Home Responsibilities Protection (HRP) was a scheme to help protect parents’ and carers’ State Pension. National Insurance credits replaced HRP in 2010.

You’ll have received HRP automatically if between 6 April 1978 and 5 April 2010 you were claiming:

• Child Benefit for a child under 16
• Income Support because you were looking after a sick or disabled person and were not available for work

You’ll need to apply for HRP if you think it’s missing from your National Insurance (NI) record.

You may still be able to apply for HRP if, for full tax years (6 April to 5 April) between 1978 and 2010, you were either:

• sharing the care of a child under 16 with a partner you lived with and they claimed Child Benefit instead of you – you may be able to  transfer their HRP
• caring for a sick or disabled person

You can also apply if, for a full tax year between 2003 and 2010, you were a foster carer

To claim Home Responsibilities Protection (HRP), you can apply online or by post. You can also apply to transfer HRP from someone else.

You can also contact the HMRC National Insurance helpline for an application form.

From 1 July to 30 September 2025 the price for energy for a typical household who use electricity and gas and pay by Direct Debit will go down by 7% to £1,720 per year. For a typical household, this will reduce their energy bills by £11 a month.

This is 10% (£152) per year higher than the price cap set for the same period last year, from 1 July to 30 September 2024 (£1,568).

Energy price cap rates 1 July to 30 September 2025

Electricity rates

If you are on a standard variable tariff (default tariff) and pay for your electricity by Direct Debit, you will pay on average 25.73 pence per kilowatt hour (kWh). The daily standing charge is 51.37 pence per day. This is based on the average across England, Scotland and Wales and includes VAT. 

Gas rates

If you are on a standard variable tariff (default tariff) and pay for your gas by Direct Debit, you will pay on average 6.33 pence per kilowatt hour (kWh). The daily standing charge is 29.82 pence per day. This is based on the average across England, Scotland and Wales and includes VAT. 

Why energy prices have gone down

Global wholesale prices for energy have gone down. While this is the main cause, changes to supplier business costs have also made an impact on energy prices falling.

Most households will see a reduction in their standing charges during this period.

The Renters’ Rights Bill is possibly the most significant reform the private rented sector (PRS) has seen since the Housing Act 1988.

Its primary goal is to give tenants more security to stay in their homes and more freedom to leave substandard properties by scrapping section 21 ‘no fault’ evictions and introducing more fairness to the system. The Bill is expected to come into effect between October 2025 and January 2026. 

The bill will:

• Abolish fixed-term assured shorthold tenancies (ASTs) – as a result of this, all tenancies will become periodic. In other words, a three-year tenancy signed this year would instantly become periodic if the Renters’ Rights Bill became effective in October as planned, replacing the fixed term. 
• Limit rent increases – the shift to periodic tenancies means Section 13 notices will be the only way for landlords to raise the rent; these can only be served once per year
• Abolish Section 21 evictions – landlords will no longer be able to serve “no-fault” notices to regain possession of their properties
• Expand Section 8 possession grounds – the Government is adding and updating both mandatory and discretionary grounds due to the abolition of Section 21
• Ban rental bidding wars – landlords and agents can’t accept offers above the advertised price
• Introduce a landlord ombudsman – this will help resolve disputes between landlords and tenants impartially
• Create a private rented sector database – designed to compile information about landlords and properties and provide visibility on compliance
• Apply the Decent Homes Standard – all rental properties must meet minimum quality standards, Awaab’s Law has already been introduced into the social housing sector as part of the Social Housing (Regulation) Act and will expand into the PRS as part of the Renters’ Rights Bill. It means landlords must follow strict timescales to inspect and repair hazards, such as damp and mould. The Government has claimed that the introduction of this law will “ensure that all renters in England are empowered to challenge dangerous conditions”.
• Prohibit discrimination – landlords can’t refuse tenants on benefits or with children
• Allow renting with pets – landlords can’t unreasonably refuse tenants with pets, but can require them to take out insurance to cover potential damages

While the Government is keen to implement big-ticket items as soon as possible — including the abolition of Section 21 and the shift to periodic tenancies — other parts of the Bill may be staggered. 

The Citizens Advice Help to Claim advisers can help you with the early stages of your Universal Credit claim. You can talk to them on the phone or online over chat. You can also use text relay or our British Sign Language (BSL) video call service.

An adviser can help you:

• work out if you can get Universal Credit
• fill in the Universal Credit application 
• prepare for your first Jobcentre appointment 
• check your first payment is correct

You can chat with an adviser online about your Universal Credit application.

Start a chat by clicking the ‘Talk to an adviser’ button. This will be at the bottom of your screen if an adviser is available.

The webchat is usually available 8am to 6pm, Monday to Friday. It isn’t available on public holidays.

You can contact an adviser through the free Help to Claim phone service. Advisers are available 8am to 6pm, Monday to Friday on 0800 144 8 444

Wills

Your will lets you decide what happens to your money, property and possessions after your death.

If you make a will you can also make sure you do not pay more Inheritance Tax than you need to.

You can write your will yourself, but it is prudent to have it written by a solicitor. Ashford Advice have a resident solicitor who can write a professional will. Call 01233 626 185 for further information

You need to get your will formally witnessed and signed to make it legally valid

If you want to update your will, you need to make an official alteration (called a ‘codicil’) or make a new will.

If you die without a will, the law decides who gets what.

Power of Attorney

A lasting power of attorney (LPA) is a legal document that lets you (the ‘donor’) appoint one or more people (known as ‘attorneys’) to help you make decisions or to make decisions on your behalf.

This gives you more control over what happens to you if you have an accident or an illness and cannot make your own decisions (you ‘lack mental capacity’).

There are 2 types of LPA:

• health and welfare
• property and financial affairs

You can choose to make one type or both.

You can make a lasting power of attorney (LPA) online or using paper forms.

Either way, you need to get other people to sign the forms, including the attorneys and witnesses.

You can get someone else to use the online service or fill in the paper forms for you, for example a family member, friend or solicitor. Ashford Advice have a resident solicitor who can complete the forms on your behalf. Please call 01233 626 185 for further information

There is a fee for this service (£82.00/PoA to Office of the Public Guardian and £150.00/PoA solicitors fee)

You must register or your attorney will not be able to make decisions for you.

In March, the government published a Green Paper and consultation to set out their proposed changes to health and disability benefits.

The Pathways to Work Green Paper has a stated aim of increasing employment among people who receive health and disability benefits.

It’s important to say that these changes are not guaranteed to happen. The purpose of a Green Paper is to explore options and get feedback before making a final decision, and if any changes do go ahead, they won’t happen straight away.  The current proposals are

April 2026 – The Limited Capability for Work and Work-Related Activity (LCWRA) payment would be frozen.  

Autumn 2026 – the changes to PIP entitlement would come into effect 

2028 – the Work Capability Assessment (WCA) would be scrapped. 

Universal Credit (UC):

A new Health Element will replace the current Limited Capability for Work (LCW) and the Limited Capability for Work Related Activity (LCWRA) elements, any extra financial support for health conditions in UC will be assessed via a single assessment – the PIP assessment.

When these changes start to take effect, new claimants will no longer receive these legacy components. If a current claimant receives the LCWRA element but doesn’t get PIP at the point that they move to the new system they will receive transitional protection.

There will also be protection for people who are currently treated as LCWRA due to pregnancy risk or because they are about to receive, receiving or recovering from treatment for cancer by way of chemotherapy or radiotherapy. They will get the new UC health element even if they do not get PIP.

It is unlikely that the payment will be withdrawn from existing claimants before reassessment, DWP will initially prioritise reassessments for people who are most likely to have had a change in their circumstances including those who have short-term prognoses

The existing LCWRA element will be cut for new claimants – from £97 to £50 per week by 2026/27 and frozen for existing ones.

For those receiving the new reduced UC health element after April 2026, the government are proposing that those with the most severe, life-long health conditions, who have no prospect of improvement and will never be able to work, will see their incomes protected through an additional premium.

Personal Independence Payment (PIP)

A new PIP eligibility requirement is proposed to ensure that only those who score a minimum of 4 points in at least one daily living activity will be eligible for the daily living component of PIP. This requirement would need to be met in addition to the existing PIP eligibility criteria.

This change will apply to new claims and for existing people who claim, future eligibility will be decided at their next award review. Those with the most severe, long-term conditions will no longer face any reassessments, under the proposed reforms.

The Green Paper is consulting on whether those who lose entitlement need any support and what this support could look like – for example transitional protection.

There is a real possibility these proposals will never be implemented, or that they will be changed so much that they will scarcely be recognisable by the time they do come into force.

A new contribution-based Unemployment Insurance Benefit

Jobseekers’ allowance (JSA) and employment support allowance (ESA) will be merged into a new time-limited unemployment insurance. Paid at the current ESA rate of £138 per week, it will be time-limited, and recipients do not have to prove they cannot work – but will be expected to actively seek work.

Employment Support

The government has announced a £1 billion employment support package to help disabled and long-term sick people back into work. It is consulting on exactly what this would look like, but it would include introducing a ‘support conversation’ to explore people’s goals and aspirations and help them to access the right support. 

The Government has accepted the Low Pay Commission’s (LPC) recommendations on the rates of the National Minimum Wage (NMW), including the National Living Wage (NLW). The rates which will apply from 1 April 2025 are as follows:

The Simple Payment Plan continues to support customers in financial difficulty by offering flexible payment options. Customers can choose from fortnightly or monthly payment plans that spread the cost of a licence over 12 months. This way of paying ensures that people are appropriately supported so they can legally access TV services. For more information, please visit TV Licensing’s Simple Payment Plan page.

By 30 June 2025, the Radio Teleswitch Service (RTS) will end as it is reaching the end of its operational life. RTS is also known as Dynamic Teleswitch Service (DTS). The switch off will affect energy customers that have an RTS meter in their home, and may mean that their heating and hot water supply stops functioning as normal.

How to find out if you’ve got an RTS meter

If you’re not sure whether you have an RTS meter, there are a few things you can look out for:

• there may be a separate switch box near your meter with a radio teleswitch label on it
• your property is heated using electricity or storage heaters
• there is no gas supply to your area. This includes households in rural areas and high-rise flats
• you get cheaper energy at different times of day. Your tariff might be: Economy 7, Economy 10 or Total Heat Total Control

If you’re unsure if you have RTS equipment, contact your electricity supplier who will be able to confirm for you.

If you think you have RTS equipment in your home or business, or you’re unsure, contact your electricity supplier. They will let you know whether you have an RTS meter, and when you can get your smart meter upgrade. A smart meter will give you a similar service to your RTS meter. You should speak to your supplier to find out more.

Pension Credit gives you extra money to help with your living costs if you’re over State Pension age and on a low income. Pension Credit can also help with housing costs such as ground rent or service charges.

You might get extra help if you’re a carer, severely disabled, or responsible for a child or young person.

Pension Credit is separate from your State Pension.

You can get Pension Credit even if you have other income, savings or own your own home.

You must live in England, Scotland or Wales and have reached State Pension age to qualify for Pension Credit.

You must include your partner on your application.

You’ll be eligible if either:

• you and your partner have both reached State Pension age
• one of you is getting Housing Benefit for people over State Pension age
• When you apply for Pension Credit your income is calculated. If you have a partner, your income is calculated together.

When you apply for Pension Credit your income is calculated. If you have a partner, your income is calculated together.

Pension Credit tops up:

• your weekly income to £218.15 if you’re single
• your joint weekly income to £332.95 if you have a partner

If your income is higher, you might still be eligible for Pension Credit if you have a disability, you care for someone, you have savings or you have housing costs.

Contact Ashford Advice on 01233 626 185 or drop-in to our offices for further advice.

We are open from 09:30 -11:00 from Monday to Thursday without a prior appointment