Patrick Butler

‘Something has gone very wrong’: how the carers scandal was exposed A Guardian investigation revealed how hundreds of thousands of people were plunged into debt – and some criminalised – for looking after their loved ones

Fantastic long read by @patrickjbutler.bsky.social and @joshhalliday.bsky.social on the #CarersAllowanceOverpayment Scandal

If you know nothing about this scandal , or what to know more - this is the article to read ⬇️

www.theguardian.com/news/ng-inte...

Truly deserved award for @patrickjbutler.bsky.social and @joshhalliday.bsky.social on their Carer's Allowance Scandal work - you can see the impact and importance their reporting has had here:

www.theguardian.com/society/seri...

I can’t say how happy I am to see this! @patrickjbutler.bsky.social and @joshhalliday.bsky.social have highlighted such an important issue and worked tirelessly on others for years. Huge congratulations to my colleagues.

The Paul Foot Award | Private Eye The Paul Foot Award is an award given for investigative or campaigning journalism, set up in memory of revered journalist Paul Foot, who died in 2004.

Delighted that @joshhalliday.bsky.social and me
have made the Paul Foot Award/Private Eye long list for our investigation into the carer's allowance scandal (and congratulations to our fellow nominees) www.private-eye.co.uk/paul-foot-aw...

The Guardian view on unpaid carers: the scandal of their allowances is far from over | Editorial Editorial: New rules for checking overpayments are a milestone. But deep concerns remain about the DWP’s approach

Good @theguardian.com leader on fixing the carer's allowance scandal: positive progress, but more to do www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

DWP to overhaul carer’s allowance checks after overpayment scandal Department previously investigated only 50% of earnings limit alerts, meaning many carers fell into debt

My @theguardian.com story: DWP to overhaul carer’s allowance checks in wake of overpayment scandal: www.theguardian.com/society/2025...

‘I’m still sick. I’m still disabled. But I’m proud of my body’: Frances Ryan’s manifesto for disabled women Women with disabilities are the biggest minority group in the world, but are still shut out of society. In an extract from her new book, the writer reveals how that is changing – and what more needs t...

"In a society that... demands perfection from the mess of modern existence, I will share a secret: it is entirely possible to be happy and fulfilled and disabled or sick, and to proudly carve out your own path." From the new book by @francesryan.bsky.social www.theguardian.com/world/2025/a...

Ill and disabled people will be made ‘invisible’ by UK benefit cuts, say experts Those who lose benefit payments will find it difficult to access care and support services, says Policy in Practice

My @theguardian.com story: Ill and disabled people will be made ‘invisible’ by UK benefit cuts, say experts www.theguardian.com/society/2025...

Nearly 20 councils in England ‘at risk of insolvency’ due to Send costs Exclusive: Councils say multibillion-pound debts caused by years of overspends on special educational needs support

Revealed: nearly 20 councils in England ‘at risk of insolvency’ due to Send costs, as overspend debt set to grow by £2bn over the next 12 months theguardian.com/education/20... by me, Pamela Duncan, Matt Pearce, and Raphael Boyd.

‘I can’t sleep, I’m so scared’: disabled people face benefit cuts domino effect Three people tell how knock-on impact of losing Pip on carer’s allowance and other benefits will affect their families

“If the government goes ahead with these cuts, then new care homes are going to have to be available,”: @francesryan.bsky.social interviews people about the calamitous knock on effects of Pip disability benefit benefit cuts www.theguardian.com/society/2025...

‘Nobody found him in time’: how neglect and stress led to the deaths of a full-time carer and his son David Lodge died after being found next to his father and full-time carer Peter’s body. His sister Keri believes the strain of caring and lack of government support contributed to their deaths

Powerful piece by @joshhalliday.bsky.social (and one with extra force in the light of the Pip cuts): "Nobody found him in time": how neglect and stress led to the deaths of a full-time carer and his son www.theguardian.com/society/ng-i...

Liz Kendall struggles to sell ‘immoral and devastating’ disability benefits cut Disability charities call foul as welfare secretary buries austerity-like news under earnest talk of reform

"A Labour government, really?": my @theguardian.com analysis on yesterday's disability benefit cuts announcement www.theguardian.com/society/2025...

Ministers plan major changes to Send education in England White paper being prepared as councils hope for relief from huge deficits in special educational needs budgets

Ministers plan major changes to Send education in England - a picture of a wholly broken system in a hugely important area.

In-depth reporting on the ticking £5bn timebomb debt amassed by English councils by @patrickjbutler.bsky.social

www.theguardian.com/education/20...

‘Ticking timebomb’: how Send spending could bankrupt English councils Guardian analysis lays bare a neglected system that is ruinously expensive, and often fails children and parents

My Guardian analysis: “It’s what keeps me awake at night” - from underfunded demand to alleged "profiteering" by private specialist schools, how England's Send policy has pushed councils to the edge of bankruptcy. www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...

Ministers plan major changes to Send education in England White paper being prepared as councils hope for relief from huge deficits in special educational needs budgets

My Guardian story: Ministers plan major changes to Send education in England as Guardian analysis shows scale of local council deficits theguardian.com/education/20... w/
Raphael Boyd and Matthew Pearce

@tanialt.bsky.social Hi Tania, I wondered if we could speak - I'm a reporter at the Guardian, and it's about SEND policy. Patrick (Patrick.butler@guardian.com)

Ministers scrap DWP program allowing landlords to tap into tenants’ benefits Exclusive: Liz Kendall confirms government will no longer back controversial ‘computer says yes’ system

Some good news. Ministers scrap controversial DWP program allowing landlords to tap into tenants’ benefits, @patrickjbutler.bsky.social reports.

“I’m determined to right the wrongs that have persisted in the benefits system for too long,” says Liz Kendall. www.theguardian.com/society/2025...

Ministers scrap DWP program allowing landlords to tap into tenants’ benefits Exclusive: Liz Kendall confirms government will no longer back controversial ‘computer says yes’ system

My Guardian story: Ministers to scrap controversial 'computer says yes' DWP program allowing landlords to deduct cash from tenants’ benefits without their consent www.theguardian.com/society/2025...

Tell us: have you received a Macmillan Cancer Support hardship grant? Do you give them out? How will the charity's decision to cut the iconic payments affect cancer patients?https://www.theguardian.com/society/2025/feb/18/tell-us-have-you-received-a-macmillan-cancer-support-hardship-grant

In case you missed it: Macmillan Cancer Support sacks a quarter of staff and scraps hardship scheme for financially struggling patients as it battles financial pressures www.theguardian.com/society/2025... By @andrewgregory.com and me

Macmillan Cancer Support cuts quarter of staff and scraps hardship scheme Exclusive: Charity says it has made drastic changes to safeguard future as Guardian finds it spent £100m more than it raised over last six years

Macmillan Cancer Support sacks a quarter of staff and scraps hardship scheme for financially struggling patients as it battles financial pressures www.theguardian.com/society/2025... By @andrewgregory.com and me

Unpaid carer wins overpayment penalty case against DWP Andrea Tucker has overturned the demand for £4,600 in carer’s allowance overpayments for alleged breaches in benefit rules

My Guardian story: Stunning victory for unpaid carer Andrea Tucker as court overturns DWP demand for £4,600 carer's allowance overpayment www.theguardian.com/society/2025...

Benefits system should protect, not punish, vulnerable people | Letters Letters: Labour’s focus on crackdowns and fraudsters lodges in the psyche, feeding precarity and self-doubt, says Dr Jay Watts. Plus a letter from Stephanie O’Brien

"As a mental health clinician, I cannot emphasise enough how many relapses have been triggered by the relentless media drumbeat about 'cracking down' on benefits": good Guardian letters on incapacity benefit cuts. www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

Labour must seize the moment to show child poverty matters in push for growth | Heather Stewart Scrapping two-child benefit cap is among levers Rachel Reeves could pull – yet chancellor remains silent on ‘shameful’ levels of poverty

Labour must seize the moment to show child poverty matters in push for growth www.theguardian.com/business/202... Great summary of the choices and challenges facing Labour, by @guardianheather.bsky.social

Unpaid carer to challenge DWP allowance overpayment penalty in court ‘It takes the little people to stand up,’ says Andrea Tucker, who was told to repay £4,600 after caring for mother for 15 years

My Guardian story: "It’s like the Post Office scandal – it takes the little people to stand up”: unpaid carer to challenge DWP in court over carer's allowance injustice www.theguardian.com/society/2025...

As Labour touts more brutal cuts to benefits, how is this different from life under the Tories? | Frances Ryan There may be no nasty impulse to punish ‘skivers’, but the end result – the most vulnerable hit hardest – is exactly the same, says columnist Frances Ryan

"That a Labour govt is seemingly willing to sacrifice poor and disabled people’s benefits... to protect the wealthy... from paying a bit more tax is the kind of dystopian deal that feels at best perverse and, at worst, a betrayal." By
‪@francesryan.bsky.social‬ www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Ruth Wyner obituary Charity worker with the homeless whose imprisonment under the Misuse of Drugs Act caused an international outcry

A remarkable life and a cause celebre - Ruth Wyner obituary by author Alexander Masters

www.theguardian.com/society/2025...

Six English councils granted permission to raise council tax bills despite cap Angela Rayner says government ‘under no illusions’ as cash-strapped authorities try to avoid bankruptcy

My @theguardian.com story: Six financially struggling English councils granted permission to raise council tax bills above cap limits as concerns grow over local authority finances. www.theguardian.com/society/2025...

Charities forced to ‘evict’ adults in their care to stay solvent, survey finds Annual sector review says tax and wage rises and council funding cuts have left services in ‘state of acute precarity’

Have you, a family member or friend - been 'evicted' (or threatened with eviction) from a care home as a result of council underfunding? theguardian.com/society/2025... We'd be very interested to hear your story.

Ministers could allow council tax to rise by up to 25% to prevent bankruptcies Experts say it is inevitable government will let English local authorities exceed 5% cap if they are likely to go bust

Ministers could allow council tax to rise by up to 25% to prevent bankruptcies - by me and @phillipinman.bsky.social www.theguardian.com/society/2025...