The reality for children and families living in deep poverty while receiving Home Office Asylum Support gets little attention. My article for @cpaguk.bsky.social Poverty Journal - 'Learning is an essential need' - looks at what this means for children's education cpag.org.uk/news/learnin...

Learning is an essential need

Recent public narratives around asylum-seeking have focused on mostly men arriving by small boats and staying in Home Office commissioned hotels. However, what is the experience of the children and fa...

cpag.org.uk

🗣️'This isn’t just a cost of living crisis... food insecurity has become chronic for many families' Vic Harper CEO of The Bread & Butter Thing says growing numbers of working people are struggling to afford food. Read more: ➡️ bit.ly/4ozVF5j #CostOfLivingCrisis

Lewisham’s Food Insecurity Crisis. The only food insecurity data for the borough is out now, and it shows how urgent the situation is 1/4 @ifanuk.bsky.social @sabinegoodwin.bsky.social

🚨 BREAKING: The government's bill to cut disabled people's social security is still proceeding, but with all cuts to PIP now set to be REMOVED. 🧵

📣 What did we actually do? Our Cash First trial ran for 4 weeks. 30 people received direct cash support — shaped by community voices, not top-down decisions. 1/3 @sabinegoodwin.bsky.social @ifanuk.bsky.social

We’ve been talking about our #CashFirst trial — now we’re digging into the why. Week 3 of 4: 30 people receiving direct cash, co-designed with communities, rooted in trust & dignity. Cash in a crisis isn’t radical — it’s necessary. @ifanuk.bsky.social @sabinegoodwin.bsky.social 1/4

A BIG win from today's spending review... A new Crisis and Resilience Fund will give local authorities guaranteed long-term funding to support people on low incomes in their communities. This will help stop short-term crisis from pushing people to food banks. A game changer 👏

Earlier today, we heard the Chancellor @RachelReevesMP set out details of the government's multi-year spending review. She said it would 'ensure that renewal is felt in people's everyday lives'. 🔽 1/5

At first glance, how far has the government taken action in the Spending Review to reduce hunger & hardship? 1. Great news of a new multi year Crisis and Resilience fund to replace Household Support Fund. Just as @trusselluk.bsky.social has been calling for! ...1/4

The government's plans to cut disability benefits such as PIP will have a “catastrophic impact” on people’s finances and mental health.

Disability benefit cuts will have 'catastrophic impact' on mentally ill people

bigissue.com

We are in Week 2 of 4 of our Cash First trial – 30 participants are receiving direct cash payments. Building on findings from our 2021 pilot, this research helps us understand what method of payment works — and why @ifanuk.bsky.social @sabinegoodwin.bsky.social #CashFirst

We’re live! The Cash First Trial starts today. @ifanuk.bsky.social @sabinegoodwin.bsky.social

Legendary Community Club@legendarycclub.bsky.social · last yr.

We’re excited to launch the next phase of Cash First- A Participatory Action Research (PAR) project tackling food insecurity in Lewisham with direct cash support. Designed with the community, with the aim to drive policy change. @sabinegoodwin.bsky.social @ifanuk.bsky.social

"If this government is serious in its commitment to the nation’s children, it can’t keep waiting for the stars to align before taking action. It must urgently invest in children and their families, starting with scrapping the two-child limit.” @cpaguk.bsky.social www.theguardian.com/society/2025...

No 10 delays child poverty strategy with tens of thousands more facing hardship

Exclusive: Flagship policy put back until at least autumn amid fears cost of removing two-child benefit cap will outweigh political benefit

theguardian.com

'Food bank volunteers might not be able to go on strike, but they can imagine a better future. And they can continue to urge the government to stick to its manifesto promise to end the ‘moral scar on our society’ that has swept them up in its wake.' @bigissue.com www.bigissue.com/opinion/keir...

Keir Starmer promised to end food bank Britain. What happened?

Food bank volunteers are having to face facts, writes Sabine Goodwin, director of the Independent Food Aid Network.

bigissue.com

Here’s a snapshot from our 2021 Cash First pilot. We found cash gave people flexibility, choice and room to experiment, helping ease the psychological impact of poverty. Now, as we move into the Cash First Trial, we’re testing which payment method works best and why.

We’re excited to launch the next phase of Cash First- A Participatory Action Research (PAR) project tackling food insecurity in Lewisham with direct cash support. Designed with the community, with the aim to drive policy change. @sabinegoodwin.bsky.social @ifanuk.bsky.social