UK Cancer charities have written to Work and Pensions Secretary to protest at provisions inthe Welfare Reform Bill which they say will leave thousands of cancer patients without vital financial assistance when they need it most.

Read full story and text of the letter here

The government has announced a £27m funding injection to sustain face to face debt advice services that were due to be axed by the end of March.

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2011 Census – Help tomorrow take shape

The Census matters to everyone as its population counts are used to allocate money to Luton for local services in the next 10 years.   

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The Government has published its proposals for DLA and has announced that, from 2013/2014 DLA will be replaced by a Personal Independence Payment (P.I.P.)

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The Government has confirmed that the Worker Registration Scheme will be withdrawn at the end of April 2011.

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The Ministry of Justice has announced broad sweeping changes to the Civil Legal Aid scheme which many fear will have serious detrimental affects on access to justice for the least well off in society. The reforms, which are part of the Government's public spending cuts, would change eligibility rules and will completely exclude some areas of legal advice from the scope of the Legal Aid scheme. Justice For All is a coalition of advice providers, lawyers, politicians, trade unions and the general public who are campaigning to oppose the cuts.

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The Legal Services Commission (LSC) lost the Judicial review of its handling of family Law contracts and may now need to review contracts awarded for other social welfare legal advice matters such as employment, debt and welfare benefits.

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The national Census  takes place every ten years and is a count of every person living in the UK.  The next Census will take place on 27^th March 2011. 

Around 35000 Census field staff are needed across England and Wales and a recruitment campaign is under way.

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The LAN is now rolling out a programme of outreach gateway assessments in local Community organisation venues around Luton, making it easier for Luton residents to access social welfare legal advice. Read the full story for details of when and where to come and see the LAN Gateway Assessment Team

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The LAN's new training programme for staff and volunteers of member organisations has now been distributed. The courses include a mix of core advice skills and topic related courses and are free to members. For a detailed list of courses and a booking form please click on the Training button at the top of the page.

Many benefit claimants could face shortfalls in their mortgage payments from October following the decision to cut the interest rate applied to the Support for Mortgage Interest scheme.

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People being paid the National Minimum Wage should check their pay packets from 1st October  to make sure that they have received the increase from that date.

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