Thousands of benefit claimants, including those on Universal Credit, will have their DWP payment dates rescheduled this week due to the May bank holiday falling on Monday, May 25

Thousands of benefit claimants, including those receiving Universal Credit, will see their payments arrive early this week.

This is due to the forthcoming second May bank holiday, falling on Monday, May 25. If your benefit payment is scheduled for that day, you should expect to receive it on Friday, May 22 instead.

The same situation occurred with the first May bank holiday on Monday, May 4, when those due a payment that day received it on Friday, May 1.

It is worth noting, however, that receiving payment early does mean a lengthier gap before your next payment arrives. Funds will be deposited into your usual bank account where benefits are routinely paid.

The amount you are entitled to will remain unchanged, unless your personal circumstances have been altered, reports the Mirror.

The adjustment will affect Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) benefits, along with certain HMRC benefits, including Child Benefit.

When are benefits normally paid?

The frequency of your payments depends on which benefit you are claiming. Universal Credit, for instance, is paid on the same date each month, while Child Benefit is typically paid every four weeks on a Monday or Tuesday.

It is important to note that Universal Credit has now replaced Income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance, Income-related Employment and Support Allowance, Income Support, Child Tax Credits, Working Tax Credits, and Housing Benefit.

The full breakdown of how frequently certain benefits are paid is listed below.

• Attendance Allowance – Usually every four weeks Carer’s Allowance – Weekly in advance or every four weeks
• Child Benefit – Usually every four weeks, or weekly if you’re a single parent or you or your partner get certain benefits
• Disability Living Allowance – Usually every four weeks
• Employment and Support Allowance – Usually every two weeks
• Income Support – Usually every two weeks
• Jobseeker’s Allowance – Usually every two weeks
• Pension Credit – Usually every four weeks
• Personal Independence Payment – Usually every four weeks
• State Pension – Usually every four weeks
• Universal Credit – Every month

What if I don’t get paid?

Should you believe a payment has not come through, ensure you check your bank account thoroughly in the first instance. If the expected payment date has passed and the funds are absent, you should get in touch with the appropriate helpline.

These are unlikely to be available on bank holidays, meaning you will need to wait until the following working day.

Universal Credit:

Call for free: 0800 328 5644

Welsh speaking: 0800 328 1744

Relay UK: 18001 then 0800 328 5644

Child Benefit:

Call for free: 0300 200 3100

Outside UK: +44 161 210 3086

Jobseeker’s Allowance, Income Support, Incapacity Benefit and Employment and Support Allowance:

Call for free: 0800 169 0310

Welsh speaking: 0800 169 0207

Relay UK (if you cannot hear or speak on the phone): 18001 then 0800 169 0310

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An outline planning application has been submitted to build up to 138 homes in a Cambridgeshire village

Plans to build up to 138 homes in Hardwick have faced backlash from people living near the proposed development site. Neighbours have shared concerns that the new homes would cause “irreversible harm” to the village and its community.

The homes are proposed to be built on land south of St Neots Road in Hardwick. Of the 138 homes, 40% are proposed to be made available as affordable housing. The proposals also seek to develop a new site access, internal access roads, parking, drainage, and public open space.

Developer Pigeon said its proposals would aim to create an “inclusive community through the provision of a variety of tenures and dwelling types to suit all stages of life” and a “sustainable movement strategy where walking and cycling opportunities are integrated into the heart of the development”.

The planning statement says: “The proposals provide for a high-quality, landscape design-led, sustainable scheme including the provision of up to 138 new homes, comprising both market and affordable homes, along with public open space, biodiversity enhancements and associated infrastructure.”

The outline planning application has seen local backlash, with more than 15 objections lodged so far. One objector said: “The A428 junctions are already under pressure, and additional traffic will worsen queueing and accident risk. The proposal does not demonstrate that the increase in traffic, altered flow and the effect on junction function have no adverse impact on safety and capacity.”

The objector also highlighted that Hardwick is a rural village with a “distinct character defined by open green spaces, low-density housing, and a strong sense of community”. They added: “The proposed development is overdevelopment, inconsistent with the village’s scale and form, and it erodes the rural setting and landscape character, and does not respect local character or protect the countryside.

“The proposal would fundamentally alter the village’s identity.” They said “the application should be refused” because it would “result in significant and irreversible harm to the village and its community”.

Another concerned resident said that the proposed access road into the new development would create an “increase in vehicular traffic”. They said this would “cause congestion” and “more importantly at the junction of the road joining the main curved road to the road-about”.

A similar concern was raised by another objector. They said that the western roundabouts, which serve as a key access point for Hardwick and nearby villages via St Neots Road, “already experience substantial congestion, particularly during peak commuting hours”.

They said the development would “introduce a significant increase in vehicle movements onto a road network that already appears close to capacity”. They added that local services “already appear to be under considerable pressure” and up to 138 homes could “significantly increase demand on already stretched services without clear evidence that the necessary supporting infrastructure improvements will be delivered”.

Hardwick itself does not have a GP surgery. Residents use nearby surgeries including in Comberton and Bourn.

Harry Styles’ tour team have said that they are reviewing staging at the singer’s world arena tour following complaints that fans were unable to see the pop star during much of his set.

The “Watermelon Sugar” singer kicked off his Together, Together tour in Amsterdam on Saturday (16 May), with the show’s stage featuring a giant square of walkways allowing Styles to move closer to audiences in different parts of the arena.

But following the show, a number of fans – including those who had played for premium tickets – took to social media to complain that the raised bridges in the walkways had prevented them from seeing the main stage.

“I’m sorry but wtf is this??? I’m at the barricade and I can’t even see the main stage anymore????? I want my money back. This is not okay,” one fan wrote on X.

On Wednesday (20 May), official representatives responded to the backlash, saying: “A small area of the staging in specific floor positions appears to have had a restricted sightline.

“Those areas are being reviewed carefully and adjusted where possible in compliance with all safety restrictions.”

The officials said that the layout was meant to encourage a “free-flowing floor experience” in keeping with the dancefloor theme of Styles’s latest album Kiss All The Time. Disco, Occasionally, rather than a fixed viewing angle.

However, many fans of the former One Direction star – who kicks off a 12-show residency in London’s Wembley Arena in June – will join the queue for the concert hours, if not days, early with the sole intention of getting as close to the stage as possible.

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These were the fans who shared the most disappointment on social media, with one claiming that the “massive” stage meant she “sometimes didn’t see Harry for a whole song”.

“Barricade is not worth it. Do not bother queueing. This was the back of GA (general admission) left and we couldn’t see him for 20+ minutes, I can only imagine how much people at the front missed,” wrote another.

”The bridges are massively obstructing, especially when he spends so much time in the middle. Seats will have the best view without a doubt, then the rear two pits.”

It’s unclear when any changes, if they are made, be made to the staging. Styles has eight more shows to play at Amsterdam’s Johan Cruyff Arena before his first show at Wembley on 12 June. He’ll then travel to São Paulo, Mexico City, New York, Melbourne and Sydney for the remainder of the rout, which wraps in December.

Figures released by Police Scotland under Freedom of Information show that more than 700,000 officer days off have been cancelled in the last six years.

Thousands of frontline cops had their days off cancelled last year as Police Scotland battled to cope with a rising ride of crime and disorder including a violent gangland feud.

Shock figures released by the force show that 120,148 ‘rest days’ were scrubbed last year – compared to 110,842 in 2024 – with the hard pressed officers being ordered back on duty.

The police spent much of last year tackling gangland violence across Scotland linked to a long running feud between the Glasgow based Daniel and Lyons crime families.

Their response codenamed Operation Portaledge has already resulted in more than 60 arrests and a large number of people being sentenced to length jail terms.

There was a sharp rise in the numbers of police officers days off cancelled in March last year after the violence first broke out in Edinburgh and then spread to Glasgow.

In that month 10,457 rest days were scrubbed compared to 7.825 in February.

The Scottish Police Federation (SPF) said the routine cancellation of days off is leaving cops at breaking point and a massive backlog of officers waiting for the time back.

SPF General Secretary David Kennedy added:” These figures lay bare the relentless and unsustainable pressure being placed on police officers across Scotland,

“What is particularly concerning is the scale and consistency of the demand. “These cancellations are not isolated to major events or emergencies, they are embedded within the day-to-day running of policing.

“Policing cannot continue to function on the erosion of officers’ welfare. Rest days exist for a reason. They are a critical safeguard for both officer wellbeing and public safety.

“Fatigued officers are not only at risk themselves, but cannot perform at the level the public rightly expects. These figures must serve as a wake-up call.”

Operation Portaledge was launched to investigate a series of machete attacks and firebombings targeting associates and members of the Daniel family.

The feud reignited after underworld figure Ross McGill, who has links to the Lyons family, was allegedly ripped off when a £500,000 cocaine deal was paid for with fake notes.

McGill, a former leader of the Rangers fans group the Union Bears, has blamed a crew member of Edinburgh cocaine baron Mark Richardson, who has links to the Daniel family.

Last years figures, released under Freedom of Information (FOI), show that police officers had their days off cancelled at an average of 2310 a week. In the first two months of this year 15,605 were cancelled.

A total of 400 days off were cancelled last Saturday to police the Celtic fan SPL title celebrations in Glasgow’s Trongate where there was large scale disorder and ten arrests.

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Mr Kennedy added;”Our members are committed, professional, and continue to go above and beyond. But policing cannot continue to rely on sacrifice alone.

“Enough is enough – this level of demand is not sustainable, and without meaningful intervention, the long-term resilience of the service is at real risk.”

Thousands of days also off had to be cancelled last July and August for the visits to Scotland of Donald Trump and Vice President Vance.

The same FOI figures show that 704,019 days were scrubbed between January 2020 and the end of February this year.

A quarter of all cancellations were to allow officers to attend court, even though only a small percentage end up giving evidence. The most cancelled days off were in Glasgow with 115,153 since 2020.

Police Scotland’s Deputy Chief Constable Alan Speirs said: “The Chief Constable has been clear that our priority is to strengthen and modernise our frontline to deliver efficient and effective policing.

“Officers and staff work hard to deliver for communities and keep people safe, and our workforce is under pressure from increased threats and a rapidly intensifying operational environment, which is why we have taken steps to ensure we can deploy officers from across the force more flexibly to meet those threats and demands.

“Work is also progressing to reduce the impact policing of events is having on officers and reducing the disruption to their rest days.”

” There is more to be done and Police Scotland will continue to drive improvements in this area.”

Since Police Scotland was formed in 2013, the number of officers has dropped by more than 1000 from 17,496 to around 16,416.

Chief Supt Rob Hay, President of the Association of Scottish Police Superintendents says senior officers at his rank are also having their days off cancelled on a regular basis.

He added: “It is not unusual for Superintendents to be owed 4 weeks’ worth of rest days, one colleagues was owed 10 weeks at one point last year.

“These numbers are symptomatic not only of rising demand but of the impact of falling police numbers across all ranks.”

Inspectors identified that checks of newborn resuscitation equipment were not being consistently recorded, creating a risk that equipment may not be ready for use in emergencies

An inspection of maternity services at Singleton Hospital in Swansea has found improvements, but concerns remain. Healthcare Inspectorate Wales’ latest inspection saw them spend three days in February looking at the quality, safety and experience of care provided to women, babies and families across maternity services. Their inspection was unannounced.

Serious concerns have previously been raised about maternity services at the health board. An independent review into maternity services at Swansea Bay University Health Board was published in July 2025 which contained stark issues and heartbreaking stories from families.

While progress was reported after this latest report, concerns regarding the timeliness of care provided to women on the postnatal ward, as well as the pressures experienced by staff throughout the service, remained. For our free daily briefing on the biggest issues facing the nation sign up to the Wales Matters newsletter here

For example, inspectors found checks of newborn resuscitation equipment were not being consistently recorded, creating a risk that equipment may not be ready for use in emergencies. They also heard from staff of “occasional” difficulties, during busy periods, in sourcing essential equipment such as heart rate monitoring equipment for babies, blood pressure monitors and thermometers.

Following on from previous inspections in 2023 and 2024, the inspectors found more effective multidisciplinary working, improved medical handovers, increased leadership stability and clearer systems to look at concerns.

Feedback from women and families was largely positive they found with most women telling inspectors they were treated with dignity and respect, felt listened to, and were involved in decisions about their care.

There was stronger senior oversight and accountability since previous inspections, and progress was also seen in medical handovers, notably through the use of daily safety huddles to share information and manage risks.

Infection prevention and control arrangements, medicines management and safeguarding processes were found to be well established, with clear systems to support safe care.

Despite these improvements, inspectors have listed things that need further action. Staff highlighted ongoing pressures, described feeling overworked, and raised concerns about training and professional development.

Some women were critical of restricted visiting hours and limited staff availability meant their needs took longer to be seen to, which impacts their dignity. Staff feedback echoed patient concerns.

Inspectors also found that, while senior oversight and accountability had improved, further strengthening is required.

HIW has continued to work closely with the health board since the inspection and has received a comprehensive improvement plan, which sets out how the issues identified will be addressed. HIW will monitor progress to seek assurance that improvements are implemented and sustained.

Alun Jones, Chief Executive of Healthcare Inspectorate Wales, said: “This inspection shows that continued progress is beginning to make a difference at Singleton Hospital, with clear improvements in leadership, risk identification and management, and the quality of care women experience.

“While progress is evident, maintaining this momentum must remain a clear priority for the health board to ensure services are consistently safe, effective and deliver a positive experience for women and families.

“We expect the health board to build on the progress made and deliver tangible, measurable improvements for women, babies and families, and we will continue to monitor this closely.”

The health board was offered a chance to comment.

FLORENCE, Ariz. (AP) — An Arizona prisoner convicted of killing another man by throwing gasoline at him and lighting a match was put to death Wednesday, the first of three executions planned this week around the U.S.

Leroy Dean McGill, 63, was pronounced dead at 10:26 a.m. PDT following a lethal injection at the Arizona State Prison Complex in Florence. McGill was convicted of murder in the death of Charles Perez, who was attacked with his girlfriend in a north Phoenix apartment on July 13, 2002.

It was the first lethal injection carried out this year in Arizona, and McGill didn’t appear to be resisting at any point during the procedure. After a lethal dose of pentobarbital began flowing, he began breathing heavily and made a snoring sound. And, about 21 minutes after the IV insertion process began, he was pronounced dead.

While the state was criticized for having difficulty in inserting IV lines during executions in 2022, it took just one attempt on each of McGill’s arms to successfully insert IVs.

“Today’s process went according to plan,” said John Barcello, deputy director of the Arizona Department of Corrections, Rehabilitation and Reentry. Barcello quoted McGill’s last words as: “I just want to thank everyone for being so accommodating and nice.”

Before the injection began, McGill looked at the witnesses, smiled and nodded. Media witness Josh Kelety from The Associated Press said he heard McGill at one point say: “I’m going home soon.”

Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes, whose office pressed for the execution to be carried out, said her thoughts were with the victims.

Media witness Sean Rice from Phoenix television station KPN said the execution was carried out smoothly.

“I didn’t see any issue at all finding a vein on either arm,” he said. Rice said he also observed a slight twitching on the right side of McGill’s head about four minutes before the inmate was pronounced dead.

Authorities said that in 2002 McGill threw gasoline at Perez and Perez’s girlfriend, Nova Banta, as they sat on a sofa in the apartment, setting them on fire. Perez and Banta had accused McGill of stealing a gun from the apartment before the attack. At the time, McGill was using methamphetamine and hadn’t slept in several days.

Banta survived, but Perez died.

Twelve people have been executed so far this year in the United States. Tennessee and Florida each are scheduled to carry out an execution Thursday.

At the Arizona trial, Banta testified that McGill had told her and Perez not to talk behind people’s backs. Before they could respond, McGill lit them on fire, authorities said.

Perez and Banta ran out of the apartment. Another man who lived in the apartment used a blanket to put out the flames on Banta, who suffered third-degree burns over three-quarters of her body. Perez died later at a hospital in extreme pain, prosecutors said.

Banta identified McGill as the attacker at trial.

Jurors deliberated for less than an hour before convicting McGill of murder in Perez’s death in October 2004. He also was convicted of attempted murder for attacking Banta, arson and endangerment of people who escaped without injuries when the fire forced them to flee the apartment and a nearby unit where flames spread.

McGill’s lawyers had argued for leniency by presenting evidence about abuse he suffered as a child as well as mental impairment and psychological immaturity. The jury ultimately returned the death sentence.

This spring, McGill’s lawyers made a last-ditch bid to get him resentenced, but a lower-court judge rejected it. The Arizona Supreme Court also declined a request from McGill’s lawyers to postpone the execution.

McGill, who declined an interview request from The Associated Press, waived his right to seek clemency.

Arizona last applied the death penalty in 2025, executing Richard Kenneth Djerf for the 1993 killings of four members of a Phoenix family and Aaron Gunches for the 2002 fatal shooting of his girlfriend’s ex-husband.

The state carried out three executions in 2022 following a nearly eight-year hiatus brought on by difficulties obtaining execution drugs and by criticism that a 2014 execution was botched. In that 2014 execution, Joseph Wood was injected with 15 doses of a two-drug combination over two hours, leading him to snort repeatedly and gasp hundreds of times before he died.

The state’s current execution protocol calls for administering two syringes of pentobarbital, a powerful sedative.

With McGill’s death, Arizona now has 108 prisoners on death row. ___ Billeaud reported from Phoenix.

Katie Price shared a series of cryptic late-night posts on Instagram amid the ongoing disappearance of her husband Lee Andrews, who has been formally reported missing to the UK Government.

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Katie Price has taken to social media to share a series of late-night posts, fuelling speculation over whether her cryptic messages are linked to the disappearance of her husband Lee Andrews.

The Dubai-based businessman vanished last week, leaving former glamour model Katie, 47, and her husband’s family frantically searching for him.

In the early hours of Thursday (May 21), Katie posted to Instagram, sharing three seemingly pointed messages with her followers.

The first image read: “I’M NOT OVERWHELMED BECAUSE I CAN’T HANDLE IT. I’M OVERWHELMED BECAUSE I DO HANDLE IT. ALL. OF. IT.”

It continued: “ALL. THE. F***ING. TIME.”

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Her second post was the one that really set tongues waggig, featuring the quote: “Sometimes you just have to accept the situation and say, it’s okay, it happens, it’s life”.

Her third and final shared message read: “Focus on yourself, because nothing is more powerful than a woman who knows her worth, chases her goals, and dares to dream big.”

The trio of late-night posts were uploaded via her Instagram stories, meaning followers were unable to comment publicly. Yet, given Katie’s previous social media activity surrounding her husband’s shocking disappearance, it is clear that the public is still very much in the dark about what is actually going on.

Katie last had contact with the 43-year-old Dubai-based businessman on Wednesday evening. She sounded the alarm the following day. “Lee was trying to get through the boarder at Hatta, this is so discombobulating, his location went off at 10.03pm on Wednesday night, that’s the last contact anyone has had – his family and myself. This is the third day now,” she said at the time.

In the wake of Lee’s kidnapping claims, a number of experts and insiders have voiced doubt about his version of events. Yet despite the apparent communication blackout during the supposed abduction, it has emerged that Lee has been using his mobile phone — just not to contact Katie.

Lee’s kidnapping ordeal has raised further questions for one seasoned investigator, with certain elements of his account failing to add up for investigative journalist Mark Williams-Thomas. Mark is well known for his expert analysis of some of Britain’s most prominent missing persons cases, including the tragic deaths of Jay Slater and Nicola Bulley.

He has now shared his thoughts on the unfolding situation, and the expert investigator appears far from convinced by several elements of Lee’s story. He said: ” Katie Price says she spoke to him on Wednesday, and shortly after 10 o’clock he was in the back of a van. He says they’re coming back.

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“He had a hood over his head, his hands were tied, not by handcuffs, but he had managed to make a FaceTime call to her and didn’t tell her to phone the police. And he himself didn’t phone the police and didn’t give any more information.

“And since then, apparently his phone has gone dead, although he has, or someone has, managed to go onto his social media and delete some informational posts that are on there. So that’s slightly strange, isn’t it?”

Mark raised concerns over whether the alleged abduction had been reported to the authorities and what action was being taken. “Has this matter been reported to Dubai police? And in which case, given the information that Katie Price is saying, they’d be treating it as really serious, wouldn’t they? If it’s a potential kidnap,” he added.

Mark also accused Lee of “playing some ridiculous game” and suspects the situation is far more straightforward than an abduction. Speaking on TikTok, the investigative journalist said: “Well, has he been abducted? What’s the story behind it?

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“The newspaper says that he’s not being kidnapped, he’s in hiding, he’s ghosting Katie Price and has been doing so for the past six days. It’s got to a situation now whereby, you know, I don’t think anyone believes Lee Andrews has been abducted or kidnapped in any way at all.

“He’s obviously playing some ridiculous game, but it’s attracted the media, and it will no doubt unfold more over the forthcoming days. Clearly this is a man who’s got some serious issues.”

Lee’s whereabouts remain unknown. He has also been officially registered as missing by the UK Government, with the Foreign Office confirming it is offering support to his family after a missing persons report was lodged.