The first question to ask whenever you hear a statisical claim about sickness & disability benefit receipt is 'has @benbgeiger.bsky.social posted on this yet?' and if the answer is 'no' wait until he has before commenting. inequalities.substack.com/p/have-new-w...

In AP v SSWP [2025] UKUT 330 (AAC) UT comments on common practice of DWP decision makers in Universal Credit of stating a claimant is not entitled to seek mandatory reconsideration of a decision because it is "policy" (typically that happens when challenge involves interpretation of a rule) (1 of 5)

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.

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

📢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

I've written about three challenges for the Timms review and what they might mean for campaigners, policy people, and anyone invested in making PIP better. tinyurl.com/4kv4aa4j

This was very cathartic to write, and I'm grateful to @samfr.bsky.social for giving me the space to try and set out just why the two-child limit must go, and go in its entirety [mini 🧵]

Great to be at powerful @turn2us.org.uk report launch in Parliament today, alongside @jrf-uk.bsky.social colleagues! Our social security system should be there for all of us when we need support, and treat people with compassion, dignity and respect #StopTheStigma

We've now heard repeated proposals from think-tanks and opposition parties about cutting PIP for people with 'low-level' mental health problems. None of these engage with the reality of how either PIP or mental health work.

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...

NEW: Analysis published by Trussell and WPI Economics today finds that planned cuts would put 440,000 people in disabled households at risk of needing to turn to a food bank. If the UK government doesn't change course, then this will be their legacy. 👇

A quick thread on how planned cuts to disability benefits will affect voters in Labour-Reform battlegrounds. (1/4)

Heartening words from Work & Pensions Committee Chair, @debbieabrahamsmp.bsky.social. “They have worked all their life and acquired a disability or a long-term condition, and they need that help. I would hope that if it happened to you or I, there would be a system there that is compassionate.”

MPs will be voting in June on legislation to cut disability benefits with very limited information from the UK government on what the impact of those cuts will be. Citizens Advice has published analysis of what these changes means for the people we support www.citizensadvice.org.uk/policy/publi...

Ahead of Liz Kendall’s speech today – a quick thread on why the welfare state isn’t collapsing and why deep cuts to disability benefits aren’t the answer. (1/9)

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

I've done a NEW page on my website 🖥️ And I'm starting NEWSLETTER ✉️ If you are interested in the use of AI and other tech in how govts the world over administer the welfare state you should sign up! Monthly-ish insights, analysis, gossip, thrills and more ⤵️

Quick thread on new IFS research on the relationship between health and disability benefits claims. 👇

"Pursuing policies that deepen poverty will only perpetuate the ‘managed decline’ that the government has railed against." Read our Senior Policy Advisor's blog on how rushed disability benefit cuts will harm the government's efforts to achieve its missions👇 z2k.org/mission-crit...

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-...

There was rightly concern last week when OBR & DWP documents revealed that £4.8bn of cuts to benefits for ill & disabled people would push 250k people into poverty, including 50k children But @neweconomics.bsky.social analysis suggests the true scale & impact of these cuts will be even greater... 🧵

Today's report from the National Audit Office shows just how far the whole Jobcentre system as it stands is geared up to first and foremost check people's compliance with benefits rules.

In case there was any doubt about the impact of disability benefit cuts - yesterday the Government published figures which show that households receiving the daily living component of PIP are *three times* more likely to have used a food bank in the last year. (1/3)

Disability benefit cuts will cause widespread hardship, no questions asked Quick thread 🧵 on the impact of cuts on why the govt needs to properly consult - or see the full post at: medium.com/@craig.berry...

A phantom policy from the previous government is distorting the spreadsheets on the scale & impact of benefit cuts for ill & disabled people In the real world, we're looking at £6.8bn of cuts to benefits for this group & around 350k people pushed into poverty - here's why... 🧵

Right - how much of this '£1bn for employment support' will just replace existing schemes? 📌Work and Health programme: stopped taking referrals in Sept 📌Restart: taking referrals until June 26 📌Trailblazers: funded to March 26 📌WorkWell pilots: same Only Connect to Work runs to 29/30 I think?

The welfare cuts come in April 2026, but the detail reveals that the £1bn employment support that was promised in exchange is heavily backloaded. So only £200m of support is actually available for extra work support in the year the cuts come in.

Worth emphasising today that the awful figures we're seeing from the impact assessments of the Government's disability benefit reforms, still don't include at least three measures that would affect the lives of disabled people. (1/5)

I hoped to turn up to Westminster again today to protest the cuts to disability benefits. I am one of many who are in work already and for whom the proposed cuts to PIP will make me much less able to work. #SpringStatement #WelfareNotWarfare #NoToCuts Image by @paulaknight.bsky.social

New analysis from JRF shows if you’re a carer your household could lose a staggering amount as a result of disability benefits cuts. This is because you’ll no longer be entitled to Carers Allowance. A huge hit to families already struggling.

A progressive agenda on the medicalisation of mental health [NEW POST] Some theoretical groundwork to start paving the way towards an alternative to cuts inequalities.substack.com/p/progressiv...

I'm hiring! Looking for a smart policy and/or influencing person for a 9 month post, working across a number of our policy areas incl work & housing. It's a pivotal time to be working on social policy! Come join us - applications close on 10th April. www.jrf.org.uk/careers

I find it hard to see how disability entitlements will not shrink by more than the stated £5,000 a year for a significant minority, writes @tom-clark.bsky.social. www.prospectmagazine...

The other way to look at the proposal to time limit all working age contributory benefit is that it would not just weaken but *completely abolish* what has for many years been (after retirement pension) the second most important part of the state contributory benefit system.

It's right that the focus this week has been on the announced £6.5bn of cuts to disability benefits. But plans to expand Jobcentre conditions to 1.8m disabled people have the potential to add huge pressure to people's lives. medium.com/@ayaz_manji/...

Genuinely confused why everyone (i.e. some people in Westminster bubble) is aghast at the idea of a freeze to PIP rates but fairly chill at the idea of preventing c600,000 people being entitled to PIP in the first place, which will save far more money (i.e. be a larger cut to household incomes).

Don't think there's ever been a more important time for people involved in policy debate to engage with the reality of how disability benefits work. A quick blog based on working as a welfare rights adviser across the last few years. medium.com/@ayaz_manji/...

Anyone interested in public funding cuts and council service crises - housing, SEND, care services etc: Kate Belgrave, who's been covering this stuff longer than me, has launched a podcast focused on how cuts affect people... aptly called Who Voted For This: whovotedforthis.buzzsprout.com/2414550

As a new report finds disability benefit claimants are receiving “unacceptably poor service” from the DWP, I spoke to today’s First Edition newsletter about the crisis (and why fraud is not the same as error, even if ministers want to make you think otherwise) www.theguardian.com/world/2025/j...

Important report out from the Public Affairs Committee today calling for the DWP to take action on the £4bn that's underpaid to people claiming benefits each year. But there's one claim in the report that stands out. (Longish thread!)

When I worked as a welfare rights adviser, my service covered five London boroughs. It was so visible the difference it made when local crisis support was cash-first and easy to access - without disproportionate evidence requirements, or complex online application processes. (1/3)

In her speech the CX mentioned the rising cost of social security for people with health conditions and disabilities With further cuts expected to the support people receive, it's worth highlighting that 30% (243k) of the rise in the health caseload is due to expected policy and demographic changes

NEW REPORT: Analysis by @probonoecon.bsky.social shows that, far from being a drain on the nation's finances, the economic benefits of disability benefits actually outweigh the costs. Cutting disability benefits is anti-growth z2k.org/more-than-mo...

As the government launches its review to “explore how to urgently support people with long-term illnesses or disabilities back into work” they need to remember that people’s lives are more than their health issues. Health really matters, but its not the whole story www.health.org.uk/features-and...

88% of low-income households who receive disability benefits were going without the essentials in the 6 months to Oct 📢 59% had to take out a loan to cover the cost of essentials. 53% were in arrears. Our COL tracker: www.jrf.org.uk/cost-of-livi... Anushka Asthana on @itvpeston.bsky.social

Excited to share our new @citizensadvice.bsky.social report on work coach relationships with claimants. A lack of resources and too much focus on claimant compliance means that even the best work coaches struggle to provide effective employment support. Urgent reform is needed 👇 tiny.cc/3or6001