Latest news with #Timms
Daily Mirror
4 days ago
- Business
- Daily Mirror
PIP review update as 10 people could be consulting with Stephen Timms on future of benefit
Following the U-turn on welfare reform, Sir Stephen Timms' PIP review is now underway Following the scrapping of the controversial benefit eligibility changes from the Universal Credit and Personal Independence Payment Bill in July, several concessions were made to advance the welfare reform. Among these was the establishment of a fresh review examining the PIP assessment process, to be headed by the Minister of State for Disability and Social Security. Sir Stephen Timms has now provided insight into what this review might entail and how it could transform the benefit currently received by 3.7 million people nationwide. During an appearance on BBC's Access All podcast, the minister emphasised that unlike the previous reform attempt, this review isn't driven by any cost-reduction objectives. He explained: "The review exercise is not designed to deliver spending cuts. We'll have to operate within the current projections. This review is not intended to deliver cuts, I don't think some of the people we need to involve in the review wouldn't be (involved) if they thought that's what it was for." The MP also outlined the review's structure, placing disabled people and disability charities at the heart of his strategy, though within a limited consultation group. Sir Timms revealed he envisages fewer than a dozen people being directly engaged throughout the entire process. Although not yet confirmed, the MP outlined the summer plans: "What we're doing over the summer is planning in detail how that process will be taken forward. "What I envisage is a small group maybe 10 people who work very closely with me for the period of this review, they will have a lot of sway over the reform. We haven't yet worked out who. That's what we've got to reflect on over the summer." Sir Timms reflected on the last-minute compromises that allowed the Bill to pass through Parliament without definite amendments to Personal Independence Payments, describing it as "an example of democracy doing what it's supposed to do". He highlighted how Labour listened and changed its plans when people spoke up both in and outside of Parliament. Elaborating further, he said: "We listened to those concerns and as you know there was a proposal to limit eligibility for PIP to people who had four points on at least one of the daily living activities. "We decided not to go ahead with that instead to set up a full review of the PIP assessment which I will lead and co-produce with disabled people and disability organisations. "It means we are going to be taking a lead from disabled people and representatives in this work over the next year or so...I think that's a positive example that we need now to build on in taking forward this review." The initial welfare reform proposals were forecasted to slash about £5 billion from welfare expenditure by 2030. Official government statistics suggested that this would have prevented roughly 800,000 people from receiving the daily living component. Of this group, 370,000 would have forfeited their entitlement due to an award received, and 430,000 were projected to be future claimants. On average, these 800,000 disabled people would have seen a yearly reduction of £4,500 in support.
Daily Mirror
31-07-2025
- Business
- Daily Mirror
DWP update on expanding Universal Credit top-up scheme
MPs recently approved a bill to make changes to Universal Credit The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has issued a statement after being asked if a Universal Credit top-up scheme could be extended to more people. Labour MP Fabian Hamilton asked the DWP if there had been any assessment of expanding transitional protection to include couples who form a household which becomes eligible for the benefit. He asked the question in relation to how such a policy could reduce overall welfare spending and free up social housing. DWP minister Sir Stephen Timms provided a response from the Government. He said there had been so such assessment. Mr Timms went on to explain how transitional protection works: "Transitional protection was introduced as part of the Move to Universal Credit journey to ensure legacy benefit customers maintain the same level of entitlement on moving to Universal Credit at the point of transition. "Transitional protection is considered for both single and couple households that manage migrate to Universal Credit. "It is not extended to customers in receipt of the transitional element that have a significant change of circumstances or where a couple forms and makes a new claim to Universal Credit." People on six older benefits, known as legacy benefits, have been gradually moving over to Universal Credit. As moving across could result in a drop in your payments, the transitional protection scheme guarantees you continue to get your benefits at your previous rate. Mr Timms also said in his response: "The Universal Credit (Managed Migration Pilot and Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations 2019 made provision for transitional protection. DWP has no plans to amend the regulations to extend transitional protection to include couples who form a household after they have moved to Universal Credit." MPs recently approved a bill making key changes to Universal Credit payment rates. The legislation means the standard allowance for Universal Credit will go up above inflation for the next four years. But there will be cuts to the health-related top-up some claimants get, with the top-up for new claims to be limited to £50 a week. How much is the standard allowance for Universal Credit? These are the current monthly standard allowance rates for Universal Credit: If you're single and under 25 - £316.98 If you're single and 25 or over - £400.14 If you live with your partner and you're both under 25 - £497.55 (for you both) If you live with your partner and either of you are 25 or over - £628.10 (for you both).
Chicago Tribune
17-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Chicago Tribune
5 new comedy clubs to know in the Chicago area
The North Side has long reigned as the cradle of Chicago comedy. Stand-ups flock to Zanies or The Laugh Factory, and improvisers and sketch comics flit between The Annoyance, The Second City and iO. But while these places are comedy classics for a reason, the city is replete with options for Chicagoans to let loose and laugh — and more open all the time. So get your maps out, order your two-drink minimum and chart a course with us across some of the area's newest comedy venues. The new year is usually a time when people commit to a goal for the months ahead. But on Dec. 31, 2023, Marz Timms instead celebrated the fulfillment of a dream when he opened Comedy Plex in Oak Park. Timms, who toured for years nationally and internationally as a stand-up comic, had long studied the clubs he was booked in, cataloging which features made a venue soar and what made the evening sag. So when his business partner Chris Bell proposed a new comedy club in the near west suburb, he jumped at the chance. They chose a former call center in downtown Oak Park as their theater's home. The basement space, vacant for a decade, had an 'intimate, speakeasy vibe' that Timms says is perfect for a comedy club. With downtown Oak Park being 'a destination for so many in the area looking for a nice night out,' Timms says, the location made sense. But the location was about more than marketing. 'We wanted to be a part of the community we were located in,' Timms says. Their regular open mics, as well as their commitment to booking both local and touring comics, speak to this Playground is both the oldest theater on this list and the one most recently opened. It's been around in some form since 1997, when groups of improvisers played bars like Cue Club, Cafe Ashie and Jako's. In 1999, they moved to their first permanent home on Lincoln Avenue before relocating in 2003 to 3209 N. Halsted Street. They would stay there for nearly 20 years until the pandemic forced them to vacate the premises in 2021. Now, however, The Playground has returned, taking over the upstairs space at My Buddy's on Clark Street. 'This new era will welcome the next generation of Chicago improvisers and independent artists, alongside longtime Playgrounders, mentors, and alumni,' says managing director Kaydee Dolan. The Playground has long worked to uplift the improv community, always adhering to their motto 'Laughter, For All, Forever' by making the theater available to anyone who pitches or produces. This spirit continues to thrive in the theater's latest iteration. 'When we have the freedom to choose, to create, to be part of something bigger than ourselves,' Dolan says, 'we can realize our true collective power. Whether artist or patron, we are all showing up in this new space to be part of something.' The easiest way to show up is by joining their weekly mixer, every Monday at 8 p.m. Half workshop, half improv jam, it's a perfect place for anyone looking to play, laugh and join an ever-growing artistic John Stoops opened The Revival in 2015, he wanted to return Chicago improv to its roots. 'Our first theater was built on the very same corner that the Compass Players occupied,' he says — the Compass Players being the Hyde Park comedy troupe that eventually morphed into what we now know as The Second City. In the summer of 2024, The Revival moved to a new location in the South Loop, but Stoops' commitment to offering, as he says, 'the best improvisers — period,' has not wavered. Stoops, a veteran of iO, The Second City and Amsterdam's Boom Chicago, is The Revival's executive director. Unlike other theaters, which may pepper in a stand-up or sketch show into their offerings, every show produced by The Revival is purely improvised. July sees improv legends Susan Messing and Rachael Mason team up for The Boys, The One Offs features performers like David Pasquesi, TJ Jagodowski and Sue Gillan, while Sophia Brazda and Edgar Nevarez's Camp Whatsitsname whisks guests to an improvised summer camp musical jamboree. Holding true to its motto — 'Unapologetically Unscripted' — The Revival is committed to uplifting an American art form, right in the heart of the city that invented it. Emily Ramirez has been a performer her entire adult life. An actress, improviser, director and dancer (notably as part of the national tour of 'The Phantom of the Opera'), Ramirez has now added club owner to her many achievements by opening BABS Comedy Club in Forest Park. Ramirez first contemplated opening her own club in 2019 after becoming disillusioned by what she called the 'growing corporate energy of the larger comedy institutions in Chicago,' despite their 'soulful alt-comedy origins.' However, it wasn't until 2021 that she took the first concrete steps. She created BABS Comedy, liquidating a 401k earned while on tour with 'Phantom,' and began producing comedy shows under the BABS brand. In 2023, she purchased a century-old building in Forest Park, renovating it from top to bottom with her husband's help. The club opened on Oct. 25, 2024, and has consistently put on shows since. 'People have told me that it feels like they're at a house party,' she says of the vibes her shows bring — and it's clear why. Ramirez, as the booker, owner, bartender and occasional janitor, has her hands and heart in every corner of the building. Performers and audiences know they are in loving Home Comedy Theater has direct connections to a decades-old legend of the Chicago comedy scene. When iO announced its closure in 2020, Cesar Jaime, a stalwart of the iO universe, felt like he lost his comedy home. At the urging of a close friend, he assembled a team of fellow iO teachers and performers with the intent of purchasing and reopening the theater. The team came close to securing a deal but the decision was ultimately made to sell to an outside investment group. 'It felt like my artistic home was really gone,' Jaime says. However, Jaime recognized that the team's vision was valid. Together with fellow improvisers Liz Allen, Peter Gwinn, Susan Messing, Norm Holly and the late Noah Gregoropoulos, Jaime took that vision and founded The Home. In July 2023, they signed a lease on an empty, century-old building on Halsted Street and began the process of making their plans reality. The Home draws from the iO tradition of long-form improv, aiming to, according to Jaime, 'get back to the basics … the way it was taught to us.' This means focusing on support and ensemble work, centering around the classic form known as The Harold. Classes at The Home are open to students of all levels, with performances and shows coming in the near future.
The National
04-07-2025
- Politics
- The National
Being a journalist at Westminster is all about right place, right time
SOMETIMES you nearly miss the story. During this week's lengthy debate on the welfare bill, I decided that I'd take a break to stretch my legs, get a bit of fresh air and smoke a cigarette. There had been reports that Social Security Minister Stephen Timms was going to scrap much of the welfare bill, which we'd covered in our live blog already. Ministers speak at the beginning and end of debates and the bill was due to go to a vote at around 7pm, so I was expecting Timms to reveal this then. Just before 5.30pm, I got up from my desk, had a fag, had a bit of a natter with two MPs and returned to my desk. Timms (below) had, in my absence, made an intervention in the debate and announced from the despatch box that he was gutting the Government's flagship welfare bill of its most controversial reforms. (Image: UK Parliament) I thought it was rather inconsiderate of him as I had to tear up the story I'd prepared on the cuts to Personal Independence Payments passing. Clearly, the Government had felt less confident about that prospect than I was. Timms is an old hand and seemed to take the absurdity of his position – announcing mid-debate that the bill MPs were voting on had been whittled down to a nub – in his stride. Labour backbenchers' incredulity was summed up ably by Ian Lavery, who, with dollops of Geordie gusto, denounced the Government: 'This is crazy, man! This is outrageous, man! This bill isn't fit for purpose.' The following day at Prime Minister's Questions, I took my usual spot in the press gallery. Out of habit, I sit on the side facing the opposition benches. Labour backbenchers sit below my feet and I can see the backs of the frontbenchers' heads. It was, from where I was sitting (and I use the phrase advisedly), an exceptionally dull PMQs. (Image: House of Commons/PA Wire) After around 20 tedious minutes, the woman sitting beside me gave me an elbow: 'Rachel Reeves is crying.' No she isn't, I thought. Then she showed me the video. We both scuttled around to the other side. She looked rough alright, but at a distance, it was hard to say anything definitively. I messaged my colleagues who quickly ascertained that she was indeed crying. In a moment indicative of my instinctively conspiratorial mind, I googled the pollen count in London that day, in case the Government tried to attribute it to hay fever. Unless she was especially sensitive to mould, thought I, there is no way they are blaming this on allergies. As it turned out, Reeves had been left shattered by the blow to her authority when her £5 billion cuts to welfare were tossed to avoid a Labour mutiny. That, coupled with a telling off from Mr Speaker, seemed to tip her over the edge. Hard to have much sympathy with her in the circumstances. Quite why she or anyone around her thought it was a good idea to have her in front of a TV camera after bursting into tears, we will never really know. But in a roundabout way, it seems to give her position greater certainty. The market reaction proved that traders fear a return to the chopping and changing which characterised the Tory years or the prospect of a more left-wing chancellor; though who that might be is quite beyond me. At dinner on Thursday night, I check my phone in a spare moment to find out that Zarah Sultana has said she is leaving Labour to lead a new left-wing party with Jeremy Corbyn. Having learned the lessons of the previous days, I hit the phones only to find that there was a reception problem affecting exclusively left-wing Labour people. Most curious. The radio silence seemed to confirm reports that Corbyn had been blindsided by the announcement. The moral of the story? Inconclusive, I'm afraid. I don't think any valuable lessons can be taken from the events of this week ... other than being in the right place at the right time. You can get the Worst of Westminster delivered straight to your email inbox every Friday at 6pm for FREE by clicking here.
Yahoo
01-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
How the new welfare bill affects PIP and universal credit payments
The government was forced to make another major concession to its welfare bill in a last-ditch attempt to pass it on Tuesday night. With just over an hour before a crunch vote that an under-fire Keir Starmer was in danger of losing, disabilities minister Stephen Timms announced no cuts would be made to PIP until he conducted and concluded a review of the disability benefit. It followed previous concessions to PIP and universal credit announced last week as ministers initially tried to appease Labour rebels. The chaotic changes come some three months after the controversial reforms were first announced by the government and are likely to leave many claimants trying to catch up with what the latest changes mean for them. The Universal Credit and Personal Independence Payment Bill was introduced by the government in March of this year with the aim of stabilising welfare spending as well as getting more people claiming benefits back into work. Initially, the government proposed £5bn worth of cuts to the health element of universal credit, as well as limiting who would be eligible for PIP. It also proposed axing any kind of disability payments for those under 22. Now, the bill has radically changed following widespread backlash from disabled people, at least 86 charities, and a swell of Labour backbenchers. However, cuts to universal credit still feature. While the health top-up amount was set to be frozen until 2028 and the payments for new claimants halved, the benefit top-up will now be raised in line with inflation. The PIP changes have now been shelved by the government until the disabilities minister, Stephen Timms, conducts a review into the impact of the cuts in 2026. The Timms review is a comprehensive review of the PIP assessment system and is aimed at ensuring the PIP system is fair, supportive, and reflects the realities of modern life. The review will be co-produced with disabled people, organisations representing them, and MPs, with the goal of delivering better experiences and outcomes for disabled people and those with health conditions. The review will be the first comprehensive report into the disability benefit in a decade, and is expected to be published in autumn 2026. Under the government's last-minute concession, PIP claimants will no longer have to score four points or more in a single category of their benefit assessment in order to qualify for the benefit. Now, the implications of the decision — and how the benefit payment works at large — will be reviewed by Timms. The findings of the review are expected late 2026, meaning payments will not be affected until at least this date — if at all. Under the government's initial welfare reform proposal, around 800,000 people were estimated to lose out on the daily living component of PIP by 2029/30. Now, no one will be affected at least until the review takes place and it seems likely the government will struggle to push through similar reforms. Even after a series of concessions, the health top-up element of universal credit will still be frozen — to an extent — for current claimants, and halved for new claimants. However, under one of the concessions the government made last week, it will now rise in line with inflation year-on-year. The freezing of the universal credit health element and reductions for new claimants are expected to impact 2.25 million existing and 730,000 future claimants. The government will save some money overall, but a drastically smaller amount than it first calculated at £5bn. Before the inflation announcement, the government was expected to make over £1.1 billion in net savings by 2029/30 from the combined measures of freezing the universal credit health element for existing claimants and halving it for most new claimants from April 2026. Now, the figure is expected to be lower.
