Great report by my colleague Ed showing how important affordable, safe housing is for health. The government must take housing seriously if it wants people to stay healthy and be able to work. Step one: uprate LHA (make sure housing costs support on UC keeps pace with inflation!)

Really welcome news today that the government is recruiting extra staff to deal with the huge backlog in Access to Work - a government scheme designed to help disabled people pay for the aids and services they need to be able to start and stay in work. www.gov.uk/government/n...

Name change alert! I've changed my last name to Lee (previously Anns) after marrying the wonderful Bonn Lee.

We help hundreds of thousands of people every year with housing costs issues. In this great blog, @julia-rt.bsky.social and @drsarahhadfield.bsky.social set out how Universal Credit housing support hasn't kept up with rising rents. The result: significant hardship & debt.

Great new blog by @niamhredgate.bsky.social explaining the PIP backlog. Our advisers tell us that PIP makes a huge difference to someone's budget. It can be the difference between being able to cover your essential costs, or going in the red each month. 20 weeks is far too long to wait for support.

How could the government better support disabled people to start and stay in work? Our report (co-written with @beccastacey.bsky.social) highlights how the Access to Work scheme could play a pivotal role. But right now, it's not meeting its potential. www.citizensadvice.org.uk/policy/publi...

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

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 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

Should the government cut disability benefits for young people? Our new blog explains why removing the UC health element for under 22s would be both unfair and deeply harmful. wearecitizensadvice.org.uk/the-governme...

📢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

📢 Last night, the Renters Rights Act finally became law. We’ve been campaigning for this for years. Read more about the bill and what it means for you ⤵️ https://wearecitizensadvice.org.uk/the-renters-rights-act-is-here-but-the-work-is-just-beginning-1308fb226853

📢 Benefit cuts don’t have widespread support

Cutting the UC health element is unlikely to incentivise disabled people to work. But, there are other ways the government could improve work incentives within the benefits system and reduce barriers to work. My colleague @jagnaolejniczak.bsky.social has written a great report on that here:

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...

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...

Anti poverty organisations all unanimously urging MPs to vote against the UCPIP Bill this afternoon, and calling on the government to carry out proper reviews and consultation before legislating. This is too important to vote through on an act of faith. www.ucpipbill.co.uk/wp-content/u...

Great breakdown from Craig explaining why the UCPIP bill is still a bad idea. When thinking about the government's disability plans, one word springs to mind: chaos.

After all the rumours we now know what's in the amendment. From November next year, new claimants who need help to cut up food, dress, wash, or use the toilet would be denied the lifeline that PIP provides. For young disabled people and people who become disabled in the future, it is utterly bleak

I think everyone would agree that eligibility to disability benefits should be decided based on need. The government's concessions further erode this principle. The 4 point rule is arbitrary. Restricting UC health based on age is unfair. And creating a 2-tiered dis ben system is unjustifiable.

The government's concessions on disability benefits cuts are a good start but do nothing to help those who will need disability benefits in the future. Anyone can become disabled at any time and future claimants are no less deserving of support than existing claimants

How will the proposed disability benefit cuts impact disabled people? Today we’re sharing the story of one of the people we’ve helped: Anita*. The cuts could mean she loses over £8k per year (43% of her income)❗ New blog out now: medium.com/p/1ab8959922a1

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

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

Today, the government laid its Universal Credit and Personal Independence Payment Bill before parliament. But what's actually in the bill and what happens next? New blog out now: wearecitizensadvice.org.uk/why-were-ask...

The facts remain the same - the government is planning to reduce financial support for 3.2 million ill & disabled people, by thousands of £ a year for many, driven by pre-defined Treasury targets rather than principled reform MP's concerns have not been heard or addressed

Again, we hear the conflation of employment support with welfare reform. Someone needs to tell the chancellor that it is possible to improve support for people to move into work WITHOUT cutting essential support for disabled people [which is also paid to people in work]

We've called for a national framework for crisis support, ensuring there's a consistent minimum standard of support wherever you live - reaping the rewards of a local approach with less risk of postcode lottery. The new Fund could be a chance to build in key principles of effective crisis support ⬇️

The time for Jobcentre reform is now! We need a service that is more tailored, effective, skilled and welcoming if we're serious about helping people back into work. Jobcentres can work better for everyone: work coaches, unemployed people and the public purse. Excellent paper by Kate below ⬇️

The government's planned cuts to disability benefits will hit disabled people in multiple ways. Losing PIP ➡️ losing UC health, carer's allowance, council tax discounts, accessible event tickets, benefit cap exemption & more Some people will lose over £10,000 per year #TakingThePIP

The government's proposed cuts to disability benefits are short-sighted and deeply harmful. Instead of getting people into work, these cuts will push hundreds of thousands into poverty. For insights from our data and expert advisers, check out our report below 👇

The Pathways to Work Green Paper sets out plans to cut billions from health and disability benefits. Instead of getting people into work, these cuts will push hundreds of thousands into poverty. Our new report looks at the impact of cuts to PIP, UC health & scrapping the WCA (🧵)

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

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🩹👇

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

One of the possible outcomes from this process must be that the government thinks again on the cuts The case has not been made. The hardship that will be inflicted is too severe. And these reforms will impede the government meeting its social and economic aims (8/8)

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/...

I keep seeing the press describe benefits cuts as a 'crackdown'. Other crackdowns we hear about usually reference crime or anti-social behaviour. What does that imply about benefit claimants? Claiming the benefits you're entitled to isn't a crime - these are cuts, not a crackdown

The phrase "trapped on disability benefits", which I've seen used several times this week, is quite like "wheelchair-bound". Both phrases take something that can be a means of liberation and describe it as a prison.

As the government thinks about big reforms to disability benefits, it's worth noting that there are many small parts of the system that just don't work well. One example: the short deadlines to return PIP forms 📬

Just over a year ago my PIP review was launched. By the time I got the letter in the post, I realised I had just 3 days left to prove my entitlement. Otherwise, my PIP might be stopped. That just isn’t enough time! New blog below ⬇️ wearecitizensadvice.org.uk/race-against...

📣 Citizens Advice joined Scope to urge the Chancellor to reconsider potential cuts to disability benefits. Cuts would have a catastrophic impact on disabled people, pushing even more disabled households into poverty. Read our open letter to the Chancellor ⬇️ www.scope.org.uk/campaigns/op...

Government reforms of disability benefits have the chance to make changes for good - but only if we understand what the problems actually are. Let's support disabled people in the right way.

There are so many challenges around the need for medical evidence for disability benefits claims. Read more on this excellent briefing by Simon Collerton and @maddyirose.bsky.social www.citizensadvice.org.uk/policy/publi...