Welcome to this week’s E News on the Citizens Advice Dorset website. The Advice Dorset Partnership is a network of organisations providing advice and support to residents of Dorset and Bournemouth Christchurch and Poole. It is managed by Citizens Advice and is open to any organisation which provides information, advice and support/guidance to local residents.
The Advice Dorset Partnership E news is published fortnightly on a Thursday. However, if there is something urgent in-between we will send out a supplementary edition.
You can now subscribe to the newsletter (it is free and you will get an automatic notification when it is published) – and do encourage colleagues to subscribe too. The subscribe option is at the bottom of this page.
If you would like to send anything out via the bulletin, and for all other enquiries about the Advice Dorset Partnership, contact Thomas Hensher at Citizens Advice Central Dorset: [email protected]
BENEFITS
Removal of Two Child Limit Bill passes Second Reading in the Commons: After a lengthy debate, and with a Reform UK amendment that proposed the limit be raised only for “working families with British-born parents” not being selected, MPs voted 458 to 104 in favour of the Bill moving to the next stage.
Twelve experts appointed to the steering group for the Timms Review of Personal Independence Payment: The DWP have announced the following regarding the Timms Review:
Disabled people will have their voices at the centre of the first ever comprehensive review of Personal Independence Payment (PIP) with the appointment of twelve members to its steering group.
The group of appointed members will bring lived experience of disability or long-term health conditions as well as direct experience of working within Disabled People’s Organisations (DPOs).
Relevant threshold for calculating surplus earnings for Universal Credit (UC) to remain at £2500 from April 2026: The DWP has made a determination that the relevant threshold for purposes of calculating surplus earnings for UC will remain at £2500 until 31 March 2027.
For further information you can read the Secretary of State determination under Regulation 5 of the Universal Credit (Surpluses and Self-Employed (Digital Service) Amendment Regulations 2015.
Government re-confirms no compensation for WASPI women: In March 2024, the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman recommended that WASPI women should be compensated for the state’s failure to correctly advise them of changes to their state pension age, but in December 2024 the government stated they would not do so. In November 2025 (following a judicial review action by the WASPI women), the government stated they would ‘re-take’ their previous decision.
On 29 January 2026, the government re-confirmed that they would not award compensation.
You can read the government’s statement refusing to award compensation to the WASPI women on GOV.UK.
DEBT
Stark warning as 2,670 people seek debt help every day in first week of the year: Across the UK, a staggering 13,300 people turned to Citizens Advice for help with debt in the first working week of 2026 alone.
- Nationally, Citizens Advice helped more than 400,000 people with debt problems in 2025, up nearly 45% since the cost of living crisis took hold in 2021, while the average amount owed has soared 36% from £6,500 to a staggering £8,900
- January remains the busiest month, with more than 50,000 people contacting Citizens Advice for help with debt in January 2025, 10% more than the monthly average of 46,000
- One in three (35%) people trapped in problem debt have been unable to buy essentials like food in the last six months
Citizens Advice’s top tips on what to do if you’re worried about debt:
- Collect and organise all debt-related documents to create a comprehensive list of all your debts
- If you’re behind on household bills, prioritise paying your rent or mortgage, plus energy bills and Council Tax first. Not paying these bills has the most serious consequences
- It might feel overwhelming when you see all of your debts written down – but try not to worry, the important thing is that you’re sorting them out
- You can then contact creditors to discuss options to deal with the debt
- Contact Citizens Advice to help you find a way forward. We can help to check eligibility for benefits and financial support and give advice on next steps
UTILITIES
Responding to the announcement that water bills are set to rise by 5.4% from April, Dame Clare Moriarty, Chief Executive of Citizens Advice, said:
“Soaring water costs are already hitting stretched households, pushing people to ration water use and cut back on groceries in desperate and often failed attempts to avoid falling behind on bills.
“No one should be priced out of water but with bills set to rise again by 5.4% in April, the situation for low-income households, who currently face a postcode lottery of bill support, will only get worse.
“The government missed an opportunity last week to commit to creating a national social tariff in its White Paper. The Independent Water Commission review was clear – creating a single social tariff is the best and fairest way to strengthen support and protect low-income households. Without it, current support measures will remain patchy and people will continue to fall through the cracks as water bills rise.”
Warm Home Discount Scheme extended to 2030/2031: The Government has announced that the Warm Home Discount will be extended until winter 2030/2031. This means that all eligible households will continue to receive the £150 discount. This will be awarded in line with the current eligibility criteria in place for Warm Home Discount. Eligible customers do not need to apply.
You can read more on GOV.UK.
OVO to pay £2.7 million in redress for Warm Home Discount payment failures: Ofgem have announced that OVO will pay £2.7 million to customers who did not receive their Warm Home Discount payment for 2023/2024. This affects 11,646 customers. Redress amounts include £150 for all impacted customers. An additional £150 for medically vulnerable customers is available. Customers will also receive £100 for each instance of self-disconnection between 31 March and 31 May 2024. All affected customers have been contacted by OVO and they do not need to take any further action.
You can read more on the Ofgem website.
CONSUMER
Office of Product Safety and Standards (OPSS) – Hobbycraft recall: OPSS has issued a product recall for a play sand product that might be contaminated with asbestos. People should stop using the product immediately. Find how to dispose of the product or return it safely on both the OPSS and the Hobbycraft webpages.
You can read about the product recall of Hobbycraft Giant Box of Craft on GOV.UK.
IMMIGRATION
The 3 million/Seraphus updated briefings on travel rights under EUSS: This briefing contains tables showing the right to re-entry, and the documents required for this, for EU citizens and their family members. They focus on what carriers will accept at check-in and what Border Force officials will do on arrival. The briefings take into account the upcoming enforcement of Electronic Travel Authorisations (ETAs) for travel from the 26 February.
You can read the joint the3million/Serapus documents for passengers on travel rights under the EUSS.
Certificate of entitlement to the right of abode (COERA): From 26 February, new COERAs will become a ‘digital’ product, accessed through a Home Office account rather than through a vignette in a passport.
COERAs are for British citizens with another nationality who do not have a British passport and are travelling on their overseas passport. There are also a few long resident commonwealth citizens who are entitled.
Either a COERA or a British passport is now required in order for a British citizen with a dual nationality to enter the UK. They are no longer able to do this as a visitor because they are ineligible for a visitor visa or ETA.
You can read more about digital COERAs on GOV.UK.
You can read the ETA guide for dual citizens on GOV.UK.
OTHER
Dorset communities urged to prepare for groundwater flooding: Residents and businesses across Dorset are being urged to be prepared as groundwater levels in the county reach unprecedented levels.
Dorset Council and the Environment Agency are raising awareness as groundwater levels in some parts of the county reach historic highs.
And with more rain on the way with yellow weather and amber groundwater warnings in place, residents and businesses are advised to check now if they are in an affected area. See here for flood details.
Research and Reports
Guarantee our Essentials: reforming Universal Credit to ensure we can all afford the essentials in hard times: Around 5 in 6 low-income households on Universal Credit are currently going without essentials. In this report, Joseph Rowntree foundation argue that an Essential Guarantee should be embedded in the social security system to Universal Credit recipients from going without essentials. Read the report here.
UK Poverty in 2026: This report Joseph Rowntree report sets out the nature of poverty in the UK, and evaluates changes under the last Conservative-led Government. It also sets out the scale of action necessary for the current Government to deliver the change it has promised. Read it here.
Upcoming Events & Training
Writing a Business Plan, first session 18th February 2026: 11am-12pm – the following five sessions will be agreed between the group: Dorset Community Action are holding a series of six monthly online meetings, facilitated and supported by Caro Hart, DCA’s Community Training Consultant, you will be supported to write a Business Plan for your organisation. You will gain knowledge of key concepts and see your way clearly to telling the story of your organisation to funders and supporters.
Each session will build on the next to take you in a structured way through the whole process. As a study group, you will share your expertise, constructively critique each other’s work and shamelessly nick good practice ideas. At the end of each session you will identify actions you are going to accomplish before next time.
The cost is £175 for six sessions including templates, resources and mentoring. See here for full details.
Level 2 Safeguarding Training with Online Safety, Saturday 14 February, from 9:30am to 4pm, Reef Youth & Community Centre : This training is suitable for anyone working with children and young people across Dorset that have not attended Level 2 training before.
The course will cover:
– What safeguarding is
– Types of abuse young people may experience
– Symptoms of abuse
– How to raise concerns