Patrick Butler
@patrickjbutler.bsky.social
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Social Policy editor, The Guardian. Winner of the Paul Foot Award for Investigative Journalism 2025.
reposted by
Patrick Butler
We Care Campaign
7 months ago
Fantastic long read by
@patrickjbutler.bsky.social
and
@joshhalliday.bsky.social
on the
#CarersAllowanceOverpayment
Scandal If you know nothing about this scandal , or what to know more - this is the article to read ⬇️
www.theguardian.com/news/ng-inte...
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‘Something has gone very wrong’: how the carers scandal was exposed
A Guardian investigation revealed how hundreds of thousands of people were plunged into debt – and some criminalised – for looking after their loved ones
https://www.theguardian.com/news/ng-interactive/2025/may/24/something-has-gone-very-wrong-how-the-carers-scandal-was-exposed
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reposted by
Patrick Butler
Michael Goodier
8 months ago
Truly deserved award for
@patrickjbutler.bsky.social
and
@joshhalliday.bsky.social
on their Carer's Allowance Scandal work - you can see the impact and importance their reporting has had here:
www.theguardian.com/society/seri...
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reposted by
Patrick Butler
Frances Ryan
8 months ago
I can’t say how happy I am to see this!
@patrickjbutler.bsky.social
and
@joshhalliday.bsky.social
have highlighted such an important issue and worked tirelessly on others for years. Huge congratulations to my colleagues.
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Delighted that
@joshhalliday.bsky.social
and me have made the Paul Foot Award/Private Eye long list for our investigation into the carer's allowance scandal (and congratulations to our fellow nominees)
www.private-eye.co.uk/paul-foot-aw...
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The Paul Foot Award | Private Eye
The Paul Foot Award is an award given for investigative or campaigning journalism, set up in memory of revered journalist Paul Foot, who died in 2004.
https://www.private-eye.co.uk/paul-foot-award/2025
9 months ago
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Good
@theguardian.com
leader on fixing the carer's allowance scandal: positive progress, but more to do
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
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The Guardian view on unpaid carers: the scandal of their allowances is far from over | Editorial
Editorial: New rules for checking overpayments are a milestone. But deep concerns remain about the DWP’s approach
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/apr/15/the-guardian-view-on-unpaid-carers-the-scandal-of-their-allowances-is-far-from-over
9 months ago
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My
@theguardian.com
story: DWP to overhaul carer’s allowance checks in wake of overpayment scandal:
www.theguardian.com/society/2025...
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DWP to overhaul carer’s allowance checks after overpayment scandal
Department previously investigated only 50% of earnings limit alerts, meaning many carers fell into debt
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2025/apr/15/dwp-overhaul-carers-allowance-checks-overpayment-scandal
9 months ago
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"In a society that... demands perfection from the mess of modern existence, I will share a secret: it is entirely possible to be happy and fulfilled and disabled or sick, and to proudly carve out your own path." From the new book by
@francesryan.bsky.social
www.theguardian.com/world/2025/a...
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‘I’m still sick. I’m still disabled. But I’m proud of my body’: Frances Ryan’s manifesto for disabled women
Women with disabilities are the biggest minority group in the world, but are still shut out of society. In an extract from her new book, the writer reveals how that is changing – and what more needs t...
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/apr/09/im-still-sick-im-still-disabled-but-im-proud-of-my-body-frances-ryans-manifesto-for-disabled-women
9 months ago
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My
@theguardian.com
story: Ill and disabled people will be made ‘invisible’ by UK benefit cuts, say experts
www.theguardian.com/society/2025...
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Ill and disabled people will be made ‘invisible’ by UK benefit cuts, say experts
Those who lose benefit payments will find it difficult to access care and support services, says Policy in Practice
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2025/apr/08/ill-disabled-people-uk-benefit-cuts-policy-in-practice
9 months ago
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Revealed: nearly 20 councils in England ‘at risk of insolvency’ due to Send costs, as overspend debt set to grow by £2bn over the next 12 months
theguardian.com/education/20...
by me, Pamela Duncan, Matt Pearce, and Raphael Boyd.
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Nearly 20 councils in England ‘at risk of insolvency’ due to Send costs
Exclusive: Councils say multibillion-pound debts caused by years of overspends on special educational needs support
https://theguardian.com/education/2025/mar/30/councils-england-insolvency-risk-send-costs
9 months ago
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“If the government goes ahead with these cuts, then new care homes are going to have to be available,”:
@francesryan.bsky.social
interviews people about the calamitous knock on effects of Pip disability benefit benefit cuts
www.theguardian.com/society/2025...
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‘I can’t sleep, I’m so scared’: disabled people face benefit cuts domino effect
Three people tell how knock-on impact of losing Pip on carer’s allowance and other benefits will affect their families
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2025/mar/24/disability-benefit-cut-domino-effect-pip-carers-allowance?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other
9 months ago
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Powerful piece by
@joshhalliday.bsky.social
(and one with extra force in the light of the Pip cuts): "Nobody found him in time": how neglect and stress led to the deaths of a full-time carer and his son
www.theguardian.com/society/ng-i...
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‘Nobody found him in time’: how neglect and stress led to the deaths of a full-time carer and his son
David Lodge died after being found next to his father and full-time carer Peter’s body. His sister Keri believes the strain of caring and lack of government support contributed to their deaths
https://www.theguardian.com/society/ng-interactive/2025/mar/24/nobody-found-him-in-time-how-neglect-and-stress-led-to-the-deaths-of-a-full-time-carer-and-his-son?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other
9 months ago
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"A Labour government, really?": my
@theguardian.com
analysis on yesterday's disability benefit cuts announcement
www.theguardian.com/society/2025...
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Liz Kendall struggles to sell ‘immoral and devastating’ disability benefits cut
Disability charities call foul as welfare secretary buries austerity-like news under earnest talk of reform
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2025/mar/18/liz-kendall-struggles-to-sell-immoral-and-devastating-disability-benefits-cut
10 months ago
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reposted by
Patrick Butler
Richard Partington
10 months ago
Ministers plan major changes to Send education in England - a picture of a wholly broken system in a hugely important area. In-depth reporting on the ticking £5bn timebomb debt amassed by English councils by
@patrickjbutler.bsky.social
www.theguardian.com/education/20...
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Ministers plan major changes to Send education in England
White paper being prepared as councils hope for relief from huge deficits in special educational needs budgets
https://www.theguardian.com/education/2025/mar/03/ministers-plan-major-changes-to-send-education-in-england?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other
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My Guardian analysis: “It’s what keeps me awake at night” - from underfunded demand to alleged "profiteering" by private specialist schools, how England's Send policy has pushed councils to the edge of bankruptcy.
www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...
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‘Ticking timebomb’: how Send spending could bankrupt English councils
Guardian analysis lays bare a neglected system that is ruinously expensive, and often fails children and parents
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025/mar/03/a-ticking-time-bomb-the-neglected-crisis-of-send-education-in-england
10 months ago
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My Guardian story: Ministers plan major changes to Send education in England as Guardian analysis shows scale of local council deficits
theguardian.com/education/20...
w/ Raphael Boyd and Matthew Pearce
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Ministers plan major changes to Send education in England
White paper being prepared as councils hope for relief from huge deficits in special educational needs budgets
https://theguardian.com/education/2025/mar/03/ministers-plan-major-changes-to-send-education-in-england
10 months ago
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@tanialt.bsky.social
Hi Tania, I wondered if we could speak - I'm a reporter at the Guardian, and it's about SEND policy. Patrick (
[email protected]
)
10 months ago
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reposted by
Patrick Butler
Frances Ryan
10 months ago
Some good news. Ministers scrap controversial DWP program allowing landlords to tap into tenants’ benefits,
@patrickjbutler.bsky.social
reports. “I’m determined to right the wrongs that have persisted in the benefits system for too long,” says Liz Kendall.
www.theguardian.com/society/2025...
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Ministers scrap DWP program allowing landlords to tap into tenants’ benefits
Exclusive: Liz Kendall confirms government will no longer back controversial ‘computer says yes’ system
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2025/feb/25/ministers-scrap-dwp-program-landlords-tenants-benefits?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other
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My Guardian story: Ministers to scrap controversial 'computer says yes' DWP program allowing landlords to deduct cash from tenants’ benefits without their consent
www.theguardian.com/society/2025...
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Ministers scrap DWP program allowing landlords to tap into tenants’ benefits
Exclusive: Liz Kendall confirms government will no longer back controversial ‘computer says yes’ system
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2025/feb/25/ministers-scrap-dwp-program-landlords-tenants-benefits
10 months ago
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Tell us: have you received a Macmillan Cancer Support hardship grant? Do you give them out? How will the charity's decision to cut the iconic payments affect cancer patients?https://www.theguardian.com/society/2025/feb/18/tell-us-have-you-received-a-macmillan-cancer-support-hardship-grant
11 months ago
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In case you missed it: Macmillan Cancer Support sacks a quarter of staff and scraps hardship scheme for financially struggling patients as it battles financial pressures
www.theguardian.com/society/2025..
. By
@andrewgregory.com
and me
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https://www.theguardian.com/society/2025..
11 months ago
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Macmillan Cancer Support sacks a quarter of staff and scraps hardship scheme for financially struggling patients as it battles financial pressures
www.theguardian.com/society/2025...
By
@andrewgregory.com
and me
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Macmillan Cancer Support cuts quarter of staff and scraps hardship scheme
Exclusive: Charity says it has made drastic changes to safeguard future as Guardian finds it spent £100m more than it raised over last six years
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2025/feb/13/macmillan-cancer-support-cuts-quarter-of-staff-and-scraps-hardship-scheme
11 months ago
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My Guardian story: Stunning victory for unpaid carer Andrea Tucker as court overturns DWP demand for £4,600 carer's allowance overpayment
www.theguardian.com/society/2025...
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Unpaid carer wins overpayment penalty case against DWP
Andrea Tucker has overturned the demand for £4,600 in carer’s allowance overpayments for alleged breaches in benefit rules
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2025/feb/12/unpaid-carer-wins-overpayment-penalty-case-against-dwp
11 months ago
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"As a mental health clinician, I cannot emphasise enough how many relapses have been triggered by the relentless media drumbeat about 'cracking down' on benefits": good Guardian letters on incapacity benefit cuts.
www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
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Benefits system should protect, not punish, vulnerable people | Letters
Letters: Labour’s focus on crackdowns and fraudsters lodges in the psyche, feeding precarity and self-doubt, says Dr Jay Watts. Plus a letter from Stephanie O’Brien
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2025/feb/10/benefits-system-should-protect-not-punish-vulnerable-people
11 months ago
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Labour must seize the moment to show child poverty matters in push for growth
www.theguardian.com/business/202...
Great summary of the choices and challenges facing Labour, by
@guardianheather.bsky.social
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Labour must seize the moment to show child poverty matters in push for growth | Heather Stewart
Scrapping two-child benefit cap is among levers Rachel Reeves could pull – yet chancellor remains silent on ‘shameful’ levels of poverty
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2025/feb/09/labour-must-seize-the-moment-to-show-child-poverty-matters-in-push-for-growth
11 months ago
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My Guardian story: "It’s like the Post Office scandal – it takes the little people to stand up”: unpaid carer to challenge DWP in court over carer's allowance injustice
www.theguardian.com/society/2025...
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Unpaid carer to challenge DWP allowance overpayment penalty in court
‘It takes the little people to stand up,’ says Andrea Tucker, who was told to repay £4,600 after caring for mother for 15 years
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2025/feb/10/unpaid-carer-to-challenge-dwp-allowance-overpayment-penalty-in-court
11 months ago
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"That a Labour govt is seemingly willing to sacrifice poor and disabled people’s benefits... to protect the wealthy... from paying a bit more tax is the kind of dystopian deal that feels at best perverse and, at worst, a betrayal." By @francesryan.bsky.social
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
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As Labour touts more brutal cuts to benefits, how is this different from life under the Tories? | Frances Ryan
There may be no nasty impulse to punish ‘skivers’, but the end result – the most vulnerable hit hardest – is exactly the same, says columnist Frances Ryan
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/feb/05/labour-cuts-benefits-tories-vulnerable
11 months ago
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reposted by
Patrick Butler
David Brindle
11 months ago
A remarkable life and a cause celebre - Ruth Wyner obituary by author Alexander Masters
www.theguardian.com/society/2025...
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Ruth Wyner obituary
Charity worker with the homeless whose imprisonment under the Misuse of Drugs Act caused an international outcry
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2025/feb/02/ruth-wyner-obituary
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My
@theguardian.com
story: Six financially struggling English councils granted permission to raise council tax bills above cap limits as concerns grow over local authority finances.
www.theguardian.com/society/2025...
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Six English councils granted permission to raise council tax bills despite cap
Angela Rayner says government ‘under no illusions’ as cash-strapped authorities try to avoid bankruptcy
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2025/feb/03/six-english-councils-granted-permission-to-raise-council-tax-bills-by-up-to-10
11 months ago
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Have you, a family member or friend - been 'evicted' (or threatened with eviction) from a care home as a result of council underfunding?
theguardian.com/society/2025...
We'd be very interested to hear your story.
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Charities forced to ‘evict’ adults in their care to stay solvent, survey finds
Annual sector review says tax and wage rises and council funding cuts have left services in ‘state of acute precarity’
https://theguardian.com/society/2025/jan/14/charities-forced-to-evict-adults-in-their-care-to-stay-solvent-survey-finds
11 months ago
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Ministers could allow council tax to rise by up to 25% to prevent bankruptcies - by me and
@phillipinman.bsky.social
www.theguardian.com/society/2025...
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Ministers could allow council tax to rise by up to 25% to prevent bankruptcies
Experts say it is inevitable government will let English local authorities exceed 5% cap if they are likely to go bust
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2025/feb/01/council-tax-rise-bankruptcies-local-authorities-england
11 months ago
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My
@theguardian.com
story: DWP ‘blocked whistleblower giving evidence to carer’s allowance review’
www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
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DWP ‘blocked whistleblower giving evidence to carer’s allowance review’
Staffer told by official it would be inappropriate for him to give evidence to review of scandal-hit benefit
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2025/feb/03/dwp-blocked-whistleblower-giving-evidence-to-carers-allowance-review
11 months ago
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reposted by
Patrick Butler
Frances Ryan
11 months ago
Thank you for the huge - and very kind - reaction to this. One reader offered to contribute to Rosy’s care fees. Another illustrated her beloved cat. Others said they’re donating to relevant charities. Many have shared their own CHC experiences or their loved ones.
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My @guardian story (w/Libby Brooks): Challenge facing ministers laid bare as new analysis shows child poverty on course to increase in most of the UK by the end of this parliament, with only Scotland bucking the trend
www.theguardian.com/society/2025...
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Child poverty predicted to rise in most of UK except Scotland
Joseph Rowntree Foundation calls for benefits changes amid pressure on Labour to scrap two-child benefit cap
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2025/jan/29/child-poverty-predicted-to-rise-in-most-of-uk-except-scotland
11 months ago
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A reader with a terminal illness emailed in despair. What she told me should shock us all - brilliant piece by
@francesryan.bsky.social
on the failures of continuing healthcare, "the unloved relation at the health and care party, put in the corner and ignored."
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
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A reader with a terminal illness emailed in despair. What she told me should shock us all | Frances Ryan
Rosy is unable to move, breathe or eat unassisted. Yet NHS assessors think it’s fine to leave her alone for hours at a time, says Guardian columnist Frances Ryan
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/jan/28/terminal-illness-care-england-motor-neurone-disease
11 months ago
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My @guardian story: DWP "Computer says Yes" program that allows landlord to deduct hundreds of pounds from tenants’ universal credit without checking with the claimant ruled illegal by the courts.
www.theguardian.com/society/2025...
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DWP program that automatically approves landlord benefit deduction requests ruled unlawful
Tenant challenged procedure after £500 docked from universal credit payment at landlord’s request, with whom he was in dispute over repairs
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2025/jan/26/dwp-program-that-automatically-approves-landlord-benefit-deduction-requests-ruled-unlawful
11 months ago
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reposted by
Patrick Butler
Tom Clark
12 months ago
Why do wrong-doing benefit claimants need special rather than general punishments? Why not same for tax dodgers? And when someone has been caught doing cash-in-hand shifts do you really want to make it impossible for them to find a proper job & get off benefits?
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
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Good Guardian leader on incapacity benefit reform: the Treasury should not be calling the shots
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
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The Guardian view on incapacity benefit: the Treasury should not be calling the shots | Editorial
Editorial: Liz Kendall needs a policy to match her rhetoric on helping claimants back into work
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/jan/20/the-guardian-view-on-incapacity-benefit-the-treasury-should-not-be-calling-the-shots
12 months ago
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My Guardian story: Overhaul ‘unsustainable’ incapacity benefits system, says Lords committee, as fears rise over impact on disabled claimants of planned £3bn cuts:
www.theguardian.com/society/2025...
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Overhaul ‘unsustainable’ incapacity benefits system, Lords committee urges
Peers call on Labour to carry out ‘fundamental review’ amid rising concerns over retention of Tory plans for £3bn in cuts
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2025/jan/20/uk-incapacity-disability-benefits-system-labour-lords-committee
12 months ago
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