Becca Stacey

The OBR says the rise in claims was linked to the cost of living crisis

The way disabled people have been vilified over PIP, as if they were trying to play the system, was disgusting & shameful

Hacks & commentators that engaged in the grotesque demonisation of disabled people should be ashamed.

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…

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…

Blog outlining more detailed response is now available here wearecitizensadvice.org.uk/our-response...

And the focus is largely on preventing people from falling out of work. While this is crucial, it’s equally important to address the barriers that prevent disabled people from entering work in the first place. We have further work on this coming out in the months ahead

It continues to echo some of the DWP’s misguided rhetoric around health conditions and disability. A clear example is the line: “frustration with work, still less ‘I hate my boss’ syndrome, are not health conditions.” This framing undermines genuine experiences of health-related barriers to work

However, it feels a bit too focused on the ‘carrot’. My concern is that this might simply reward employers already doing well on disability employment, without doing much - at least in the initial stages of the plan - to shift the behaviour of those falling short

Overall, it opens up an important conversation and puts forward some interesting proposals on how to better support disabled people and those with health conditions in the workplace. It also provides a good opportunity to showcase employers who are leading the way

Initial thoughts on the Keep Britain Working Review

(More reflections to follow in an upcoming blog)

Great report showing what we see all too often at Citizens Advice: work being used against people at PIP assessments

Being able to engage in paid or voluntary work doesn’t cancel out someone’s care or mobility needs - this mindset just pushes disabled people further from the labour market

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

DWP plans to introduce a ‘support conversation’ for disabled claimants who don’t currently meet a work coach. My new paper explores how this conversation can be done effectively and avoid causing harm 🧵
www.citizensadvice.org.uk/policy/publi...

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

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:

Chart from https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/policy/publications/benefit-cuts-dont-have-widespread-support/ showing that the majority of people do not support planned or expected social security cuts in the UK

📢 Benefit cuts don’t have widespread support

Some fantastic insights and policy ideas in @beccastacey.bsky.social's new report. We can't simply will more disabled people into work, there needs to be greater support - and the benefits system might be going in the wrong direction 👇

DWP plans will see more than 50,000 disabled people lose job support DWP plans mean large numbers of disabled people will no longer qualify for a work allowance to support people looking for employment.

Great to see @beccastacey.bsky.social's research covered here by @cjayanetti.bsky.social in the @bigissue.com

www.bigissue.com/news/employm...

DWP plans will see more than 50,000 disabled people lose job support DWP plans mean large numbers of disabled people will no longer qualify for a work allowance to support people looking for employment.

At least 50,000 disabled people could lose access to financial employment support if the government goes ahead with plans to scrap the WCA benefit assessment, according to a new report from Citizens Advice

The true figure is likely to be higher

By me, for Big Issue www.bigissue.com/news/employm...

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 👇👇👇

DWP plans will see more than 50,000 disabled people lose job support DWP plans mean large numbers of disabled people will no longer qualify for a work allowance to support people looking for employment.

Many thanks to @cjayanetti.bsky.social for their write-up of this piece in the @bigissue.com tinyurl.com/2rvs3n4t

The parts of our social security system that help make work pay for disabled people aren’t living up to their potential

To learn more about how the government could better incentivise work, read the report tinyurl.com/h7s67jp2 and this blog tinyurl.com/mpp5ydpj

“Right to try,” which prevents work from triggering a PIP review or WCA reassessment, is a step forward but doesn’t go far enough

Protections should extend to routine and future assessments, and DWP should adopt a more flexible approach when assessing people’s capacity for work /8

Step 3: better protect benefits when disabled people move into work

Employment can put health and disability benefits, Carer’s Allowance, and linked support (such as free prescriptions) at risk /7

Raising the work allowance would allow disabled people to keep more of their earnings before their benefits are withdrawn, making work more rewarding /6

Step 2: increase the level of the work allowance

Currently, someone on UC sees their benefits reduced after just 7.77 hours of work at the National Living Wage if they get housing support, or 12.93 hours if they do not /5

Rather than limiting access, the government should be expanding disabled people’s access to the work allowance if it wants to encourage more people into work /4

However, planned government reforms mean that nearly 50,000 people who currently receive LCW or LCWRA but not PIP daily living, will lose both UC health support and their work allowance /3

Step 1: expand access to the work allowance

The work allowance is a vital tool that lets disabled people keep more of their benefits when they start working, before any reductions are applied /2

The govt wants to get more disabled people into work, but isn't making full use of the tools at its disposal

In my new report for @citizensadvice.bsky.social I've looked at how our social security system could do more to make sure that when disabled people want to work, work really does pay /1

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...

New @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.

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...