We want people’s lived experience to be taken seriously and inform decisions that have an impact on low-income communities. These are the people who have the skills and experience to influence change in a positive way. But it’s not easy work for organisations to do well, working alongside people with lived experience of poverty takes time, skill and empathy.
14
Aug
Aug
There were 1.80 million claimants in July 2024, which was 135,000 more than the month before and 255,500 more than in June 2023.
The Department for Work and Pensions made changes to the criteria for claiming Universal Credit in May 2024, and the ONS have reported that this is likely to increase the claimant count over a six month period.
12
Aug
Aug
JRF want the priorities of people with direct experience of the economic injustice of poverty to be reflected in the government institutions and organisations seeking to address it. We’re working with the Manchester-based non-profit organisation GMCVO, collecting examples of robust participatory and power sharing work. We’re pulling out key themes to create a bank of evidence for government, funders, poverty organisations, community people led organisations and the wider sector to draw on in their work.
07
Aug
Aug
Designing a Fair Work Agency that delivers for the most vulnerable workers
Rights are only as strong as your ability to enforce them. While most employers obey the law, many still fail to fulfil their basic legal obligations.
05
Aug
Aug
The Local Government Association and Association of Directors of Adult Social Services are Partners in Care and Health (PCH) working with well-respected organisations. PCH helps councils to improve the way they deliver adult social care and public health services and helps Government understand the challenges faced by the sector.
02
Aug
Aug
The scandal of overpayments shocked many people this spring when it was widely reported
in the media, yet it has been going on for some time. Many unpaid carers have been unwittingly
building up huge debts, often as a result of going over the earnings limit for Carer’s Allowance by as
little as a few pence per week. As a result, they lost all of their allowance and owed the Department
for Work and Pensions, hundreds, thousands and sometimes tens of thousands of pounds. The huge
overpayment debts were not built up overnight – in these cases it took the Department for Work and Pensions years to inform the carer that their earnings were over the limit.
01
Aug
Aug
After several near misses, the era of the Work Capability Assessment (WCA) may be coming to a close. In March 2023, the Conservative Government proposed that the WCA would be scrapped, replaced by a
new system that relies instead on the assessment for disability-related extra costs within Personal Independence Payment (PIP). But exactly what comes next? And will it be better than the WCA?
17
Jul
Jul
The proportion of housing for affordable or social rent in England has fallen from around 20% in 2000 to 16% in 2023. As demand continues to grow, increasing the supply is proving challenging. Providers cite issues including funding, increasing costs, and the planning systems as barriers to delivery.
10
Jul
Jul
The loss of a home through eviction, and subsequent consequences, can be financially and emotionally devastating. The cost-of-living crisis has placed new financial pressures on low-income households. This research identifies ways to avoid eviction proceedings through measures that improve meaningful communication between those in housing debt, housing providers, and advice services.
08
Jul
Jul
The front-line of the welfare state is increasingly not a letter, phone call or face-to-face visit, but an online user-interface. This ‘interface first’ bureaucracy is a fundamental reshaping of social security administration, but the design and operation of these interfaces is poorly understood. Drawing on interview data from senior civil servants, welfare benefits advisors and claimants on the UK’s flagship Universal Credit working-age benefit, this paper is a detailed analysis of the role played by interfaces in the modern welfare state.