So with the introduction of our new Goth Mommy medicine maker Bella noir I've been thinking about the medicine pals and you know how the handiwork pals if there is The screwdrivers in a chest they'll grab them out and use it to fix things that are damaged in the base. Well I'm sure you can see where this is going I think it should be made where if you have a medicine pal in base anytime a pal gets a sickness condition like depressed overeating all those other ones that the medicine Pal should be able to go to the chest grab the needed medicine and administer it to the Pal to get them back to better health. But I don't know what are your guys's thoughts do you think this would be too op or are you on my side in thinking That this would make people more willing to set their bases to super hard working because they know their pals will be cared for ?

I’m not usually one to care a lot about papers that have already passed and I can’t do anything about, but for some reason anxiety has picked this time to be a bitch and now I’m paralyzed from focusing on tomorrow’s exam. So here are my thoughts on the physics, chemistry, biology and math AS papers (1 and 2) so far, in hopes that some people will respond with their opinions on the difficulty and what the grade boundaries will be around.
Physics : Paper 1 was alright, I think I did well enough. But normally physics papers that even I think are alright means that it's easy for others which does seem to be the consensus amongst my classmates. Paper 2 was shitty, though it does seem to be just hard in general so I’m expecting lower grade boundaries which might mean I’m slightly less fucked.
Chemistry : Paper 1 was easy, which is horrible because I was really careless and lost a couple of marks I really shouldn’t have. I’m expecting high grade boundaries which means I’m fucked. Paper 2 was my worst performance so far, I am already pretty much guaranteed to have lost at least 6-ish marks. It was apparently also somewhat hard, but opinions on this paper seem mixed so I’m praying that grade boundaries are lower.
Biology : Paper 1 was very hmmge. 6 marks questions screwed me over a good bit, no idea how I did on these which can make or break how I do on this paper. Overall low confidence for some reason though. Consensus seems to be that the difficulty is normal. Paper 2 was good for me. Difficulty seems to be easy to normal, which means that me performing well doesn’t mean too much.
Math : Paper 1 was okayge. I think it was alright aside from a careless fuck up that is typical of me atp. Difficulty seems somewhere between normal and hard? Paper 2 was not great. I already lost a couple marks on the last 3rd and 2nd to last questions but considering that people seem to have found it difficult in general I might just be alright.
Keep in mind that I’m someone who is *largely* careless and always have to expect at least 10 - 30 extra marks deducted from careless mistakes depending on the subject. I might seem to be doing just fine to some of you but trust me when I say I can’t even be certain I can reach my already not great predicted grades.
To the people who also took these subjects, what are your thoughts so far? And also to my fellow physics peeps, good luck on paper 3 tomorrow~

I want people to stick around because they want to not out of pitty. It's not that I don't put in any efforts I really try to hold the conversation but it doesn't work out. I don't wanna be stuck like this for ever. It's getting really lonely here. I want to have someone I can talk to and share stuff with. I want someone ai can spend time with. I want someone who is interested in me and genuinely likes spending time with me maybe even flirt a little. I just feel so alone and lost. I don't want things to be this way forever. Please help me! I crave human interaction. I have need and my needs aren't being met much less satisfied. The truth is I can't be high maintenance because n I don't really have anybody who would tolerate that much less actually give 2 shits. If they think I'm too much they'll just leave. Main nakhre kar hee nahi sakta kyunki mere nakhre uthane wala koi hai hee nahi.

Long time e-reader user here. Recently bought a Poke 5. I’ve had a Palma in the past but didn’t like the form factor.
I’m finding the Poke 5 is really laggy. And I’m not talking about the screen refresh. I mean simply doing things on the device. The amount of times I’ve pressed a screen button more than once because I thought it hadn’t registered the first time. You can press a button and wait 1-3 seconds with no visible indication that anything is happening before something updates.
The thing is, the processor in the Poke isn’t all that bad. And Android itself isn’t that slow. So I suspect it’s related to the OS customisation that they’ve done.
So has anyone found a way to make the device snappier? Remove bloatware? Or strip back Android to something more like the generic OS? I don’t need any of the Onyx apps - just a couple of reader apps from the Play Store.
I’m fine with the normal lag that you get with an e-ink screen. It just feels like most of the time the screen is actually waiting for the cpu, and not the other way round…

Hey KathDenlulus!
Welcome to the official Hello, Love, Again MegaThread! We are beyond excited to share this space with you as we experience the road to Kathryn and Alden's new movie, Hello, Love, Again.
This thread will be your central hub for all discussions, news, speculations, and excitement about the upcoming movie. To keep our subreddit organized and ensure everyone can easily follow along, please use this MegaThread for all related conversations.

Discussion Guidelines:

1. Share News and Updates: If you come across any news, articles, or updates about Hello, Love, Again, please share them here. Don't forget to include sources where applicable!
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3. Respectful Engagement: Keep the conversations respectful and positive. We want this thread to be an enjoyable space for everyone.

Reminders:

• Separate Posts: While you're still allowed to make separate posts about Hello, Love, Again, we highly encourage you to comment here to keep everything organized.
• Redundant Posts: The mods reserve the right to take down posts that are redundant or extensively discussed in this subreddit or the MegaThread.

This MegaThread will be pinned and will remain at the top of the subreddit until a period after the movie's premiere. Let's all come together to support Kathryn and Alden and share our excitement for Hello, Love, Again!
Thank you for being a part of this amazing community. Let's make this journey unforgettable!
Happy posting!
Warm Candles, Mod Team

Just saw a graph posted about 6 hours ago showing we all own 90% of this stocks shares. We have such an amazing opportunity here to make some serious money & raise the stock price up by buying & holding tomorrow & this coming week. We have been blessed with this chance and only we can make this happen for all of us. Dont get discouraged & panic sell if the stock drops to .75, .50, even if you own 50 shares or 30,000. If the price rises to 5.00 or even 10.00 it just tells you that we are winning and we can make it go up even farther. Just remember, you don't lose if you don't sell.

Hi readers! My boyfriend (M27) and I (M34) moved in together six months ago. To be more accurate, he moved in to my apartment. Ever since, we have been fighting and arguing a lot because our values and views on a relationship seems to be different when it comes to prioritizing.
I don’t feel fully prioritized, and it is hard for me to really pin point what is that I need, mainly because I know I have a lot of trauma in my life and sometimes I doubt myself and wonder if I feel how I feel because of my own insecurities.
He loves his family and friends and he is vocal about it. He talks very high about them and he is always doing and planning for them. His family lives 5 hours away in train and that doesn’t stop him from meeting them once or twice a month. In fact this month he has seen them 4 times. He would do everything for his family.
The same goes for his friends, his whole energy and personality changes when it comes to do something with his friends, he is super engaged, committed and active. To give a vague example, I was out having dinner with a friend and I invested him over to eat with us. Initially, my boyfriend complained about going out for dinner to spend money (which he wouldn’t do if it comes to spend in trips to his family or going out with his friends). After dinner he was in a HURRY to go and buy cigarettes for one of his friends (because they are cheaper where we live). So in a hurry that he didn’t want to wait and walk my friend to get his bus. He just couldn’t wait, he was literary running to buy those cigarettes because it was important for his friends, and it made me feel that being with my friend out was less important than those cigarettes.
I also wasn’t invited to a party of one of his friends, where everyone had a plus one except him, then at the end I was pitty invited but I did not want to come because, I don’t like to be pitty invited. I felt bad about it, but my boyfriend really asked me to eat my feelings and come to the party because it was important for him. But, what about my feelings and my dignity? I asked if he couldn’t just stay with me and do something cozy together, go out for dinner or to the cinema. He offered course said No because he had plans. Nonetheless, the next day he found out that it was his niece had a birthday and he clearly told me that if he knew he wouldn’t have gone to his friends and to be with his niece because that’s more important… that made me feel like shit because I asked him to be with me but he told me he couldn’t cancel the plans with his friends.
So, all these things really makes me feel in the bottom of his priorities. To me, everyone seems to be before me. And, we live together, we have been boyfriends for almost two years now, and I don’t see him committed to this relationship. It is me who takes care of the house, I work a couple of hours extra sometimes to make sure that the economy is fine, I do most of the cleaning at home, I am the one thinking about decorating all the time, it is me who brings the flowers, buy furniture to make our home cozy and prettier, I do the cooking, and most of the time he complains because I get mad that he wakes up around 11:00 am, leaves his dirty dishes on the sofa table (we have a beautiful dinning table, he prefers to eat at the sofa and that I hate because I don’t want him to spill food on it as it is an expensive sofa I bought alone, he tells me to chill).
I just get so confused about this, he tells me he loves me, he can be very sweet to the point that I get confused and I doubt if this is him or I am wrong and I am being too much and selfish for asking to be more engaged in the relationship and make me his priority.
I apologize for the long text, this is how confused I am at the moment.

Short story long my MIL lost her 3rd job since Covid, her BF that was paying her bills for a combined 18ish months between the last two job losses left her and now she’s about to lose her house. My wife wants to help her out and I get that, problem is we can’t afford her mortgage and our rent. My wife wants to move in with MIL to pay her bills. I’m conflicted here… on one hand I would do the same for my mom and would expect my wife to do it with me, I want that house one day in the future when she passes that’s a cool couple hundred grand in our pockets for retirement or we can eventually just buy it off of her before then. On the other hand she’s over 50 with no higher education and won’t take a job that doesn’t pay less than 60k, so she’s got a limited job pool and she’s already been fired from 3 of those companies. She’s not easy to get along with and that’s why she got fired from the company I work for after I got her a job and also why I leave Christmas dinner as soon as possible.
How do I go about this discussion with her and my wife, how do I get through this without ruining my mental health or even my marriage? I need a plan of attack and maybe even a contract. I want to write up some type of contract that states that every dollar I put into the mortgage is either paid back to me when she sells the house to someone else or gets deducted from the price that she sells the house to us for. Thank you all for reading and I’ll give any more info if y’all need it.
TL:DR mother in law needs help with mortgage so I might have to live with a lady who can’t pay her bills or keep a job

Hi! I recently moved to Carlisle and am seeking to get tested for ADHD. I have good insurance coverage, but as I'm new to the country, I'm not familiar with the healthcare process here. Do I need to visit a GP first for a referral, or can I directly see a specialist? Any advice on how to proceed would be greatly appreciated.
Additionally, if you could recommend any doctors or clinics in Carlisle that specialize in ADHD, it would be very helpful.

Been going out with friends and drinking for the past 2 nights and I've tried a variety of Alcohol(just the alcohol itself no mix) other than gin mixed with fruit juice powder. I just recently took 2 shots of vodka and lemme tell you that stuff hits. Now how can I get that Hit but at the same time make it taste good so I can have more. Preferably something that can fit in my 967ml tumbler

Hi.
I have previously been a member of Nordic-t private tracker, ages ago and havent been a part of a private tracker since. I really enjoyed the community which came with the high quality content.
last few days ive been wanting to get back into private tracking especially with a nordic community/content
looking for users of superbits.org which im interested to join.
whats your general opinion on the tracker ?
how do you think the community is ?
is the content good and are people good at keeping the DL/UL ratio up?
Looking forward to hear from you

Ministers apologise and return £7,000 in benefits to woman, 93, with dementia
Government ministers have formally apologised and repaid £7,000 to a 93-year-old woman whom they held responsible for running up benefits overpayment debts even though they were told she had dementia and was unable to manage her affairs.
The case, which the minister for disability, Mims Davies, admitted was “disturbing”, was brought to light by the Guardian as part of its investigation into carer's allowance overpayments.
The agreement to write off the debt of the 93-year-old, whom the Guardian has chosen not to name, comes as ministers have promised to try new ways of sharing information with carers to try to prevent them building up months and years of overpayments.
Read the full article on theguardian.com
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DWP confirmed that it is developing an ‘enhanced notification strategy’ to alert carer’s allowance claimants to possible overpayments
Notifications designed to encourage claimants to report changes in income and so reduce the risk of being overpaid.
As part of its policy paper, Fighting Fraud in the Welfare System: Going Further, that was published earlier this week, the Department says (at paragraph 78) -

'In carer’s allowance we are progressing an enhanced notification strategy as part of our existing commitment to improve customer engagement, building on our existing communications with customers. As part of this notification strategy we are considering all forms of targeted contact to find the most effective and efficient solution, such as exploring the use of targeted text messages or emails to alert claimants and encourage them to contact the Department when the DWP is made aware of a potential overpayment.'

The Department added -

'The new strategy will help claimants understand when they may have received an earnings-related overpayment or are at risk of doing so, and will encourage claimants to contact the DWP to meet their obligation to inform the Department of changes in their income and other relevant circumstances. This will reduce the risk of those customers being overpaid.'

Note: having expressed concern that the DWP had 'done nothing' to stop carers building up huge overpayments of benefit despite knowing what people are earning, Work and Pensions Committee Chair Stephen Timms called on the National Audit Office to investigate problems with the carer's allowance system and, in particular, its failure to prevent or rectify overpayments.
Stephen Timms has also written to Secretary for State for Work and Pensions Mel Stride highlighting concerns about the DWP's lack of progress with overpayments since the previous committee's report in 2019. Mr Timms' letter repeats the committee's recommendation that the DWP increase the rate of carer's allowance and goes on to call for the DWP to review both the amount and the cliff-edge nature of the earnings limit and for the removal of the 21-hour study rule.
For more information, see Policy paper: Fighting Fraud in the Welfare System: Going Further from gov.uk
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Carers UK has welcomed the DWP's plans, noting this is the 'minimum' they've been calling for to tackle carers' overpayments. However, Director of Policy and Public Affairs Emily Holzhausen also highlights that implementing the strategy is 'urgent', asks that the whole issue be moved out of being branded benefits fraud, and that carer's allowance be reviewed as it should be 'modernised to reflect the realities of caring'.
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DWP-commissioned research highlights how the carer’s allowance earnings threshold influences decisions about how many hours carers work
Report also makes clear that the Department was made aware three years ago that there was room to improve claimant understanding and possibly reduce mistakes leading to overpayments by improving its communications.
The research, Experiences of claiming and receiving carer’s allowance, explores how and why people claim carer's allowance; their caring roles; experiences of combining paid work and care; and how well claimants understand the rules associated with the benefit. While carried out in 2020/2021, the research has been published today against a backdrop of calls for the wholescale reform of carer's allowance as a result of evidence that claimants who have earned above the carer's allowance earnings limit have been left with large overpayments and, in some cases, prosecuted for fraud.
While the research found that many claimants in employment felt there was a practical limit to the hours they could work, with many saying it was only feasible to be working part-time due to their caring responsibilities, it also found that -

• the earnings threshold appeared to influence decisions about how many hours some people worked. Even though claimants often denied that the threshold influenced their choices, they acknowledged being mindful to stay below the threshold. One claimant felt he had to refuse shifts at work that would take him over the threshold;
• in another example, the earnings limit led a claimant to reduce her hours as her wages increased, and eventually she was working so few hours that her employer felt it was not worth employing her due to her limited availability; and
• some claimants in paid work felt they might work more hours if not for the earnings threshold, and even suggested tapering the carer’s allowance earnings rule to encourage claimants to work more.

Published on the same day that the Work and Pensions Select Committee said that there has been insufficient progress in addressing the problems with carer's allowance that it highlighted five years ago, the research makes clear that the Department has been aware of the issues for some time. For example, it highlights confusion relating to the complexity of the earnings calculation, including how deductions such as childcare expenses and pension contributions are taken account of, and whether wages can be averaged if you earn more in a particular week.
In addition, with the Chair of the Select Committee Stephen Timms having said recently that the DWP has done nothing to stop carers building up huge overpayments despite knowing what people are earning, and the Committee having called on the National Audit Office to investigate the problems with the system, the research found that -

• poor communication on the part of the DWP meant that not all of those that had been overpaid benefit were clear on the reason for the overpayment;
• some said that while they were initially notified or questioned about an overpayment there was then no follow-up from the Department; and
• when the overpayment was initially raised, several claimants felt that they were spoken to or treated by DWP as though they had intentionally committed fraud when the overpayment had been a misunderstanding.

As a result, the research says -

'... there is room to improve claimant understanding and possibly reduce mistakes leading to overpayments by improving communications around eligibility criteria. Since claimants did not engage with the detail of their benefit regularly, possibly only considering it once a year when they received their annual letter, more frequent communications may improve clarity of knowledge around carer’s allowance.'

Other key findings include that -

• most claimants cared for close relatives, with two in five caring for a child (39 per cent), a quarter caring for a spouse or partner (25 per cent), and one in five (22 per cent) caring for a parent;
• caring was a long-term and high-intensity commitment, with half of claimants (52 per cent) spending 65 or more hours caring per week and more than half (54 per cent) caring for between 5 and 20 years;
• only 16 per cent of carer's allowance claimants were currently in paid work, tending to work part- time in lower paid jobs that they were able to fit around their caring responsibilities, with most (81 per cent) working 20 hours or less a week;
• of those not currently in paid work, seven in ten (69 per cent) said this was due to their responsibilities as a carer, with other barriers including a lack of flexible working options, claimants’ own health and confidence issues; and
• there was a lag between starting caring and claiming carer's allowance, with seven in ten claimants (70 per cent) caring for 5+ years, but only 3 in 10 (34 per cent) having claimed carer's allowance for that length of time.

For more information, see Experiences of claiming and receiving carer’s allowance from gov.uk
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Almost 135,000 people currently have an outstanding carer's allowance debt, with more than £250 million owed in total, according to figures supplied by DWP Minister Paul Maynard
DWP Minister also confirms that women represent 68 per cent of those with an outstanding debt.
Responding to a written question in Parliament from Work and Pensions Committee Chair Stephen Timms, Mr Maynard said -

'As of 14 May 2024, the volume of people who have an outstanding carers allowance debt is 134,800 with a total value of £251 million. This figure represents the total stock and as such the total monetary amount may have been accrued over multiple years. Those who have an outstanding carers allowance debt may no longer be in receipt of the benefit.'

Mr Maynard added that -

'Women make up the majority of carer’s allowance claims, and this is reflected in the proportion of those with an outstanding carer’s allowance debt. As of 14 May 2024, there were 42,800 (32 per cent) males, 91,900 (68 per cent) females and 100 (less than 1 per cent) not identified, with an outstanding carer's allowance debt.'

The Minister also confirmed that, as of November 2023, there were more than 991,000 people in receipt of carer's allowance, consisting of around 271,000 (27 per cent) males and 720,000 (73 per cent) females.
Mr Maynard's written answer is available from parliament.uk
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Total value of benefit overpayments in 2023/2024 increased to almost £10 billion, representing 3.7 per cent of benefit expenditure for the year
New DWP figures also show that official error underpayments remained at around £1 billion, and that people could have claimed more than £3 billion more 'if they had provided accurate information about their circumstances'.
In Fraud and error in the benefit system: financial year 2023 to 2024 estimates, the DWP calculates how much money it overpaid or underpaid as a percentage of total benefit expenditure for the year (£266.2bn) - for benefits including universal credit, housing benefit, personal independence payment, employment and support allowance and pension credit - and how many claims were paid an incorrect amount.
Note: the statistics no longer include estimates of claimant error underpayments as these are now published separately, as confirmed in recent DWP guidance.
In relation to incorrect payment rates across all benefits for the financial year ending (FYE) 2024, the figures show that the total rate of benefit expenditure overpaid was 3.7 per cent (£9.7bn), compared with 3.6 per cent (£8.3bn) in 2022/2023. In addition, the total rate of benefit expenditure underpaid was 0.4 per cent (£1.1bn), compared with 0.5 per cent (£1.2bn) in FYE 2023.
Looking in more detail at the figures for individual benefits, the statistics include data showing that -

• for universal credit, expenditure increased to £51.9bn in 2024 with an overpayment rate of 12.4 per cent (£6.5bn) and underpayment rate of 0.3 per cent (£180m), compared to expenditure of £43.4 bn, overpayments at 12.7 per cent (£5.5bn) and underpayments at 0.6 per cent (£240m) in FYE 2023;
• for personal independence payment (PIP), the overpayment rate was at the lowest recorded level of 0.4 per cent (£90m), compared with 1.1 per cent (£200m) in FYE 2023. However, the underpayment rate went up to 0.4 per cent (£80m), from 0.3 per cent (£60m) the previous year;
• for pension credit, the overpayment rate was 9.7 per cent (£520m) in FYE 2024, compared with 6.8 per cent (£330m) in the previous year, with underpayments remaining unchanged at 0.3 per cent (£50m) for both years; and
• for housing benefit, almost £1bn (£980m) was overpaid in FYE 2024 (6.3 per cent of expenditure), compared with £860m (5.7 per cent) in 2023. Underpayments remained stable at 0.4 per cent of spending (£50m in FYE 2024 and £60m in FYE 2023).

In addition to the fraud and error statistics, the DWP has also issued Unfulfilled eligibility in the benefit system: Financial Year Ending (FYE) 2024, in line with its decision to remove claimant underpayments from its main fraud and error estimates. The new statistics set out the percentage of benefit expenditure that could have been paid to people with unfulfilled eligibility 'if they had provided the correct information', and show key findings that include -

• the unfulfilled eligibility rate for 2024 is 1.2 per cent of expenditure (£3.1bn), compared with 1.0 per cent (£2.3bn) in the previous year; and
• universal credit, PIP and disability living allowance (DLA) account for around three-quarters of the total value of unfulfilled eligibility (at £730m, £870m and £750m respectively in FYE 2024).

The DWP highlighted that -

'PIP has the second highest unfulfilled eligibility rate [4 per cent] of all benefits and fairly high expenditure [£21.6bn], so due to this combination, PIP accounts for around one-quarter of total unfulfilled eligibility in FYE 2024. DLA has the highest unfulfilled eligibility rate [11.1 per cent] but relatively low expenditure [£6.8m], so even though its rate is higher than PIP, it accounts for a similar amount of total unfulfilled eligibility in FYE 2024. Universal credit has a lower unfulfilled eligibility rate than DLA and PIP [1.4 per cent] but its high expenditure means that it also accounts for a similar amount of total unfulfilled eligibility in FYE 2024.'

For more information, see Fraud and error in the benefit system: financial year 2023 to 2024 estimates and Unfulfilled eligibility in the benefit system: financial year 2023 to 2024 estimates from gov.uk
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Work and Pensions Secretary Mel Stride has set out the DWP's plans to scale up its 'fight against fraudsters'
New measures include using machine learning to detect and prevent fraudulent claims, as well as introducing a new Bill to enable benefit fraud to be treated like tax fraud.
Issuing a written statement in the House of Commons on 13th May, Mr Stride said -

'In the continued fight against fraud, today the Government will publish a new paper setting out the progress we have made in tackling fraud and error in the welfare system - Fighting Fraud in the Welfare System: Going Further. The paper sets out the progress we have made in delivering the commitments in the Government's 2022 command paper Fighting Fraud in the Welfare System and it demonstrates where we are going further to protect taxpayers’ money from fraudsters.'

Highlighting that the Data Protection and Digital Information Bill, currently before Parliament, will enable the Department to work with third parties such as banks to identify claims that signal potential fraud and error, Mr Stride says that the new measures being introduced include -

• bringing forward a new Fraud Bill in the next parliament to treat benefit fraud like tax fraud, by providing for the ability to make arrests and conduct searches and seizures by warrant;
• exploring a new civil penalty to punish fraudsters, potentially broadening the scope of cases that can receive a penalty when the courts are not prosecuting, and increasing the value of the civil penalty;
• tripling the size of the Targeted Case Review programme to reach almost 6,000 staff with the aim of saving £6.6 billion by 2027/2028; and
• making changes to universal credit including new partly automated checks on self-employed income, new online prompts for claimants to re-declare their circumstances (such as if they have moved in with a partner), and increasing checks on capital when people claim the benefit to ensure they are eligible.

Note: the Department confirms that final decisions on accepting or stopping a claim will, however, continue to be made by a member of DWP staff.
For more information, see DWP updates Fraud Plan from gov.uk
In response to the above article the Disability News Service reported that the government's fraud policy paper ignores coroner’s concerns over review of disabled woman’s universal credit claim. Read the DNS article on disabilitynewsservice.com
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Less than half of legacy benefit claimants who were sent a migration notice between July 2022 and March 2024 have made a claim for universal credit, according to new figures from the DWP
However, new DWP statistics also show that 60 per cent of households that claimed universal credit have been awarded transitional protection.
In Completing the move to Universal Credit: statistics related to the move of households claiming Tax Credits and DWP benefits to Universal Credit: data to end of March 2024, the DWP sets out figures for the period since July 2022, noting that -

'In the period covered by this bulletin, the vast majority of migration notices have been sent to tax credit households whose likelihood of claiming universal credit and receiving transitional protection may be different from DWP legacy benefit claimants, the majority of whom had not yet been sent a migration notice in the period covered in this bulletin.'

The statistics include that -

• a total of 824,050 individuals (in 540,070 households) were sent migration notices up to March 2024 - up by around 300,000 and 200,000 respectively compared to the totals for December 2023;
• a total of 400,940 individuals (49 per cent of those sent migration notices), living in 275,980 households, have made a claim for universal credit;
• of households that have claimed universal credit, 166,860 (60 per cent) have been awarded transitional protection;
• a total of 238,990 individuals who were sent migration notices are still going through the managed migration process; and
• a total of 184,120 individuals who were sent migration notices have had their legacy benefit claims closed.

Move to Universal Credit statistics, July 2022 to March 2024 is available from gov.uk
Note: the DWP has also published Universal Credit statistics, 29 April 2013 to 11 April 2024­ which show that there were 6.7 million people on universal credit in April 2024 (300,000 more than the 6.4 million in January 2024) and that half of households on universal credit that received a payment in February 2024 included children.
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Department for Communities also confirms that claimants in receipt of other legacy benefits will be issued with migration notices 'in the coming months'
The Department for Communities (DfC) has confirmed that the 'Move to UC' rollout in Northern Ireland has expanded this week to include people receiving tax credits along with housing benefit.
Announcing the expansion of the process, Deputy Secretary of Work and Health at the DfC Paddy Rooney said -

'We continue to take a measured and carefully managed approach to migrating legacy benefit recipients to universal credit. We have already successfully completed issuing migration notices to tax credit only recipients and we will continue to take every step possible to ensure that everyone receives the help and support they need during this next phase of Move to UC.'

The Department also confirmed that once it has issued migration notices to all those receiving tax credits with housing benefit, the following groups will be contacted in this order -

• people claiming income support;
• people claiming housing benefit only, and those claiming child tax credit with income-related employment and support allowance (ESA); and
• people claiming income-based jobseeker's allowance.

In relation to the bringing forward of managed migration for ESA and ESA/housing benefit claimants in Great Britain, announced by the Prime Minister on 19 April 2024, the DfC says that it is working to assess the impact of this on the region. It also confirms that it will align with the DWP's aim to complete the migration of legacy benefit claimants to universal credit by March 2025.
For more information, see Tax credit with housing benefit recipients next to 'Move to UC' and Rollout of Universal Credit for Tax Credit and Legacy Benefit customers - screening from ni.gov.uk
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57,000 adverse universal credit sanction decisions were made in January 2024, according to new DWP statistics
DWP statistics also highlight that around 95 per cent of decisions are as a result of failure to attend or participate in a mandatory interview.
In Benefit sanctions statistics to February 2024, the DWP reports on both the rate and duration of sanctions for universal credit claimants who are in conditionality regimes where they be applied.
Key findings include that -

• in February 2024, 30.1 per cent of claimants were in conditionality regimes that were subject to sanctions and, of these, 6.52 per cent were sanctioned - down 0.64 percentage points from the previous quarter;
• over the last year, 94.9 per cent of adverse sanction decisions were for failure to attend or participate in a mandatory interview; and
• in February 2024, there were 20,000 completed sanctions in the 4 weeks to 13 weeks sanction duration band, 4,800 in the over 13 weeks to 26 weeks duration band, and 4,000 of over 26 weeks duration.

In addition, while the total number of claimants in conditionality regimes where sanctions can be applied has remained largely stable since May 2022 (currently at 1.95 million), the total number of adverse sanction decisions stood at 57,000 in January 2024, the highest since March 2022.
The DWP notes that -

'Comparisons with universal credit prior to February 2024 ... should not be made. This is because the data sources, methodology and rules of the benefits differ from those used for universal credit currently.'

However, it adds that, following the reinstated duration measures and rate methodology improvements, the data is now determined stable and fit for purpose and, as of May 2024, it is published under the 'Official Statistics' label as opposed to 'in development'.
For more information, see Benefit sanctions statistics to February 2024 from gov.uk
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DWP has admitted missing multiple opportunities to record the 'vulnerability' of a disabled woman whose death was later linked by a coroner to failings at the heart of its UC system
The Disability News Service reported on the case of Nazerine (known as Naz) Anderson, from Melton Mowbray, who died of an overdose in June last year, after receiving a UC review notice.
According to a prevention of future deaths (PFD) report sent to the department by coroner Fiona Butler, the DWP missed six opportunities to record Anderson’s “vulnerability” on its IT system while it was reviewing her universal credit claim, and had failed to act on the mental distress she showed in phone calls about her claim. It also repeatedly failed to act on requests to direct its telephone calls and letters to her daughter.
The DWP admits multiple universal credit failures before disabled woman’s death article is available on disabilitynewsservice.com
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Number of emergency food parcels distributed across the UK by the Trussell Trust has increased by 90 per cent over the past five years
Food charity reports that it distributed more than three million parcels last year, with more than a million of them going to children.
In Emergency food parcel distribution in the UK: April 2023 - March 2024, the Trust says that it distributed 3,121,404 food parcels, the most parcels that it has ever distributed in a financial year, representing a four per cent increase on last year's record-breaking numbers for 2022/2023 and a 94 per cent increase since 2018/2019.
The charity also highlights that the number of parcels provided to children has continued to rise, exceeding 1.1 million in 2023/2024, and that food bank support is provided disproportionately to children, compared to the proportion of children in the UK population. In addition, it notes that pension age households are increasingly likely to need to use a food bank, with food bank support for these households having more than quadrupled between 2018/2019 and 2023/2024 (an increase of 345 per cent), compared to an 81 per cent rise amongst households without someone of pension age.
Also sharing statistics on the reason for referral for an emergency food parcel - which include health, benefit issues, work hour changes, insecure housing, changes in personal circumstances, immigration status and domestic abuse, as well as income and debt levels - the Trussell Trust says -

'Across all households the most common reason for referral was due to issues with income and debt levels. The vital role of the social security system in driving these trends is clear from the fact that the majority (78 per cent) of people referred to food banks were reported to solely have income from the social security system, with a further 8 per cent having earned income as well as income from social security.'

Trussell Trust Chief Executive Emma Revie said -

'It’s 2024 and we’re facing historically high levels of food bank need. As a society, we cannot allow this to continue. We must not let food banks become the new norm ... A supportive social security system is the bedrock on which we end hunger for good. Building on this, we need much more effective employment and financial support for parents, carers and disabled people, and action to ensure everyone can have the security we all need to access opportunities and have hope for the future, through more secure and flexible jobs and investment in social housing. Food banks are not the answer. They will be there to support people as long as they are needed, but our political leaders must take bold action to build a future where everyone has enough money to afford the life’s essentials. The time to act is now.'

For more information, see End of Year Stats from trusselltrust.org
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Employment Minister Jo Churchill has provided a House of Lords Select Committee with an undertaking that the administrative earnings threshold (AET) in universal credit will not be increased again without a 'sound evidence base'
However, Minister's evidence to Lords Committee fails to address its dissatisfaction with DWP's explanation for not publishing robust evidence to support previous increases in the threshold.
Further to the Lords Secondary Legislation Scrutiny Committee's report on new regulations that implemented a further increase in the AET from 13 May 2024 - that criticised the ‘inexplicable’ lack of data evaluating previous increases in the threshold in September 2022 and January 2023 - the Committee held a one-off evidence session yesterday to question the Minister and DWP officials.
Introducing the session, Committee Chair Lord Hunt acknowledged that the DWP had agreed to share its informal findings supporting its AET policy. However Lord Hunt added that -

'... similar, no doubt to the material that the Social Security Advisory Committee saw but correctly declined, if information is not available to the House and the public, then we feel unable to consider it either.'

The Committee then questioned the Minister about the Department's failure to publish evidence providing an assessment of the impact of increasing the AET either before or after implementing the change.
In response, Ms Churchill highlighted that the Department did publish a randomised controlled trial evaluation in 2018 providing the highest level of evidence on the impacts of increased in-work conditionality that Ministers have had sight of. When challenged that this evidence is somewhat outdated and 'a bit threadbare' - as it has been relied on for three increases in the AET - Ms Churchill indicated that Ministers also had early sight of unpublished research (a Regression Discontinuity Design (RDD) study) that compares the experiences of claimants who are just below and just above the AET.
When pressed on the expected publication dates for this and further evidence, Mr Churchill said -

'I have asked for [the RDD study] to be available as soon as it can be, and the date I was given was spring 2024 ... I would like it out the door as soon as possible, so you have more data ... RDD is the next piece, the next building block and then, the longitudinal study will come through in 2025.'

Concluding the session with a final question, Lord Hunt, speaking on behalf of the whole Committee, said -

'... we're looking for an undertaking from you, not to further expand the cohort until the Department can publish robust evidence of its effects. Are you able to give us that undertaking?

Ms Churchill responded -

'So are you alluding to us holding 15 hours or with this latest laying at 18? Because I could certainly say to you, I think with all confidence that at 18, we want to understand the iterations and make sure that we've got a sound evidence base from there.'

NB - the increase in the AET in January 2023 was based, for individuals, on the equivalent of them working 15 hours per week at the National Living Wage, and this week's increase to the equivalent of them working 18 hours per week.
Despite welcoming the Minister's reply, Lord Hunt went on to say -

'... we accept your undertaking, except we are still as dissatisfied as we were because you haven't provided, in the view of the Committee, sufficient explanation yet. We are awaiting this robust evidence, which I think that we now expect in June 2024.'

The evidence session Regulations to increase the Administrative Earnings Threshold (Legislative scrutiny) is available from parliament.tv
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Work and Pensions Select Committee has called on the government to bring forward proposals to compensate women born in the 1950s who suffered as a result of the DWP's communication failures when their pension age was increased, and asks that it does so in the current parliamentary session
Committee chair highlights lengthy delay and urgency for affected women and calls on government to act on Parliamentary Ombudsman recommendations before summer recess.
Writing to Secretary of State for Work and Pensions Mel Stride, Committee Chair Stephen Timms requests government support for 'urgent action' following the Parliamentary Ombudsman's final report in March 2024 which recommended a remedy based on level 4 of its severity of injustice scale, putting awards at between £1,000 and £2,950.
Mr Timms says that the Committee does not seek to question the Ombudsman's proposal for compensation at level 4, but instead has focused on what a remedy may look like -

'The evidence we received indicated support for a rules-based system. This would be a system where payments would be adjusted within a range (based on the PHSO’s severity of injustice scale) to reflect the extent of change in the individual’s State Pension age and the notice of the change which the individual received. This would mean that the less notice you had of the change and the bigger the change in your SPA, the higher the payment you would receive. While not perfect, the advantages of such a system are that it would be: quick to administer; applying known data to a formula to determine the amount due; and relatively inexpensive (compared to a more bespoke system).'

The Committee's recommendation also includes some flexibility for individuals to make the case for further compensation in the event that they have experienced direct financial loss, for example where a woman whose divorce settlement was less than it would have been because it was based on the expectation that she would receive her state pension at 60.
Mr Timms also asks the government to consider -

'... the need for urgent action, given that the Ombudsman started to look at this issue in 2018 and that every 13 minutes a woman born in the 1950s dies ... Implementing a remedy will need parliamentary time, financial resources, and the data and technical systems only available to your department. It cannot happen without government support. We would ask you to bring forward proposals for a remedy by the summer recess.'

Mr Timms' letter to the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions is available from parliament.uk
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Hello everyone,
I come from a non-IT background and have a BBA degree. After my studies, I learned basic Python and secured an internship, which led to a job as an Odoo/Python developer, thanks to a friend's reference. I've been in this role for the last 11 months, including my internship period.
I've always been curious about my learning path, but my attempts to seek guidance from seniors didn't yield much help, and I didn't do enough research myself. Now, I'm considering switching from Odoo, but I'm confused about the various fields and options available.
I'm planning to get an IBM specialization certification(in chosen feild) from Coursera and take the DSA course offered by the University of San Diego. However, there are so many fields to choose from, like web development, automation, data science, and DevOps. I want to pick a field that is in high demand globally and offers good rewards.
I understand this learning journey will take a lot of time, but I'm committed. Additionally, I've started solving LeetCode problems since I enjoy problem-solving and it's a great way to learn DSA.
Any advice or suggestions on how to proceed would be greatly appreciated! Thank you!

Hiiii! I love TJs so much! I go about 2 times a month, I try to stock up so I don't have to go often cause I have kids and it's just chaos taking them. The more I can get at once the better 😌 🙌🏻
Anyways. I'm on a weightloss journey & was wondering if anyone has any go to meals preferably kid friendly that have helped with losing weight?! Aside from veggies & salads, what are something things you eat that help stay on track?
I need some lunch/dinner ideas mostly. Any recommendations!?

Hey brethren,
Let me discuss something with you:
Now first off, let me state that I am a die hard Christian. I have an old fashioned, evangelical, Baptist faith. I am a follower of JESUS CHRIST our Lord and Savior. I believe a literal interpretation of The Bible, from Genesis to Revelation. Nothing more, nothing less. I am a bit more conservative, but I respect both sides of the isle.
I am one of many Christians out there who is connected with the LGBTQ+ community.
Now I am reaching out to, in a way, give my testimony and promote a mutual respect between our family in CHRIST and the LGBTQ+ community. To reach out so that we all may have peace and understanding among ourselves.
Now personally, I am suffering in many ways, but especially, I am dealing with this LGBTQ+ issue.
Now I treasure GOD far more than any of this and while I ask GOD to allow me “this lifestyle” for my sanity, I have also asked GOD to take it away from me. Unfortunately that resulted in HIM putting me on my ass, which was well deserved because of the manner I dealt with it. So at this moment, I feel like Paul when he dealt with his ailment, that GOD chose not to take away.
Now comes the main concept here:
Why can’t we all just get along? JESUS said not to judge lest ye be judged. Why can’t both parties respect that?
Now I am also going to reach out to the LGBTQ+ community for all of them to consider this “peace offering” as well, but I need all of you to take in consideration that many people, just like me, are truly suffering these particular ailments. Some are not suffering, but other Christians like myself and even non-Christians are truly suffering these ailments and are trying to cope with it.
We all need to get along with each other. Remember JESUS said the two most important commandments were to love GOD with your heart, soul and mind, then to love others as you would love yourselves..
Honestly I feel a little crazy for writing this, but I also feel it needs to be said.
The next time you come across somebody that is a part of the LGBTQ+ community, don’t belittle them, don’t hate them, don’t judge them. Be kind to them, even if you disagree with their lifestyle. Pray that GOD guides them and let GOD choose whether to take that ailment way from them or not. Remember, you may not fully see the pain, confusion and fear going on behind the curtains. So be nice and tell others to do the same.
Thank you for taking the time to read this. I love you all and am always praying for blessings for you all.
May Our Father in Heaven, His Son Jesus Christ and The Holy Ghost bless you all greatly! ❤️✝️

My friend (26 f) and her fiance (47-50? Not sure M) have been having a lot of relationship issues. She never really sees her friends and it feels a lot like he doesnt want her to have friends, hes pretty useless, probably changed 3 poopy diapers in the span of 2 years and 3 months. He is quite manipulative and standoffish. But im not saying my friend does not have flaws of her own, they obviously have a lot of resentment towards eachother.
On Thursday I went to her house as I havent seen her or bub in months and we had a glass of wine, i am usually good for two glasses and able to drive but her expensive wine was too much for my body and I realised I couldnt drive home after one drink. So she offered for me to sleep over, I have been meaning to do this anyway so that I can learn her buns night routine so i can babysit for her if needed. I said okay because I had work the next morning and wasnt able to afford the 45 minute uber home and back in the morning to get my car. So in the end we decided to just finish the bottle. We were tipsy/semi drunk, i remember the whole night as I am not a light weight, where as she is very skinny and was on her way to drunk but not quite there.
We mainly played with bub (fiance wasnt home until 7pm) and throughout the night we sat downstairs and caught up and chatted. Her bub woke up screaming at about 11:30 do we went up to calm her and put her back to sleep (albiet badly as we were not sober) my friend ended up bring bub to bed with het and fiance and I was heading to bed when I realised we had accidentally switched phones. (Please know i am aware i should not have entered their room without express permission but in sullied mind i thought this is gonna take legit 10 seconds to switch our phone) mine was on her bedside table so, in order not to just randomly walk into theor room i told fiance im just coming in quickly to switch our phones, i placed hers on her charging pad on the bedside table where mine previously was. And crept back out (because bub was in bed sleeping and friend was downstairs doing something idk) then i went to bed.
Got up at 5:30 the next day and left for home and went to work. She was messaging me saying fiance was really mad and was stating I slammed into the room and threw her phone at him being really loud. I doubted myself for a second but thought no, because I remember the whole night, and even if i was black out drunk the worst i would ever do is stumble and maybe talk a little louder then i thoight i was.
I told her to apologise to fiance for me in the case i was loud by accident and for entering the room withoit explicit permission.
On Saturday i had a mutal friend of ours over to play a ages 5 and up riddle game and drink (no way we are gonna be able to do a normal mystery solving game whilst drinking lmao) and we had invited my friend too. She said she really wanted to come but didnt want to upset fiance. We said that in any relationship, why would wanting to spend a night with your friends ve something that would upset him. Its as if he is feeling like having to take care of their child alone, one time, was a huge burden for him, keep in mind she does everything for bub, usually without help.
She said she wanted to come and he responded by saying "fine if you want to leave then im leaving" got dressed and went out to the pub with his mates, leaving her by herself with the bub. So me and other friend said to just cone iver and bring bubba with her, so she did.
Important to know, she takes her ring off at night because its uncomfortable for her to sleep in, he knows this, and it has never been an issue, she had already taken her ring off to bath bub and put her to bed so when she came over she wasnt wearing it. Was a simple mistake. He became irate with her and advised over text that they were done and that she has to move in with her mum and take baby with her. She was obviously very upset but didnt want to reply whilst angry without thinking it through first and he was spam messaging her saying hes packing her stuff and bubs stuff and she has to get out.
Shes now at my house, because her mum and other friend lives over an hour away from bubs daycare. But I absolutely am so happy she and bub is here and safe with me. I would have always offered anyway regardless of distance.
But I am exhausted and she is exhausted and I dont know what to do to help. I am also not used to having a toddler around at all. I am disabled and so I have limitations for caring for a toddler for an extended period of time. She is doing everything herself but i dont want to just sit on the couch while she does everything (unpacking the random assortment of things she needed and stuffed into bags in a hurry and taking care of bub) so i am extremely run down and its been less then 24 hours.
I am not suggesting nor do I want them to leave in any aspect. I was just wondering if anyone has advise.
Fiance also cut off her card, which obviously she uses to buy things for bub and herself to live. I dont make very much money so cannot contribute unfortunately. He said extremely upsetting things like he is not going to pay for her schooling and will send a miniscule amount per month (he is very wealthy and practically convinced friend to be a stay at home mum with no form of income) I said to her that thisnis finacial abuse and if this is serious and sticks then she has a right to an amount that keeps bub in the same level of living conditions she was in whilst together. I dont really want them to get back together to be honest, everyone wants them to split. But this isnthe opposite of the way to do it. And he has money to get a fancy lawyer in the case this goes to family court, whereas she does not.
I am scared that the situation is traumatic for bub and I dont know what I can do to make things better.
This is barely scraping the surface but any advice would be appreciated.
Thank you.

Apologies for this convoluted mess of a post, I’m in a pretty high emotional state and just wanted some second opinions.
First thing you should know, I have always been incredibly passionate about societal issues involving all aspects of life. Whether that be racism, classism, sexism, homophobia, xenophobia, etc.. I am a white woman from a developed country and I recognise the privilege that I have and I ensure I do not take away the voice of minorities but simply find ways to advocate and amplify those voices and to continuously educate myself to be culturally aware and sensitive. I’m trying my best in doing what I can.
That being said, I have been with my boyfriend for 4 years now and he has known this about me since the beginning (also my bf is white).
Now, when I say “pretend to be a misogynist”, I honestly was the first one to really use this as a joke. For example, when I would come across a TikTok of a guy on a podcast saying that men have the capacity and right to cheat but women cannot because they get too emotionally involved, I would show my bf the clip and say “No because he’s spitting straight facts and why stop there? Women are emotional creatures and men are rational thinkers, which is why men don’t cry. If you’re in touch with your emotions, you’re a pussy.” Basically just some exaggerated bullshit that I would say in a sarcastic tone to really highlight how laughable these ideologies are.
He loved this and thought it was hilarious so he started to use the joke as well. He began to use it so frequently that at one point I jokingly said “I’m starting to think that you’re beginning to believe the shit you’re saying.” To which he doubled down and said “Oh no, you’ve caught me” and laughed it off. A little red flag was risen in my mind but I shrugged it off and reminded myself that I was in fact the one to introduce him to the joke.
Recently, I’ve been really struggling with my anxiety and depression due to everything that’s going on in the world and how it feels like we are progressing backwards as a society at times. I have had to take frequent breaks off of social media because of the bigotry I kept frequenting in TikTok comments and it would send me down a spiral of losing hope in humanity essentially (I know this is a showcase of my privilege to be ignorant, but I had to make the difficult choice of putting my mental health first).
I became quite sensitive to any sort of bigotry and asked my bf if we could at least pause with “pretend to be a misogynist” jokes as in my vulnerable state these ideologies were no longer laughable but frightening. He seemed confused as to how that would help but agreed.
Now to the event that caused me to question my bf’s intentions when making these jokes. Harrison Butker infamously made his commencement speech recently spouting traditional ideologies of a woman’s role as a homemaker under the guise of religion. This of course irked me and made me so incredibly upset for the women in the graduating class that had just worked their butts off for 4 years that had to sit and listen to this man that their greatest accomplishment in life will be when they become a wife and mother.
I of course shared this to my bf, saying how utterly disappointed I am that an influential figure can openly make these statements and think nothing wrong of it. In this moment, I truly just wanted him to share in my disappointment and disgust. Instead, he replies with “King shit 🤴”. I gave him another chance by asking “Don’t you think it’s foul that people still think this way? That a woman should amount to no more than a homemaker?” He replies with “He’s speaking his truth.”
I know I should have communicated my frustration but I just didn’t have the energy to start an argument over text. And frankly, I started to go into another one of my dissociative spirals where I was picking apart previous times my bf has made these sorts of jokes and I have given him the chance to express his actual concern on these sorts of issues but he always just sorts of doubles down on the joke and moves on in the convo giving me the clear signal that he doesn’t want to discuss this sort of thing anymore. Even though he knows how passionate I am with societal issues and particularly in this present moment with how it is actually affecting my mental health.
And to add fuel to the fire, whilst I HIGHLY don’t recommend comparing your relationship to those that you see online I had come across a TikTok of a woman showing her husband the speech and him immediately expressing his concern and disdain.
Is it all my doing since I started the joke so he thinks it’s okay? Am I thinking too deeply in thinking that he continuously brushes off any sort of discussion about societal issues? How do I approach him about my concern without him instantly denying and shutting it down?
TLDR: My (22F) bf (21M) agreed with Harrison Butker’s speech as a “joke” even though I asked him to stop making these kinds of jokes.

What it says on the tin. I found out after telling my family that I hear voices that my grandmother and her daughter (my dad's half sister) saw ghosts and spirits. They apparently never wanted to talk about it with anyone else.
And before anyone asks or says it, I've seen a ton of psychiatrists and psychologists since i was 10, and they all agree I don't have schizophrenia or a psychotic disorder, so that's ruled out to my satisfaction. My grandmother was not crazy, but definitely wasn't the best person on the planet. My aunt was a fully functional adult who was her mother and husband's caretaker up until their death.
I've tried asking my grandmother by calling her spirit. She never knew her parents, but says her mother had abilities. I just wonder how that starts because my dad doesn't have any abilities, and I can do a lot more than just see spirits.
Edit: I am not making the claim that it is genetic in any traditional sense. It doesn't follow a dominant/recessive pattern that i can find. But it does seem to be more like how if both your parents are one religion, there is a high likelihood of you being that religion. I find that if one person in a family has magical gifts, someone else does as well. I was wondering if this is other people's experience or if this I only think this because of fiction, and fiction might only think this because historically it was very convenient to persecute entire families rather than just an individual.