Our thanks are also due to Simon Osborne,the book’s content consultant.

We must acknowledge the efforts of the many authors of previous editions of the National Welfare Benefits Handbook, the Rights Guide to Non-Means-Tested Benefits and the Jobseeker’s Allowance Handbook, on which this book is based.

Thanks are also due to Alison Key, Nicola Johnston and Pauline Phillips for editing and managing the production of the book, and to Kathleen Armstrong and Anne Ketley for proofreading the text. Particular thanks must go to Katherine Dawson and Anne Ketley for producing the index. Special thanks to Alison Key for her work editing this Handbook for over 20 years – we wish her all the best for the future.