Children could be "slipping through the cracks" after an investigation found serious gaps in how councils track homeless families placed in temporary accommodation outside their home areas, experts have warned. www.itv.com/news/granada...

Currently, disabled bus passes are only eligible for use between the hours of 09:30 and 23:00 on weekdays. From 1 April 2027, people who hold a disabled bus pass can travel on buses for free, no matter the time of day. www.transportforall.org.uk/blog/2026/08...

Free bus travel for disabled people in England to be extended to 24 hours a day

The change, which has been welcomed by campaign groups, will come into effect in England from April.

bbc.co.uk

‘Law centres have always been embedded in their communities – working alongside housing associations, health services, food banks, the organisations that people turn to first when things go wrong.' - The Law Society Gazette covers Law Centres in 2026. www.lawgazette.co.uk/features/law...

Law centres: The Rescuers

Following the abolition of legal aid for most civil cases, law centres had to change their operating models to survive. Catherine Baksi reports on the challenges centres face - and their resilience - ...

lawgazette.co.uk

GMLC campaign volunteer Tammy Ho discusses the government's proposed changes to jury trials on our blog, while new PM Andy Burnham considers whether to scrap them. "Defendants in criminal cases are not criminals until they are found guilty in courts." www.gmlaw.org.uk/2026/08/13/j...

Jury Trials on Trial: the Case Against the Courts and Tribunals Bill

gmlaw.org.uk

Every year, we train students from Manchester Metropolitan University to support people through their welfare benefits Tribunal appeals. Thank you to Satiya for her hard work on our Legal Advocacy Support Programme.

Join GMA TUC for the 2026 Peterloo Commemoration event on 16/08/26 at Manchester Central M2 3DL from 12pm. Remember those who died for the right to vote in Manchester 200 years ago - and hear speakers on the fight for democratic rights and freedoms today.

GMLC has supported campaigns for the 'Hillsborough Law', which would place a duty on public authorities to act with candour, transparency and frankness. Now this duty is going through Parliament as the Public Office (Accountability) Bill. assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/69c3fd...

USING THE LAW TO CHALLENGE THE STATE: MANCHESTER 🐝 Are you a community organisation tackling racial injustice? Join our workshop with @gmlawcentre.bsky.social on 6 October to discuss how we can use the law strategically to achieve change. Register here 👇 https://forms.office.com/e/jbw7mc4P23

From @jrf_uk: "Four years into the cost-of-living crisis, almost two-thirds of low-income families say they struggle to buy essentials such as clothes, heating and food. 62% of those families were unable to afford an essential item in the past six months." www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

'I can't afford to turn the oven on': 7.4m households struggling to buy essentials

As Andy Burnham promises “breathing space” for households, millions are unable to buy items such as clothing, heating and food.

bbc.co.uk

Where are we now on earned settlement? - With Starmer resigning and Burnham preparing to take the reins, a change of leadership is a chance to change direction. - 200,000 ppl responded to the public consultation on earned settlement, and 500 travelled to Parliament in March to lobby their MPs.

Greater Manchester Immigration Aid Unit (GMIAU)@gmiau.bsky.social · 2mo ago

The government is under pressure. There’s still time to stop “earned settlement”. Write to your MP today to ask them to speak up for our communities. To find out how to use this digital postcard or write to your MP another way, read our blog: gmiau.org/write-to-you...

GMLC's contributions are included in this new government report into Black people’s experiences of homelessness. The report highlights the disparity in both numbers of Black people facing homelessness, and in outcomes through the homeless system. committees.parliament.uk/publications...

Maya Fitchett, Research Coordinator at @netpol.bsky.social and author of the report, said: “Netpol is documenting a crackdown on the right to protest happening almost every day. ‘One Day in Manchester’ offers one snapshot of this growing state of repression.” netpol.org/2026/07/07/o...

Britain removed rent controls in the 1980s, alongside other changes to privatise housing - and the housing crisis has been escalating since. It's time to save the state billions in housing benefit and homelessness spending. Britain needs rent controls. 📣 www.insidehousing.co.uk/news/fewer-t...

Fewer than 2% of British rental properties affordable for households on housing benefit

Fewer than one in 50 advertised private rental properties are affordable to households on housing benefit, according to analysis by a coalition of charities.

insidehousing.co.uk

“The National Housing Federation and the Chartered Institute of Housing found that more than 70,000 babies are living in overly hot homes as the climate crisis drives record temperatures across the country.” www.theguardian.com/society/2026...

One in six babies in England live in overheated homes – analysis

More than 70,000 babies living in hot homes as climate crisis drives record temperatures

theguardian.com

📣We are recruiting new Trustees/Directors to our Board! We want to hear from people who are passionate about our work and our community. We are open to all applications and types of experience, particularly those with skills and experience in Finance, Human Resources and Fundraising. More info⬇️

Join our Board of Trustees - GMIAU

Help Greater Manchester Immigration Aid Unit (GMIAU) overcome immigration injustice by becoming a Trustee/Director.

gmiau.org

Dr Dora-Olivia Vicol, the chief executive of the Work Rights Centre, said: "All of these people migrated legally and they answered a call that came from the UK, so to throw them under the bus now is cruel and it’s unconscionable." www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026...

Increasing leave to remain timeframe for UK care workers ‘cruel’, say campaigners

Experts and activists back Mike Tapp’s proposal for care worker exclusion that led to row with Shabana Mahmood

theguardian.com

Manchester Central Foodbank are recruiting for an Operations and Projects Worker. The role will play a key part in the day-to-day running of operations. Work in helping your community; apply by 9am on 13/07/26: manchestercentral.foodbank.org.uk/2026/06/26/j...

Homeless people in Salford's temporary accommodation are being kicked off the social housing waiting list... because they have been homeless. Please sign and share this petition to keep Salford City Council's social housing scheme fit for purpose! www.change.org/p/keep-salfo...

Sign the Petition

Keep Salford’s Housing Allocation Scheme Fit for Purpose

change.org

Our Trustee Ciara Bartlam on Pride month and being a Legal Aid barrister: "For me, legal aid work has always been about standing alongside people who might otherwise struggle to have their voices heard." younglegalaidlawyers.org/in-conversat...

Thanks to @lawcentres.bsky.social for organising this week's LCN conference in Leicester. LCN conferences are a place where Law Centres across England and Wales can learn from one another and discuss our strategic priorities together.

Thea Jaffe, a full-time working mum who claims universal credit, writes about why the system needs to adapt to support people into and to sustain employment. www.bigissue.com/opinion/univ...

Universal credit claimants are working. The system is not

Thea Jaffe, a full-time working mum who claims universal credit, writes about why the system needs to adapt to support people into and to sustain employment.

bigissue.com

A report from the Resist Rent Rises launch: "The political weather is shifting. Bano noted that think tanks including the Joseph Rowntree Foundation and IPPR had recently backed rent controls, and that Rachel Reeves, however briefly, publicly floated the idea." www.thecanary.co/uk/2026/06/0...

Manchester tenants organisers launch Resist Rent Rises campaign

Manchester rental woes persist despite the new Renters’ Rights Act — the real fight is just beginning, campaigners warn

thecanary.co

📚In our latest instalment of 'Housing Law Handbook spotted out in the wild', here we see LAG's very own Grace Cosford introducing our office copies of the Handbook to all our other fabulous books. Have you got your copies of the new edition yet? 👇 👇 👇 hi.switchy.io/sE3t

"The civil justice system [is] overly complex, beset by delays and expensive, and afflicted by with too many people litigating without advice." There comes a time when more reviews won't fix the problem: we need decisive action to improve #AccessToJustice. share.google/f1wrHReDPGCr...

Decades of reviews have failed to fix civil justice crisis, says new report

Academic commissioned by Nuffield Foundation rejects notion that civil justice should be treated as part of the 'service sector'.

share.google

The housing crisis affects all low-income people, but it is particularly bad for those who urgently need housing - including released prisoners. "25% of men who left the prison found themselves homeless." www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Housing released prisoners is a major issue, says HMP Norwich governor

HMP Norwich's governor says more than a dozen prisoners leave each month without a home to go to.

bbc.co.uk

The new Resist Rent Rises campaign has launched! If you're a private sector tenant with a rent increase notice, you can use the online tool to check if it's valid and see how much you could save by going to the Tribunal. 👇 resistrentrises.org #ResistRentRises

Resist Rent Rises

Use our free tool to find out if you should challenge your rent increase in rent tribunal.

resistrentrises.org

Thank you to Maria Loray, one of our Legal Advocacy Support Project cohort this year. Alongside other students from Manchester Metropolitan University, Maria helps benefits claimants in their appeals to the Tribunal, fighting to secure them the disability benefits they are entitled to.

Thank you to Momen Alnsour, a GMLC volunteer who has been helping clients on Reception this year, triaging enquiries and signposting people to other services where appropriate. The Law Centre couldn't operate without the dedication and commitment of volunteers like Momen. #VolunteersWeek2026

📬It is tempting to frame the crisis in #HousingLegalAid as a recruitment problem: if only we could attract more solicitors; if only more people chose #LegalAid as a career pathway. But these are symptoms of a deeper issue, says Jayne Butler of North Wales Community Law. Read on 👉 hi.switchy.io/vL7A