Advice Dorset Partnership E News No. 16, 6 November 2025

Job Opportunity

BENEFITS

Abolition of Legacy Benefits: The Welfare Reform Act 2012 (Commencement No. 35) (Abolition of Benefits) Order 2025 brings into effect changes to legacy benefit entitlements:

• From 14 November 2025, existing Housing Benefit awards payable to working age clients (who are not entitled to universal credit, income support, income-based JSA or income-related ESA) in temporary/specified accommodation will end when they leave that type of accommodation. Those clients would previously have been able to retain their existing Housing Benefit award under a change of circumstances (if the move was in the same local authority area as their existing award), but that will no longer be possible for moves after 14 November.
• From 1 December 2025, entitlement to income-related ESA is abolished for those people still in receipt of ‘old-style’ contributory ESA only (which also means that the ‘old-style’ award is converted into an award of new style ESA). This means that from 1 December, clients currently in receipt of ‘old-style’ contribution based ESA will no longer be able to add income-related ESA onto that award if their circumstances change.
• From 1 April 2026, Income Support and income-based JSA are abolished for all clients.

HOUSING

The Renters’ Rights Act 2025: The Renters Rights Act 2025 received royal assent on 27 October. The final version of the act has now been published. You can find the Renters Rights Act 2025 on GOV.UK. We do not have specific implementation dates for the various provisions yet. There has been speculation as to when section 21 notices will be abolished with dates ranging from January 2026 to June 2026. The act will:

• Abolish section 21 evictions and move to a simpler tenancy structure where all assured tenancies are periodic.

• Ensure possession grounds are fair to both parties, with new safeguards for tenants.

• Provide stronger protections against backdoor eviction by enabling appeals on excessive above-market rents.

• Introduce a new Private Rented Sector Landlord Ombudsman for impartial and binding dispute resolution.

• Create a Private Rented Sector Database to support landlords, tenants, and enforcement activity.

• Give tenants strengthened rights to request a pet in the property.

• Apply the Decent Homes Standard to the private rented sector.

• Apply ‘Awaab’s Law’ to set legal expectations on landlords addressing serious hazards promptly.

• Make it illegal for landlords and agents to discriminate against tenants receiving benefits or with children.

• End the practice of rental bidding by prohibiting offers above the advertised rent.

• Strengthen local authority enforcement with expanded civil penalties and investigatory powers.

• Strengthen rent repayment orders by extending scope, increasing penalties, and targeting repeat offenders.

IMMIGRATION

High Court Allows Challenge to Home Office eVisas: Advisers are already aware of the challenges and delays that can sometimes be faced by individuals when accessing eVisas and the consequences for work and benefits if they are unable to provide proof of their immigration status. Permission has been granted by the High Court in a legal challenge to look at whether the eVisa only approach taken by the Home Office is lawful. If this challenge is successful it could result in the Home Office having to provide another process of proving immigration status. We will keep you updated.

Timms PIP Review: The government’s planned review of PIP has now updated it’s terms of reference for the review and launched an expression of interest for members of the steering group, aiming to ensure that disabled people and representatives of disabled people’s organisations have a say in the planned review proposals. Applications close on 30 November 2025.

You can read the statement made by Stephen Timms on 30 October on the parliament website.

DEBT

Ofgem Debt Relief Scheme: Ofgem has announced the first phase of its proposed Debt Relief Scheme will focus on people on means-tested benefits who built up over £100 of debt during the energy crisis. The aim is to start this in early 2026. Eligible households will be identified automatically and contacted by suppliers. They are expected to be contributing towards their arrears or ongoing energy, or be willing to access debt advice.

You can read the announcement on Ofgem’s website.

FAMILY

Protection for Survivors of Domestic Abuse in Debt: Survivors of domestic abuse, involved in debt proceedings, will now receive further protection.

In certain debt proceedings, a survivor’s name and address will appear on the insolvency register and the official public record, placing them at risk of harm. This includes applications for:

• Bankruptcy
• Debt relief orders
• Individual voluntary arrangements

To remove these details from the register and public record, a separate application for a Person at Risk of Violence (PARV) order needs to be submitted to the court, the fee for which is £318.

The Ministry of Justice (MOJ) has now announced that from November 2025, there will no longer be a fee to submit the application for a PARV order. This provides survivors with a greater level of protection by removing the cost barrier in ensuring that an abuser cannot obtain their personal details.

You can read the MOJ press release on removing PARV order fees at GOV.UK.

UTILITIES

Government Announces Greater Protections for Energy Customer: On 23 October the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNEZ) announced a package of greater protections for energy consumers and small businesses. These include:

• Halving the time customers have to wait to take complaints to the Energy Ombudsman to 4 weeks
• Reducing the time the Energy Ombudsman has to consider complaints to 4 weeks
• Forcing suppliers to pay compensation if the Energy Ombudsman’s rulings aren’t implemented quickly enough
• Regulating energy brokers: Ofgem will now become the regulator
• Standardised contracts for small businesses installing smart meters

You can  read ‘Greater protection for families and businesses in energy market’ on GOV.UK.

EMPLOYMENT

Government Publishes the “Keep Britain Working” Report: The goal is to help more people stay in work or return to work if they become ill or disabled with a shared approach between employers, employees, and government. The government has an ambitious target employment rate of 80% – a figure only reached by four economies. UK employment is around 75%. Meeting this target would mean moving 2.2million people into employment. The three proposed changes from the report are:

1. Establish a Healthy Working Lifecycle: Establish, with employers and providers, a Healthy Working Lifecycle which defines the practices that drive the best outcomes in reduced sickness absence, improved return to work rates and better participation of disabled people.

2. Develop Better Workplace Health Provision (WHP): Build, with existing providers and practitioners, the support employers and employees need to deliver the Healthy Working Lifecycle, focusing initially on new ‘stay in work’ and ‘return to work’ plans within the lifecycle, and on improving faster access to support. 

3. Drive adoption with evidence and incentives: Create a Workplace Health Intelligence Unit (WHIU) to aggregate and analyse data, guiding continuous improvement and leadership across the new system.

The report proposes a phased rollout over 7 years.

Government Names and Shames Employers Failing to Pay the National Minimum Wage: The government has named almost 500 employers who have failed to pay the National Minimum Wage, issuing fines totalling £10.2 million to those breaking the rules. As part of this crackdown on underpayment around 42,000 workers have been repaid by their employers, with sums amounting to £6 million.

You can read the list of named employers in the press release ‘£6 million repaid to workers as Government cracks down on employers underpaying their staff’ on GOV.UK.

This includes some well-known high street brands. This enforcement action is part of the government’s overhaul of workers’ rights and its plan to make work pay.

Research and Reports

Why Pushing People into Any Job Risks Undermining the UK’s Ambition for High Employment: New Economics Foundation have produced a report that warns against pushing people into “any” job because it will contribute to the very same cycle of insecurity that is fuelling the unemployment issues the government is trying to address with “Keep Britain Working”. Read the report here. 

Falling Behind: The Government is Failing Private Renters by Freezing Local Housing Allowance: A new report from Citizens Advice argues that freezing Local Housing Allowance while rents rise has left nearly half of low-income private renters unable to cover their rent, worsening debt, poverty, and homelessness, and calls for Local Housing Allowance to be uprated to the 30th percentile to so it covers the cheapest 30% of rental homes in each local are. Read the report here.

The Cost of a Child in 2025: A new report from CPAG reveals that the cost of raising a child to age 18 is £250,000 for a couple and £290,000 for a lone parent. CPAG explain: “Families can cover far less of the cost of children than in 2008. The key driver of this is cuts to the social security system. Costs have risen much faster than increases to the social security system”. Read the report here.

Funding

Community and Culture Project Fund Round 10: The fund provides small grants to organisations who want to start new activities and events that benefit the local community. They prioritise applications that supports residents and those groups that are marginalised, disadvantaged or hard to reach. The fund is a small project grant, funding up to 80% of total project costs. Grants are from £1,000 to £5,000.

The key dates for this round are:

• Opened for new applications at 9am on Friday, 3 October 2025
• Closes for applications at midnight on Friday, 21 November 2025
• Panels will convene in December 2025
• Awards by the end of December 2025

Further details can be found here.