Really important point / graph from
Torsten Bell

The perceived risk of landlord exodus drives the direction of so many housing crisis discussions (often shutting down potential solutions) - yet so often debate is rhetoric and threats rather than a clear evidence base

Looking forward to this! UC is such a massive reform with lots of pros and cons. Completing rollout is a huge challenge in itself. Ensuring it's responsive to changes in context along the way and adapts to what is learnt as plans on paper hit reality is vital

Benefits uprating comes in today - a 6.7% boost for low-income households.

We CitizensAdvice pushed hard for uprating, and it’s vital - especially when 5m people in Britain are in a negative budget, unable to afford their essentials.

But how far will today’s uprating help?

Great to see #BuyNowPayLater on the front page today.

It's 3 years since govt said they would regulate 'as a matter of priority' & over a year since new rules were consulted on.

The govt could make this happen tomorrow, protecting millions of people. Here's why they must: 🧵

On my second day as CEO of ⁦CitizensAdvice⁩, in April 2021, I raised concerns about BNPL with a Government Minister. ‘Don’t worry, we’re on it’ was the reply. 3 years on, it’s tragic that nothing has happened and we’re seeing figures like these theguardian.com/money/2024/apr…

We’ve seen energy debt rising steadily through the cost-of-living crisis. Now we’re seeing more people who’ve been hit with court action by energy suppliers pursuing customers for unpaid bills. The consequences are huge and long-lasting. theguardian.com/money/2024/apr…

This week millions of households will see their council tax bill rise by almost 5%.

But Council Tax Support - the benefit that gives people on low incomes a discount on their council tax bill - is a postcode lottery system (🧵)

citizensadvice.org.uk/policy/publica…

Scrapping the £90 DRO fee is a fantastic move - we saw so many people priced out from the help they desperately needed, or turning to desperate choices. Lives will be changed by the decision.

Now we just need to look at that £680 bankruptcy fee… 👀

bbc.co.uk/news/business-…

Really concerning news that #RentersReformBill is being watered down - while our advisers are helping record numbers of people facing Section 21 evictions, or property disrepair they’re too scared to report...

If you are under 35 and need help to pay your housing costs, the government expects you to live in shared accommodation. But there is a snag...

The benefits system is based on a fiction: it is asking young people to rent homes that literally do not exist citizensadvice.org.uk/policy/publica…

Evidence suggests that work-search requirements don’t help people on benefits get into work.

The 'any job' approach means people feel pressured to apply for often unsuitable vacancies.

It’s time to take a more person centred approach ⤵️
wearecitizensadvice.org.uk/empowerment-or…

💬 CitizensAdvice has found that this will be the living standards election, with an average of 62% of people in top 50 marginals saying the issue could swing how they vote.

But voters remain unconvinced either Labour or Cons have a plan.

wearecitizensadvice.org.uk/this-is-the-li…

As UK inflation falls to 3.4% in February, a reminder that the cost of living is way up in recent years.

Our The Observer piece with CitizensAdvice from the weekend on the growing issue of 'negative budgets':

theguardian.com/money/2024/mar…

With inflation down again today, it's easy to forget that for millions of people, the cost of living is still an everyday struggle

And it'll also define how they vote - most people in marginal seats want to see more from both parties on how they'll raise living standards

NEW PIP STATS released yesterday show that the total assessment backlog is at a record high ⚡

Almost 800,000 people are now waiting on a PIP decision, and potentially going without the support they need 😥

Really important point - most people spend a huge chunk of their income on housing, so even if overall inflation is down, rising rents will squeeze budgets hard.

Private renters spend ~half their income on rent. For renters in a negative budget this rises to two thirds.

Say it once more for people at the back - lower inflation doesn’t mean costs have come down

Our new analysis shows that the cost of living is still *the* issue voters care most about and, with 5m in negative budgets, this election will turn on who has a plan to fix it

How will last week's Spring Budget affect the people CitizensAdvice help? some great speakers joining us next Monday to discuss this, at the Citizens Advice monthly Data Insights briefing. Details on how to sign up for this free event below 👇🏾👇🏾

Excited about my first ever by-line! It being with The Bureau of Investigative Journalism is especially brilliant - I really admire their work.
It's also great to be able to showcase the important work our local CitizensAdvice advisers do, and the unique and comprehensive insights we have thanks to them.

It's been great to work with Vicky Gayle Emiliano Mellino & others The Bureau of Investigative Journalism on this joint story. Having reviewed testimonials from 175 migrant care workers, we show why the current visa system stops people from safely standing up for their rights, or even leaving a bad job. 🧵1/