Welfare

18 March 2025

How much is the ‘welfare bill’ set to increase by?

The Prime Minister and others have claimed “welfare” or “social security” spending is set to increase to £70 billion by the end of the decade—but this figure refers to one part of overall spending.

17 March 2025

Viral post comparing benefit fraud with tax avoidance and evasion is inaccurate

The post makes incorrect claims, including that tax avoidance and evasion cost the UK 100 times more than benefit fraud.

3 March 2025

Facebook post wrongly implies migrants receiving benefits are exempt from paying council tax

There is no automatic exemption for all migrants, although some may be exempt or receive discounts for the same reasons as non-migrants.

25 February 2025

Viral post with false claims about Muslims in UK circulates again

These posts have been circulating since at least 2017, but contain claims that are either unevidenced or false.

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18 September 2024

There aren’t 1.6 million asylum seekers claiming benefits in the UK

A post circulating on social media falsely claims that there are 1.6 million asylum seekers receiving “long term benefits”.

16 August 2024

Benefits claims for autism and ADHD have not increased by 200,000

Contrary to claims in the Telegraph, benefits claims for under-18s with autism and ADHD have not increased by 200,000 since Covid.

24 August 2022

Snoring doesn’t mean you’re eligible for £156 benefits a week

Many different news sites have published articles claiming that snoring could mean you're entitled to Personal Independence Payments.

10 June 2022

Ofgem said that 12 million households—not people—might end up in fuel poverty

These estimates are uncertain for several reasons, but 12 million households would amount to many more than 12 million people.

24 May 2022

Was the Attorney General right to say that a single mother will be £1,600 better off?

Suella Braverman told the Question Time audience that a single mother in certain circumstances would be £1,600 better off this year compared with last year, because of government support.

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21 April 2022

Labour election leaflets and ads wrongly claiming families are ‘£2,620 worse off’

The claim that families are ‘£2,620 worse off’ does not account for any rises in wages or benefits, and is based on some cost estimates which are not reliable.

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About

How much is the ‘welfare bill’ set to increase by?

Viral post comparing benefit fraud with tax avoidance and evasion is inaccurate

Facebook post wrongly implies migrants receiving benefits are exempt from paying council tax

Viral post with false claims about Muslims in UK circulates again

There aren’t 1.6 million asylum seekers claiming benefits in the UK

Benefits claims for autism and ADHD have not increased by 200,000

Snoring doesn’t mean you’re eligible for £156 benefits a week

Ofgem said that 12 million households—not people—might end up in fuel poverty

Was the Attorney General right to say that a single mother will be £1,600 better off?

Labour election leaflets and ads wrongly claiming families are ‘£2,620 worse off’

Full Fact fights bad information