Welfare benefits handbook 2000-2001

Caroline George et al, Child Poverty Action Group, 94 White Lion Street, London N1 9PF, 1,344 pages, paperback, £22.00 (£6.00 for claimants)

Written for both claimants and their advisers, this guide used to appear in three separate volumes but this year it is combined into one. It comes at a time when increasing numbers of people fail to claim benefits to which they are entitled, partly because of the complex rules and lengthy claim forms with which they are faced.

This book explains the regulations in detail. Its sections include advice on the jobseeker's allowance, statutory sick pay, maternity pay, industrial injuries benefits, child benefit, working families' tax credit and pensions. There is a detailed explanation of the New Deal, both for 18-25 year-olds and for the over-25 long-term unemployed. The main means-tested benefits - income support and housing and council tax benefits - are dealt with in full together with the right of appeal. As before, this is an easy-to-understand guide to a very important subject.