welfare

RSPCA braces for summer surge in abandonments after 282 calls in Devon last year 

The RSPCA is bracing itself for a surge in abandoned animals and fears the fallout from the Covid crisis could see more owners struggling to keep their pets.

Typically, the charity sees abandonment peak in the summer months. Between June and August 2019, 16,519 animals were reported abandoned to the RSPCA which accounts for 30% of all animals reported abandoned that year.

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Look back on 2019: Animals do the funniest things...

RSPCA officers never quite know what they’re walking into from one job to the next.

The charity - which rescues more than 110,000 animals every year - is often called out to shocking, and upsetting incidents of animal cruelty and neglect. But the RSPCA ’s rescuers are also on the frontline when it comes to helping animals who find themselves in a spot of bother - and these can often...

Council widen plans to tackle welfare impacts

More help and support for families that have been impacted by changes to the welfare system will soon be available as Plymouth City Council announces a number of new plans.

Grant funding of £405,000 has been earmarked for projects that aim to help tackle financial issues, fuel poverty and unemployment in the city.

Following an impact assessment of the changes to the welfare...

Jobseekers to start signing new Claimant Commitment

New jobseekers will have to account more clearly for their efforts to find work to get their benefit

Starting today (14 October 2013), new jobseekers will have to account more clearly for their efforts to find work in order to receive their benefit.

New claimants to Jobseeker’s Allowance will now need to sign a 'Claimant Commitment' which sets out more fully what they need to...

George Osborne wants long-term unemployed to work for their benefits

The government has unveiled a new Help to Work scheme aimed at encouraging the long-term unemployed back to work, under tougher rules for benefit payments.

The Chancellor George Osborne, told the Conservative Party conference in Manchester that welfare must be "fair for those who need it and fair for those who pay for it"

The scheme will mean people in long-term unemployment...

Police complaints body investigates after death of Plymouth man

The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) is investigating how Devon and Cornwall Police handled reports concerning the welfare of a 34-year-old man who later died in Derriford Hospital.

Shortly before 1am on Tuesday 14 May, a woman contacted Devon and Cornwall Police to report her concerns for the man’s welfare.

Police officers attended the man’s home, in Plymouth,...