Thousands of people on Universal Credit have had their benefits suspended while their claim is investigated - many are in vulnerable circumstances.

New blog out now: we need to talk about benefit suspensions❗️
wearecitizensadvice.org.uk/we-need-to-tal…

New report with Victoria explores the impact of the government’s efforts to reduce fraudulent benefit claims on the people CitizensAdvice supports

The process that typically involves benefit payments being suspended while investigations take place

citizensadvice.org.uk/policy/publica…

DWP’s new green paper on reforming Personal Independence Payment out yesterday. We have a dataset of over 50k people we helped with debt who are receiving PIP - one of the largest datasets of its kind. What do we see?

New homelessness stats out today make pretty grim reading - couple of standouts:

1. More people threatened with homelessness after getting a Section 21 notice, up 10.9% in Oct-Dec 2023 compared to the year before - Renters Reform Bill never more needed

People having their benefits suspended when accused of fraud can suffer serious harms. Too often they aren't supported to engage with the investigation. Vulnerable claimants need greater protection

twitter.com/lifeaftertea/s…

ICYMI: Farewell to the Cost of Living Payment, one of the best ever bad policies

📖craigberry.substack.com/p/e3f932a2-539…

This green paper is far reaching and has the potential for extensive reform that could in effect take PIP as we know it out of existence. Whilst I can see the fiscal challenge, PIP plays a critical role and this mustn't be forgotten in the reform conversation

The PIP Green Paper is now live.

Some of the proposed changes would mean a complete overhaul of how PIP is delivered, including alternatives to a cash transfer system (e.g. vouchers), & giving local areas more responsibility for delivering support.

gov.uk/government/con…

New post: Offering a brief glimpse into the welfare state's future, the Cost of Living Payment did more good than we tend to assume

📖craigberry.substack.com/p/e3f932a2-539…

Must read thread by Maddy Rose on the attack on disability benefits the government is launching today

This will get some stick from people who only read the headline. But it's a thoughtful piece by Andrew O'Brien, and *Tax the rich to pay for public services like Attlee did* is not a bad place to start from politically

📢Farewell to the Cost of Living Payment, one of the best ever bad policies

📖craigberry.substack.com/p/e3f932a2-539…

The ‘managed migration’ process from legacy benefits to Universal Credit needs is speeding up, but there are many problems left to fix

📖 medium.com/citizens-advic…