Housing costs support is one of the most common issues we help low-income households with at @citizensadvice.bsky.social A big reason: private renters' UC housing support is frozen at rent levels from 2.5+yrs ago. And rents are up 16% since then. New blog from me + @drsarahhadfield.bsky.social 🧵

Some people who have migrated from legacy benefits like ESA to UC are finding less money in their pockets. Under transitional protection, they were told they would not be worse off, but a technicality in who manages Council Tax Support means that many are. wearecitizensadvice.org.uk/why-some-esa...

The upcoming cut to Universal Credit will cut the health element in half for new claimants (£217/month instead of £430). If you become disabled in the future or your health gets worse, you could get significantly less support than those claiming today, creating a 2-tiered system:

Great blog from @niamhredgate.bsky.social on PIP delays: 📉 Overall PIP backlog is reducing (good news!) 📈 But no. of people waiting for new claim decisions has increased ⏲️ And average waiting times for a new claim are now 20 weeks, the highest in nearly 4 years

Access to Work isn’t meeting its BIG potential! 🧵 New report out now: www.citizensadvice.org.uk/policy/publi...

@citizensadvice.bsky.social helps 900 people a day with issues relating to the disability benefit PIP. That's a sign that the system isn't working as it should. The Timms review of PIP could be a chance to change that. We asked our advisers what it needs to get right: medium.com/p/5a3f881a08ee

No mention here of the upcoming cut to Universal Credit, which will cost 700,000+ disabled people an average of £3,000 a year. From April, the health element of UC will be cut by nearly 50% for new claimants. Set out by @victoria-anns.bsky.social here: www.citizensadvice.org.uk/policy/publi...

The government is planning to merge two benefits to create 'unemployment insurance'. But this would end indefinite awards currently paid to many disabled people claiming new style ESA, making them time-limited instead. Great report from Craig breaking down the key issues 👇

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 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

New consumer research out by Citizens Advice - reference pricing (i.e. ‘was £25, now £15’) makes consumers less likely to make the right choice when shopping online, with consumers experiencing poor mental health and financial insecurity hit harder. wearecitizensadvice.org.uk/beware-the-b...

Reminder - increasing the number of face-to-face assessments for PIP is a red herring. The success rates for face-to-face vs virtual assessments are very similar.

Claims for disability benefits are now falling, according to the OBR forecast

Sorry, no, Motability was not about 'helping the most vulnerable' - it was about providing people who need modified vehicles modified vehicles!

📰New @citizensadvice.bsky.social briefing ahead of the #Autumnbudget: The Government if failing private renters by freezing #LocalHousingAllowance #LHA.

New blog out today, as part of our work with @healthfoundation.bsky.social, looking at the unequal health impacts of the current system of housing cost support that fails to cover people's rent.

📢Young disabled people could face benefit cuts of more than £420 a month if government plans go ahead. Young people deserve real support - not cuts that could push them into poverty. New blog from me & @victoria-anns.bsky.social: medium.com/p/62015a6f0b12

There is no need for a moral panic about the UK's welfare system. Far from perfect but recent discourse is nuts Spending is controlled, not spiralling Worklessness is near record lows My column www.ft.com/content/ee67...

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...

📢No more waiting on the 5 week wait, says my @citizensadvice.bsky.social colleague @julia-rt.bsky.social The 5 week wait for a first UC payment means families end up in debt to DWP -leading to deductions from future payments that cause real hardship This needs to change medium.com/citizens-adv...

Delays to benefit reassessments are leaving disabled people in limbo. Some are waiting *over a year* to be reassessed after their health declined & are missing out on vital £ support in the meantime. Great blog from @scollerton.bsky.social wearecitizensadvice.org.uk/work-capabil...

Over 10,000 people have added their name to keep Hampstead women's pond inclusive. It only takes 1 minute. Will you join them? https://goodlawproject.org/petition/keep-hampstead-womens-pond-inclusive

📢 Benefit cuts don’t have widespread support

Our latest data shows that people’s problems are becoming more urgent and more complex. And the systems designed to support them are harder to navigate than ever. Join us on 25 September to hear from a panel of experts and explore our data ⤵️ https://bit.ly/41XFPsn #CADataInsights

Whilst the U turn on PIP cuts was a massive win, there's still lots of reasons we're concerned about the UC bill... The changes in the bill cut disability support for new claimants, creating a 2 tier system, as outlined here by @victoria-anns.bsky.social

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.

🚨 We're hiring a Policy Research Assistant in the Families, Welfare and Work team at Citizens Advice🚨 Come and help us make the benefits system fairer (and work with lots of lovely people)! Deadline to apply is 21st August: www.jobtrain.co.uk/citizensadvi...

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...

Govt dropped cuts to PIP, but today's Committee report highlights MPs' concerns that many disabled people will be pushed into poverty by remaining cuts to Universal Credit's health element. In evidence to the inquiry I warned of the hardship this will cause. 1/5 www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

🚨 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. 🧵

Why shouldn't someone assessed by DWP as too unwell to work & facing significant extra costs due to disabilities & poor health receive state support at least around the rate of a minimum wage salary? I spoke to Ian Collins on TalkTV earlier about (misleading) reports today on this subject

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...

We're still asking MPs to vote against the disability cuts bill tomorrow. New blog explaining why is out now: wearecitizensadvice.org.uk/3-reasons-wh...

As mentioned in the welfare bill amendment, the Government has not yet published any analysis on the employment effects of its benefit cuts. Here at @resfoundation.bsky.social, we gave it a go last month...

The government’s disability cuts will have a “devastating” impact on women’s health and dignity and could breach equality law, experts warn. The new rules won’t take into account menstruation or some women’s extra toilet requirements. My exclusive: www.theguardian.com/world/2025/j...

UC & PIP bill proposes the biggest cuts to disability benefits since OBR was created. It would: ✂️cut benefits for 3.2m disabled ppl 📈Push 300,000-400,000 into poverty, including 50,000 children 📈 Drive 440,000 into severe hardship New joint briefing: www.ucpipbill.co.uk

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...

Govt is pushing through significant cuts to disability benefits to get people into work. But are there appropriate, or even enough, good jobs for disabled people to move into? New JRF analysis finds evidence that there aren't, meaning even more hardship for disabled people.

MPs will vote on rushed disability benefit cuts that will remove vital support from over 1 million disabled people on the 1st of July, the government has confirmed. ⏰There is less than two weeks to convince your MP to vote against the devastating plans. z2k.eaction.org.uk/cuts-legisla...

The new welfare bill could cut billions from health & disability benefits, putting hundreds of thousands of disabled people at risk of poverty. Join @citizensadvice.bsky.social on 26 June to hear from a panel of experts and explore our data ⤵️ www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/citizens-a... #CADataInsights

The government’s proposals for restricting eligibility for disability and incapacity benefits will cause significant hardship for disabled people Join @citizensadvice.bsky.social on 26 June to hear from a panel of experts and explore our data ⤵️ www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/citizens-a... #CADataInsights

🚨New blog (& great thread) from Victoria on the new welfare bill & why we're asking MPs to vote against

The government has introduced legislation today to implement cuts to disability & health benefits There have been no substantial concessions on how the proposals were originally presented in the Green Paper Here is what we know about the impact these cuts will have... 🧵

Another reader proposed a good rule, which is 'it's not a reform if you can't apply the logic of the reform to another, completely different policy area'.

🧵 NEW: APPG on Poverty and Inequality's response to the Pathways to Work Green Paper reveals SHOCKING evidence - disabled households face £1,067 extra costs monthly (67% of income) yet government plans devastating cuts that will push 400,000 into poverty. Thread👇#TakingThePIP

This is a mixture of minor concessions & repackaging existing plans - it is not a meaningful response to the concerns MPs have been raising The headline remains the same: 3.2 million ill & disabled people will see their benefits cut by the end of the parliament www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

'Concessions' @pippacrerar.bsky.social reports gov offering to try to rush record disability cuts through Parliament: - Not new. - Do not make any meaningful difference to hardship the cuts will cause. - Over 400,000 people still likely pushed into severe hardship, at risk of needing a food bank.

A blog by @lauralhutch.bsky.social & me, pulling together some of the strands from recent work by our colleagues @craigpberry.bsky.social @julia-rt.bsky.social and @maddyirose.bsky.social. Link here - it’s an 8 minute read apparently wearecitizensadvice.org.uk/short-sighte... (1/6)

V. positive Spending Review has confirmed multi-year funding for crisis support. Good to see move towards crisis support being a permanent part of welfare support, and away from the short-term Household Support Fund approach - But still some questions about how the new fund will work in practice