A cap to reduce the cap on benefits from £26,000 a year to £20,000 a year in the UK has come into force.
The cuts were included as part of 12 billion in welfare cuts announced in former chancellor George Osborne's Budget in July last year. It came under considerable opposition by campaigners and unions.
It is estimated that the benefits cap is set to affect 88,000 households primarily with high rents or large families.

The Local Government Association (LGA) has released a statement urging people not to make appointments to see their GP unnecessarily, over coughs and colds and to instead consider pharmacies or NHS websites for help.

Cardiff Council has announced it is planning cuts to generate £17 million in savings as part of a wider measure to raise £25 million to balance its books.

Hampshire County Council could face a legal battle over its charges for DIY waste at recycling centres.

Prime Minister Theresa May is due to tell the Jean-Claude Juncker, the president of the European Commission, that the Brexit timetable will not be delayed by the High Court’s Article 50 ruling.

MSPs have voted to increase the top four bands of council tax, E-H, which will come into effect from April 2017.

Aberdeen City Council has become the first local authority in Scotland to raise funds through the capital markets after issuing stock market bonds worth £370 million.

Wrexham Council is set to decide on whether to go ahead with a plan to spend up to £32,000 to procure replacement iPads for councillors in 2017.

A new report has claimed that creating 27 county unitary authorities could generate nationwide savings of nearly £3 billion.

The deepening crisis in adult social care is likely to cause council overspends of almost £500 million, a new survey has projected.
The Association of Directors of Adult Social Services (ADASS) conducted a survey of 129 of the 152 directors of adult social services in England, and found that councils are planning to use their reserves and other one-off funding to plug the huge financial gap.