Coalition work scheme raises doubts

Providers and analysts have criticised the flagship welfare-to-work programme, saying that the government may have to revise its targets

Mothers march for Sure Start

Dispatches from deficit Britain: Across England, mothers are on the march. Babies in arms and toddlers in tow, they are rising up to save Sure Start

Struggle for long-term sick sent back to work

The former mill town of Burnley, with about one in four of its adults on benefits, is a testbed for the government plan to shift the long-term sick into work

Village library runs on community spirit

When Northumberland County Council announced the library at Ellington was to close, it agreed to the idea of volunteers keeping it going

Poor families await inner-city upheaval

Government plans to cap housing benefit from April 1 mean people on low incomes will no longer be able to afford the monthly rents especially in the higher-rent areas of central London

Cuts inspire defiant mood in Liverpool

Lisa Dempster spoke for 2,399 people who signed a petition against cuts to Knotty Ash Nursery, a small organisation that helps people in Britain’s most deprived city

Library protesters write page in history

Pateley Bridge has seen nothing like it since 1536 when people rose against plans to dismantle monasteries. Now they are defending those modern cathedrals of learning, local libraries

Manchester council attacks ‘ideological’ cuts

Manchester city council accuses the government of hitting the poor hardest as it unveils £279m of cuts that will slash services and see up to 2,000 jobs lost

IVF proves fertile ground for cuts

The government is putting a brake on runaway NHS spending and seeking £20bn in efficiency savings. In vitro fertilisation, seen as a low priority by some primary care trusts is among services in the line of fire

Game of cat and mouse chasing £1bn

Last roll of the dice proves a winner

Cuts to thin blue line leave hard edge