The government wants to enhance contributory unemployment benefits - we’re good with that Contribution-based benefits can help the legitimacy of the welfare state. There is a catch though… www.citizensadvice.org.uk/policy/publi...

Disabled people are routinely shut out of employment. My brilliant colleagues @beccastacey.bsky.social and @victoria-anns.bsky.social draw on the experience of the people we support to chart a way forward 👇

The government is keen for more disabled people to move into work, but what happens to those who do work? Becca and Victoria's brilliant report looks at the challenges many disabled people face when moving into and staying in work 👇

The Equality Act should protect disabled people at work But @citizensadvice.bsky.social supported 5,393 people with health-related job discrimination in 2025 - roughly one every 1.5 hours Mine and @victoria-anns.bsky.social's new report digs into the barriers our disabled clients face at work /1

The OBR says the rise in claims was linked to the cost of living crisis The way disabled people have been vilified over PIP, as if they were trying to play the system, was disgusting & shameful Hacks & commentators that engaged in the grotesque demonisation of disabled people should be ashamed.

There’s a risk that the Keep Britain Working plan will see good employers continuing to perform well and receiving more recognition for this. And that little will be done to change the behaviour of employers who are failing to support disabled workers. wearecitizensadvice.org.uk/our-response...

Initial thoughts on the Keep Britain Working Review (More reflections to follow in an upcoming blog)

Great report showing what we see all too often at Citizens Advice: work being used against people at PIP assessments Being able to engage in paid or voluntary work doesn’t cancel out someone’s care or mobility needs - this mindset just pushes disabled people further from the labour market

Great to see coverage of the 5 week wait in @the-independent.com, highlighting new Citizens Advice analysis of the huge scale of this issue ⚠️800,000 households repaying loans to DWP only needed because of 5 week wait for 1st UC payment ⚠️0.5M+ children growing up in households repaying these loans

DWP plans to introduce a ‘support conversation’ for disabled claimants who don’t currently meet a work coach. My new paper explores how this conversation can be done effectively and avoid causing harm 🧵 www.citizensadvice.org.uk/policy/publi...

Very encouraging to read that the Government is preparing to lift the two-child limit as part of its child poverty strategy, but it is disheartening that options short of scrapping it entirely are still being considered. Thread on why this would be the wrong choice for an ambitious strategy:

📢 Benefit cuts don’t have widespread support

Some fantastic insights and policy ideas in @beccastacey.bsky.social's new report. We can't simply will more disabled people into work, there needs to be greater support - and the benefits system might be going in the wrong direction 👇

Great to see @beccastacey.bsky.social's research covered here by @cjayanetti.bsky.social in the @bigissue.com www.bigissue.com/news/employm...

At least 50,000 disabled people could lose access to financial employment support if the government goes ahead with plans to scrap the WCA benefit assessment, according to a new report from Citizens Advice The true figure is likely to be higher By me, for Big Issue www.bigissue.com/news/employm...

Important and thoughtful new report from @beccastacey.bsky.social on how the benefits system could be better at making work pay for disabled people + great to see this coverage in @bigissue.com from @cjayanetti.bsky.social 👇👇👇

The govt wants to get more disabled people into work, but isn't making full use of the tools at its disposal In my new report for @citizensadvice.bsky.social I've looked at how our social security system could do more to make sure that when disabled people want to work, work really does pay /1

Cuts to disability benefits weren’t totally averted! 🚨New report out today explaining why the Universal Credit Bill will harm disabled people and exploring who will be impacted by the cuts. www.citizensadvice.org.uk/policy/publi...

New @citizensadvice.bsky.social briefing published with @julia-rt.bsky.social‬ on how Universal Credit can adapt to promote income stability for working households. We set out policy options for the UC review to consider to reflect the reality of low paid employment.

The narrative around Universal Credit has long centred around work incentives. This new briefing examines how effective UC is at encouraging employment – and how that focus may have overshadowed the deeper complexities of getting into work. 🧵 🔗 www.citizensadvice.org.uk/policy/publi...

🚨 New report alert 🚨 We’ve launched our first local deep dive research into health inequalities - starting in Chapeltown, Leeds. What does geography have to do with health & work? Quite a lot, it turns out. 🧵

1) New report alert 📚! Written [email protected] and myself, it looks at the relationship between health and work. It is the first report from our wider project on health inequalities, funded by @healthfoundation.bsky.social‬. 🔗 www.citizensadvice.org.uk/policy/publi...

Everything about this awful policy is wrong. How it was conjured up, how the people affected were silenced, how it was justified, how the impact assessment was manipulated, how the Bill was rushed through Parliament, and how it was completely forgotten after the news cycle moved on after last week

Great blog from @victoria-anns.bsky.social on why the government’s benefits cuts are not only deeply harmful, but also contradict the government’s own agenda One area where this is really stark, is the Work Allowance ⬇️/1

More important evidence on why the PIP cuts are so misguided - Many would need to reduce or give up work if they lost PIP - Losing PIP would worsen people's health, pushing them further from work - Not everyone can work due to the severity of their conditions - cutting PIP doesn't change this

Its time for change in Jobcentres, but how do we do it? My new paper proposes a vision for Jobcentre reform. The central idea is to introduce case workers, who would be service users’ main point of contact and offer ongoing pastoral and practical support 🧵 www.citizensadvice.org.uk/policy/publi...

New blog on the Fair Repayment Rate, in effect since 30 April. It's lowered deductions + raised UC incomes for many - BUT must be the first, not the only, step govt. takes to tackling deductions. ⚠️ We now need action on the causes of deductions, crucially the 5 week wait.

Excellent new report from @maddyirose.bsky.social @scollerton.bsky.social @victoria-anns.bsky.social A must-read analysis on why disability benefit cuts are arbitrary, driven by savings costs rather than improving outcomes, and will cause hardship in ways the government has not yet grasped

Want a 3yr quali postdoc job leading the UK fieldwork for an amazing international project on how it feels to claim benefits? And also to do important work on benefits and mental health? Then see this job ad! Closing date being changed to 8th June www.kcl.ac.uk/jobs/114985-...

New briefing out today from me + @craigpberry.bsky.social shows government's claim disabled people affected by cuts will be better off in work is false For many, full-time work would only bring a small income boost + in some cases, leave people worse off www.citizensadvice.org.uk/policy/publi...

Work won’t cut it New briefing for @citizensadvice.bsky.social by me and @beccastacey.bsky.social We look at whether people losing PIP and UC income will be better off *if* they move into employment, if reforms were implemented today Here's a quick 🧵 but spoiler alert: probably not

We've published the first round of @safety-nets.bsky.social's Annual Policymaker Reports These provide important insights for policymakers across the UK working to tackle child poverty safetynets.study/publications...

On the back of recently finishing @johnpring.bsky.social's essential read The Department, it’s good to see the Work and Pensions Committee @debbieabrahamsmp.bsky.social call for the DWP to have a new legal duty to safeguard those accessing its services

NEW: Internal DWP figures show 700,000 families *already* in poverty are forecast to be hit by planned disability benefit cuts That's on top of the 250k+ who are predicted to be newly pushed into poverty by the changes By me, for the Guardian: www.theguardian.com/society/2025...

NEW ANALYSIS: A rise in financial hardship is a key driver of the increase in benefit claims. These new figures cast serious doubts on the government’s justification for cutting disability and incapacity payments. 1/10

On Friday afternoon, the Govt published the evidence pack for its Pathways to Work Green Paper. It confirms that the Govt's PIP cut will hit older people hardest, despite all the rhetoric about focusing on 'snowflake' young people. A quick thread...

1️⃣ we're in the 7th cycle of the Household Support Fund 2️⃣ its future is still uncertain 3️⃣ and we still see record demand for crisis support ... so what should come next? New Citizens Advice paper on the future of crisis support + how to realise an approach that’s more than a sticking plaster🩹👇

The new government has committed to reducing health inequalities. At Citizens Advice, we have a unique insight into many of the different factors that can shape people’s health. So it’s exciting to be leading a new project, funded by @healthfoundation.bsky.social, to study this important topic.

New post with @julia-rt.bsky.social for @citizensadvice.bsky.social on Universal Credit's lost value Quick thread on main points 🧵

As well as cutting disability benefits, the government are planning to reform a crucial part of the application process: health assessments. We know they need to be improved but these changes don't seem to go far enough. Check out the proposals below: wearecitizensadvice.org.uk/do-plans-to-...

"Pairing steps to support disabled people into the workplace, while cutting the financial support that enables many to access employment, will limit the likelihood of getting more disabled people into work." Great blog from @beccastacey.bsky.social

Employers should do more to make workplaces accessible - but this won't be enough if state support for adaptations and wider living costs is withdrawn Important post by @beccastacey.bsky.social

I’ve written about how the government's cuts agenda conflicts with its employment agenda Reducing the financial support that enables many to access employment will only create further barriers to work for disabled people wearecitizensadvice.org.uk/why-efforts-...

🧵 Exciting news – we’re now seeking expressions of interest for the Devolved Conversations part of our Safety Nets project!

As @craigpberry.bsky.social says, a green paper that doesn’t consult on slashing vital income for disabled people isn’t a green paper, it’s a blueprint for harm This is essential reading on the devastating impact these benefit cuts could have

DWP is using a sleight of hand in its disability benefit cuts impact assessment: Actual increase in poverty is closer to 400,000, not the 250,000 in the impact assessment. Quick thread explaining why. 🧵1/7

If your own impact assessment tells you that your measures will push children into poverty, surely it’s time to go back to the drawing board and think again

Every round of 'welfare reform' I've worked through has been fuelled by an underlying disbelief that so many people can really be so unwell. But the reality is that millions of people are struggling with a complex web of health, social & economic problems that will be exacerbated, not fixed, by cuts

The package of benefit cuts & changes leaked to ITV on Friday amounted to total reported savings of around £6bn a year by 2029-30 But @neweconomics.bsky.social analysis of the proposed package shows that the amount cut from support for ill & disabled people could be far greater than this figure...🧵