On the back of the @resfoundation.bsky.social work on wealth in the welfare systems., the question was - what does that mean for Scotland? Answers below: www.resolutionfoundation.org/comment/how-...

Our first @uoe-sps.bsky.social social policy seminar of the semester is on Friday 3rd October. We welcome Gerry McCartney from UoGlasgow. All welcome: www.sps.ed.ac.uk/news-events/...

This should be the norm everywhere.

Urgent declaration issued to halt UK insect declines Well timed call to arms to reverse major ongoing insect declines😔🐛🦋🐜🐝🪲🕷️ From @Buglife @savebutterflies.bsky.social @bumblebeetrust.bsky.social And supported by @the-wildlifetrusts.bsky.social And many others geographical.co.uk/wildlife/urg...

Agroforestry: an excellent, wildlife boosting, multifunctional farm choice -with the #Agroforestryshow & #wildsummituk next week I penned a tribute- its a great option in the right farm & needs support @thesoilassociation.bsky.social @agricology.bsky.social www.wildlifetrusts.org/blog/vicki-h...

Morning, I'm after another suggestion - a UK football podcast for a 12 year old? Any suggestions - I'm totally out of my zone here! #football #soccernotfootball

Hey #filmsky any suggestions for for films to watch with 12 to 19 year olds this afternoon? We've done enough superhero films recently so something else...

200 for #Railway200 - a new thread! We're 200 days out from the 200th anniversary of the 1st passenger journey on the Stockton & Darlington Railway, on 27 September 1825. To mark it, we'll post a person a day from the Railway Work, Life & Death project's research.

The evidence for more 20mph zones ⤵️ ✔️ Cut deaths and serious injuries by 1/3 ✔️ Protect children ✔️ Reduce crashes ✔️ Lower noise ✔️ Boost walking & cycling

How BBC presents the anti-migrant hotel protests vs how we do at @bylinesnetwork.co.uk BBC lead with a Reform UK voter saying "We are not happy with these men in this hotel because we fear for our children” We tell of the refugee children inside the hotel terrified by chants of “send them out!”

#booksky Anyone recommend a good audio book for two 12 year olds, that adults will also enjoy? we've got 20 hours of car travel over the next week or so and need entertainment. Already done Hunger Game, Percy Jackson, and Diane Wynn Jones....

Wealth is less covered than poverty - and the gendered nature of wealth even less, so this piece of work is really useful : www.wbg.org.uk/publication/...

Very excited by this new podcast link.podtrac.com/pe4r83js And if you haven't already read Sarah Kerr's excellent book 'Wealth, Poverty and Enduring Inequality: Let’s Talk Wealtherty' you should!

Seems bad: "We identified more than 30,000 tire wear particles in 24 liters of stormwater runoff from roads and parking lots after two rainstorms. In heavy traffic areas, we believe the concentrations could be much higher."

Very interesting article on the use of AI in social security fraud investigations in Holland. #welfarerights www.technologyreview.com/2025/06/11/1...

“Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired signifies, in the final sense, a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and are not clothed.” Starmer’s policy: a transfer of resources from the poorest, straight to the arms industry.

As it's in the news again - this is the post I wrote a few months ago on why the disability benefits bill has been going up. Essentially, you can't remove need by removing support - it just pops up as a cost somewhere else. open.substack.com/pub/samf/p/t...

An interesting set of articles here, I've only skimmed them so far, but well worth a look. They're mostly currently open (I'm not sure if they stay open access @oxrepjournal.bsky.social I hope so).

I want to see non-disabled people shouting about the disability benefit cuts. If you spoke out about trans rights, abortion rights, or migrant rights in recent weeks? Good on you! If you aren’t doing the same for disabled people, ask yourself why.

Bluesky #landreform #Scotland people - a quick policy question. When measuring land ownership in Scotland how are the 15000 croft tenants accounted for? @lesleyriddoch.bsky.social ?

Lots of you have booked your place at our conference on Thursday 19 June. There's still time to book, but be quick! Hear from the keynote speakers, take part in the varied workshops, join the plenary discussion and visit the exhibition area. cpag.org.uk/training-and... #welfarerights2025

Celebrating 40 years of the Guerrilla Girls! www.bbc.com/culture/arti...

Well that's the end of summer....nice whilst it lasted.... music.youtube.com/watch?v=o4PH...

Last week, Scotland’s three islands councils – Orkney Islands Council, Shetland Islands Council and Comhairle nan Eilean Siar - turned 50. How did they come to be established, and how have they changed the governance landscape of Scotland’s islands? A short thread of findings from my PhD thesis.

Request: What DWP policies, academic research or other papers researched the use of “lapsed” decisions? Keen to learn about both current and historic usage, and also comparative processes undertaken under different names/schemes (eg in asylum, housing, etc) @robertthomas223.bsky.social

We look forward to welcoming Tressa Burke, CEO of Glasgow Disability Alliance & Sophie Howes, Head of Policy @cpaguk.bsky.social to our plenary session as we discuss UK benefit reforms & the implications for families in Scotland Book your place now while places available cpag.org.uk/training-and...

Lovely humans, I'm training to run a half-marathon for @scotrefugeecouncil.bsky.social in May! I only started running last year so this is a big challenge for me - but I know the challenge for refugees to rebuild their lives is even greater. All donations/shares would be HUGELY appreciated!! ❤️❤️❤️

Very pleased to find this in the random 'old books' section... #Victorian #welfarerights #History

A group of us law academics put together a letter on FWS v Scottish Ministers UK Supreme Court ruling & we are asking other *UK based law folk* (academic activist practitioner etc) to sign More details 👇 #transrights #trans #transgender #lawsky #academicsky #UKlaw docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...

Are you an ally who wants to speak up about protecting trans people’s rights? Use our simple tool to email your MP or MSPs to tell them how worried you are about what the UK Supreme Court ruling might mean for how trans people are treated in their daily lives: www.scottishtrans.org/supreme-cour...

This is an interesting chart -

Kicking off our event, @jamessmithrf.bsky.social says that the Chancellor announced a huge increase in public investment at her Autumn Budget - an increase of around £100 billion over the Parliament compared to plans inherited from the previous Government.

Are the capital rules in Universal Credit undermining Government efforts to encourage low-income families to save? Read the report by @mollybroome.bsky.social @alexclegg.bsky.social @epybus.bsky.social & supported by @financialfairness.bsky.social ➡️ buff.ly/f8Bs1lD

New @resfoundation.bsky.social‬ research out today assesses how the capital rules in Universal Credit are affecting recipients, where the system is falling short, and what can be done to improve it. Some key findings… ⬇️

Great new report out today on a much neglected aspect of the benefits system: the capital rules. Reform is definitely needed here, but will need to be weighed against other priorities. Link to the report below. (h/t @mollybroome.bsky.social @alexclegg.bsky.social @epybus.bsky.social)

🚨 New analysis out today 🚨 Our latest research, with support from @financialfairness.bsky.social, looks at the long-neglected capital rules within the welfare system. Read the report by @mollybroome.bsky.social @alexclegg.bsky.social @epybus.bsky.social ➡️ buff.ly/f8Bs1lD

My report Cultivating Change - Crofting on Eigg is published today. Available from crow.scot/eigg/ and isleofeigg.org/news/

Doing research on any aspect of *welfare state experiences*? Want to take this forward with other researchers from across Europe? Then submit an abstract to the ESPAnet conference (deadline 24th April) - see www.espanetmilano2025.it/en-US/stream...

Today sees the launch of a new report from SCOSS - a report that looks at the challenges faced by people with communication difficulties, when using the Scottish social security system. socialsecuritycommission.scot/publications...

I've realised I know very little about the detail of US social security - can anyone recommend a good source of info? Keen to look at the nuts and bolts so something quite detailed, but sonething that doesn't assume any prior knowledge... #socialsecurity #welfare

Next Friday, 4th April, marks 28 years since Eigg's offer to buy the island into community ownership was accepted. Simon Fraser was at the legal helm of that bid. His memory and what the buyout meant will be celebrated in the Simon Fraser Lecture. www.communitylandscotland.org.uk/event/trusti...

Pre-order the new edition of the Welfare Benefits Handbook. Updates include: ✅ The 2025/26 benefit and statutory payment rates ✅ Neonatal care pay ✅ Three new Scottish benefits Place your order today: bit.ly/4kJf1DO

This government says they're cutting benefits to encourage people to work. But the DWP & OBR between them haven't yet been able to forecast any impact on employment outcomes. They're causing huge hardship without any analysis of whether it will even help meet their goals.

DWP impact assessment now out. 3.2million families lose from the changes, and 800,000 lose the daily living element of PIP worth between £3800 and £5600 a year. www.gov.uk/government/c...

Good to start the day with a bit of @davidgraeberinst.bsky.social