Economy, Business & Finance
Clearing up some of the confusion over free school meals
Schools are required to provide lunches to eligible pupils either directly or using vouchers. Read
Analysis
Welfare
Fact checks related to the welfare of the country, the welfare state, state spending, poverty and pensions
Economy, Business & Finance
How poverty rates are cherry-picked to score political points
There are so many ways to measure poverty that it is hard to know what’s really going on—as MPs proved on Wednesday. Read
Fact checks
This viral post on benefits and tax avoidance is inaccurate
It underestimates the spending on benefits for people seeking asylum and uses a disputed estimate of the tax gap to talk about tax avoidance. Read
Fact checks
Economy, Business & Finance
Claims about who’s paid by the state aren’t very meaningful
People can be supported by the state in lots of ways, by employment, benefits or pensions. Read
Fact checks
Some pensioners will lose £70 a week, but Boris Johnson didn’t introduce the change
Some pensioners will lose £70 a week under reforms set out in 2007 Pensions Act. Read
Fact checks
Economy, Business & Finance
Universal Credit has not got 200,000 people into work
The prime minister is wrong to claim that a government prediction about the benefits of Universal Credit has already come true. Read
Fact checks
Economy, Business & Finance
State spending isn’t at a record high when you consider the size of the economy
Public spending amounts to around 40% of the size of the economy. It’s been smaller before. It’s also been bigger before. Read
Fact checks
Angela Rayner uses exaggerated figure for number of WASPI women in poverty
Ms Rayner said millions of women have fallen into poverty because of changes to the pension age. We don’t know the number for certain but it is certainly not millions. Read
Fact checks
Economy, Business & Finance
John McDonnell repeats misleading claim about Conservative pension age plans
The recommendation to raise the pension age to 75 comes from the Centre for Social Justice think tank. There’s no evidence that it’s Conservative Party policy. Read
Fact checks
Economy, Business & Finance
Viral post about Conservatives’ record in government gets lots of things wrong
It incorrectly claims that child poverty is up 50%, crime is up 30%, and public sector pay is down 15%. Read
Fact checks
