Housing benefit claimants can afford 1.9% of private rental homes on the market, driving thousands to food banks or at risk of homelessness.
Just 2 out of every 100 rental homes affordable on housing benefit
bigissue.com
@julia-rt.bsky.social
Welfare policy research @citizensadvice.bsky.social All views my own
Frozen housing costs support is putting unsustainable pressure on renters' budgets: 48% of private renters getting UC across the UK have cut back on essentials in the last 6 months The no. of private renters we helped w/ housing benefit, who were also referred to foodbanks is up 79% since 21/22
Less than 2% of rents affordable for benefit claimants, report warns
People are being forced into a ‘cycle of debt, poverty and homelessness’, a charity chief said
independent.co.uk
The gap between the support lower income private tenants can get and the price of market rents has reached 21 per cent. That's approaching the record gap of 23 per cent, when support was last increased, but the govt has no plans to increase support until at least 2030
NEW: Labour's housing benefit cuts have hit a million of the poorest renters, often costing them more than £1,000 a year Greater Manchester and the West Midlands have been worst hit My new substack on the cost of living measure the next PM must take chamindajayanetti.substack.com/p/how-labour...
How Labour’s benefit cuts cost the poorest renters thousands of pounds
The cost of living measure that must be a non-negotiable for the next prime minister
chamindajayanetti.substack.com
Today, alongside the @healthfoundation.bsky.social , we’ve published a major report looking at the link between poor health and housing. Too many people in the UK live in homes that are making them sick and it’s worsening health inequalities. www.citizensadvice.org.uk/policy/publi...
Building healthier foundations: How to improve access to healthy housing for all
Report funded by the Health Foundation exploring the links between housing and health
citizensadvice.org.uk
Housing costs support is one of the most common issues we help low-income households with at @citizensadvice.bsky.social A big reason: private renters' UC housing support is frozen at rent levels from 2.5+yrs ago. And rents are up 16% since then. New blog from me + @drsarahhadfield.bsky.social 🧵
Feeling the freeze
How a failure to uprate housing support is causing hardship for low-income renters
wearecitizensadvice.org.uk
More than 710,000 disabled people are waiting for PIP decisions, with new claim wait times now at 20 weeks. These delays can push people into poverty and worsen health conditions. My new blog breaks down the backlog and why the Timms Review must not lose sight of delays and the harm they cause.
Delays to PIP decisions are leaving disabled people struggling
New DWP data shows more than 710,000 disabled people are waiting for PIP decisions
wearecitizensadvice.org.uk
Access to Work isn’t meeting its BIG potential! 🧵 New report out now: www.citizensadvice.org.uk/policy/publi...
Limited Access to Work: How the Access to Work scheme could better fulfill its potential
Evidence and insights from Citizens Advice, highlighting three key ways the Access to Work scheme could be improved to better support disabled people to work.
citizensadvice.org.uk
@citizensadvice.bsky.social helps 900 people a day with issues relating to the disability benefit PIP. That's a sign that the system isn't working as it should. The Timms review of PIP could be a chance to change that. We asked our advisers what it needs to get right: medium.com/p/5a3f881a08ee
3 things the Timms Review of PIP must achieve, according to Citizens Advice advisers
At Citizens Advice, we helped 225,000 people with Personal Independence Payment (PIP) in 2025 alone. That means we have a unique insight…
medium.com
For future reference, this is what a Universal Credit review looks like 👇
Resolution Foundation@resolutionfoundation.org · 6mo ago🧵 NEW: Our report 'Listen and learn' sets out how the Government should improve Universal Credit (UC) for the 15 million people who rely on it. 13 years after its roll-out began, it’s time to get UC right. We've co-produced recommendations with @changingrealities.bsky.social participants 👇
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...
Not so Universal: the two-tiered health element. How the Universal Credit Bill will create a two-tiered system for disabled people.
Briefing by Victoria Anns on how the Universal Credit Bill will create a two-tiered system for disabled people.
citizensadvice.org.uk
The Guardian@theguardian.com · 6mo agoLabour’s new welfare changes are practical and compassionate – so why not loudly say so? | Polly Toynbee
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
There’s a risk that the Keep Britain Working plan will see good employers continuing to perform well and receiving more recognition for this. And that little will be done to change the behaviour of employers who are failing to support disabled workers. wearecitizensadvice.org.uk/our-response...
Our response to the Keep Britain Working report
This week, the Keep Britain Working Review published their final report. This review has sparked an important discussion about how…
wearecitizensadvice.org.uk
New blog from me on the need to unfreeze LHA at the Budget Govt has suggested in the past that DHP can mitigate impact of freezing LHA - but we find it's not remotely set up to do this
Z2K (Zacchaeus 2000 Trust)@z2ktrust.bsky.social · 9mo agoFrozen housing benefit rates are deepening poverty and homelessness. Other government support is failing to plug the gap. We're joining @crisis-uk.bsky.social and others to call on the Chancellor to act. Read our blog here: z2k.org/out-in-the-c...
📰New @citizensadvice.bsky.social briefing ahead of the #Autumnbudget: The Government if failing private renters by freezing #LocalHousingAllowance #LHA.
More from @citizensadvice.bsky.social on Local Housing Allowance today... Here's our pre-budget briefing by the brilliant @DrSarahHadfield.bsky.social assets.ctfassets.net/mfz4nbgura3g...
assets.ctfassets.net
As the #AutumnBudget approaches, we're calling on the Chancellor to unfreeze Local Housing Allowance (LHA) to support people on low incomes as private rents continue to soar. Read more in our blog ⤵️ https://t.co/xTGMQRoFsk https://t.co/ijj5LHQyVC
📢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
The government must cancel plans to cut disability benefits for young people
This blog has been co-written by Maddy Rose, Senior Policy Researcher, and Victoria Anns, Policy Researcher.
medium.com
📢 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
Great to see coverage of the 5 week wait in @the-independent.com, highlighting new Citizens Advice analysis of the huge scale of this issue ⚠️800,000 households repaying loans to DWP only needed because of 5 week wait for 1st UC payment ⚠️0.5M+ children growing up in households repaying these loans
Citizens Advice@citizensadvice.bsky.social · 10mo ago“No family should have to borrow money just to eat while waiting for support they’re entitled to.” We're calling on the government to take action on one of Universal Credit's longest-standing problems: the 5 week wait. Read more ➡️ https://bit.ly/4odsGnL
Very encouraging to read that the Government is preparing to lift the two-child limit as part of its child poverty strategy, but it is disheartening that options short of scrapping it entirely are still being considered. Thread on why this would be the wrong choice for an ambitious strategy:
Rachel Reeves to lift two-child benefit cap in November budget
Exclusive: Officials exploring options to change rule that affected 1.7 million children in Great Britain last year
theguardian.com
Important and thoughtful new report from @beccastacey.bsky.social on how the benefits system could be better at making work pay for disabled people + great to see this coverage in @bigissue.com from @cjayanetti.bsky.social 👇👇👇
Making Work Pay for Disabled People
Report by Becca Stacey on the financial barriers to work for disabled people
citizensadvice.org.uk
Becca Stacey@beccastacey.bsky.social · 10mo agoMany thanks to @cjayanetti.bsky.social for their write-up of this piece in the @bigissue.com tinyurl.com/2rvs3n4t
Government’s claim that Universal Credit Bill will incentivise people to work is ‘wishful thinking’ @citizensadvice.bsky.social www.rightsnet.org.uk/now/post/68056
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...
Not so Universal: the two-tiered health element. How the Universal Credit Bill will create a two-tiered system for disabled people.
Briefing by Victoria Anns on how the Universal Credit Bill will create a two-tiered system for disabled people.
citizensadvice.org.uk
🚨 We're hiring a Policy Research Assistant in the Families, Welfare and Work team at Citizens Advice🚨 Come and help us make the benefits system fairer (and work with lots of lovely people)! Deadline to apply is 21st August: www.jobtrain.co.uk/citizensadvi...
Policy Research Assistant:Blended between office and home (England and Wales)
jobtrain.co.uk
📢New briefing with @drsarahhadfield.bsky.social published today - looking at how UC’s rigid monthly model is often at odds with recipients’ working lives, and how + why the UC review could be a chance to fix this ⬇️
A better fit: How Universal Credit can improve income stability for employees with fluctuating and non-monthly pay
Briefing by Sarah Hadfield and Julia Ruddick-Trentmann on how Universal Credit can improve income stability for employees with fluctuating and non-monthly pay
citizensadvice.org.uk
Sarah Hadfield@drsarahhadfield.bsky.social · 12mo agoNew @citizensadvice.bsky.social briefing published with @julia-rt.bsky.social on how Universal Credit can adapt to promote income stability for working households. We set out policy options for the UC review to consider to reflect the reality of low paid employment.
Raising state pension age is a surefire way of increasing spend on disability benefits www.ft.com/content/1b30...
UK launches review into state pension age
Move announced as government also appoints commission to look at boosting retirement savings
ft.com
The narrative around Universal Credit has long centred around work incentives. This new briefing examines how effective UC is at encouraging employment – and how that focus may have overshadowed the deeper complexities of getting into work. 🧵 🔗 www.citizensadvice.org.uk/policy/publi...
Work incentives aren't working: is the Universal Credit review asking the right questions?
citizensadvice.org.uk
🚨 New report alert 🚨 We’ve launched our first local deep dive research into health inequalities - starting in Chapeltown, Leeds. What does geography have to do with health & work? Quite a lot, it turns out. 🧵