Local Chartered Certified Accountants for Accounting services in UK

DWP benefits may be paid earlier for some claimants this month due to the August bank holiday (Image: Getty Images) Claimants of Universal Credit, State Pensions, Child Benefit, PIP and other benefits may be affected by changes due to the August bank holidays later in the month. August 31, 2026, is a bank holiday where payments from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) won't be made. If you are due to receive a DWP benefit payment that day, you may find you receive it early - usually on Friday, August 28. If your payment is due on a different day, it will arrive in your account as normal, and the amount you are due to be paid will remain the same. When a payment date falls on a weekend or a bank holiday, the Department for Work and Pensions says the claimant is generally paid on the working day before, but this can vary. These are the benefits that may be affected by the bank holiday weekend:  Attendance Allowance Carer’s Allowance Child Benefit Disability Living Allowance Em...

Levy could raise £19bn to help pay for Andy Burnham’s support for those struggling with bills, say campaigners Campaigners have renewed calls for a windfall tax on UK banks that could raise £19bn towards Andy Burnham’s cost of living agenda, after HSBC raked in $10.1bn (£7.5bn) worth of profits in the second quarter of the year. Bosses at HSBC reported on Tuesday that profits rose 60% year on year in the three months to the end of June, helped by fees from wealth management and insurance business, as well as higher interest rates, which allow the bank to charge more for loans and mortgages. The HSBC chief executive, Georges Elhedery, said he would consider increasing banker bonuses on the back of the strong results and planned to restart a share buy-back programme that had been on pause since last year. It brings collective profits for the four largest banks – HSBC, NatWest, Barclays and Lloyds – to £29.2bn over the first six months of the year, putting lenders back in the crosshairs ...