Sharon Wright

Women will suffer most from cuts to disability benefits Cuts will push hundreds of thousands of women into poverty or force them out of workforce

£5bn disability benefit cuts will push 250,000 into poverty. Women—especially Disabled women and unpaid carers—will be hardest hit. Why target the most vulnerable?

WBG Director @maryannstephenson.bsky.social sets out the case for fairer choices: www.opendemocracy.net/en/disabilit...

On top of household names, Who Wants Normal? will feature 20+ brilliant experts: from therapists, academics, patient advocates, to union reps. Like Suzanne, they generously share knowledge and tips to help disabled people access their rights. 99% have a disability themselves.

Just a reminder - this FULLY FUNDED PhD position is open for applications. 😀

Households Below Average Income: an analysis of the UK income distribution: FYE 1995 to FYE 2023

Today’s poverty statistics show that in 2023/24 31% of children were in poverty in the UK

Reducing this is now harder for govt's child poverty strategy with planned cuts to disability and health-related benefits to leave a further 50,000 children in poverty in 2029/30

www.gov.uk/government/s...

UK welfare reforms threaten health of the most vulnerable Cuts to disability benefits will worsen health and the economy The chancellor of the exchequer, Rachel Reeves, will set out the UK government’s spending plans in her spring statement on 26 March.1 Th...

If you haven't seen it already, I highly recommend this book:
policy.bristoluniversitypress.co.uk/social-murder

and this BMJ piece: www.bmj.com/content/388/...

by @gerrymccartney1.bsky.social as sources of accurate evidence about the impacts of benefit cuts on ill-health and avoidable deaths.

A graphic to promote Caring Scotland, a listening project aiming to share stories about the lives of care experienced people in Scotland. It states, for more details email caring.scotland@nationaltheatrescotland.com.

Are you care experienced and want to share a story or know someone who is? Caring Scotland is a new listening project the National Theatre of Scotland is working on. Find out more: buff.ly/44ftX4c

Poverty levels broadly stable over last decade Latest Accredited Official Statistics and Official Statistics published

Child poverty stats for 2023/24:

- at 22% relative child poverty remains significantly higher than the Scottish Government's interim target of 18%
- Scottish figure is much lower than the UK (31%) demonstrating impact of devolved policies

www.gov.scot/news/poverty...

https://www.sgsss.ac.uk/studentship/disabled-peoples-lived-experiences-of-benefit-reform-and-the-costs-of-disability/ ESRC-funded Supervisor-led Studentship Disabled People's Lived Experiences of Benefit Reform and the Costs of Disability University of Glasgow Supervisors: Professor Sharon Wright, Professor Charlotte Pearson, Dr Clementine Hill O'Connor Deadline 10 April, 5pm BST References due 16 April, 5pm BST To apply go to apply.sgsss.ac.uk Picture of historic stone Glasgow University building with green grass, trees and sunshine.

Spread the word! Exciting new fully funded PhD opportunity to research disabled people's lived experiences of benefit reform and the costs of disability.
Deadline: 10 April
@uofglasgow.bsky.social @uofgussp.bsky.social @uofgsps.bsky.social @sgsss.bsky.social @clemmiehilloconnor.bsky.social

Our Director responds to today’s spring statement.

For further information on what today’s announcements mean for women, please check the UK Women's Budget Group’s press release here: www.wbg.org.uk/article/our-...

Book about Women and Welfare Conditionality: lived experiences of benefit sanctions, work and welfare by Sharon Wright

My Women and Welfare Conditionality book shows how hard it already was for disabled women to manage work and welfare before the new cuts. Research shows that poverty worsens health.

Navigating Digital Welfare: A Multi‐Level Maze? Greater conceptual and empirical engagement with welfare state complexity is needed in studies of digital welfare. This article explores how existing concepts such as welfare systems, subsidiarisatio...

New article: Navigating Digital Welfare: A Multi-Level Maze? In Social Policy & Administration. I argue that greater conceptual and empirical engagement with welfare state complexity is needed in studies of digital welfare. (OPEN ACCESS) onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....

Quote from Tom Pollard, head of social policy: Today’s assessment confirms that ill and disabled people will see cuts to benefits amounting to around £6.5bn a year by 2029-30. Yet the Department for Work and Pensions and the Office for Budget Responsibility between them have not yet been able to forecast any impact on employment outcomes. The government’s narrative to justify benefit cuts for ill and disabled people has completely fallen apart – it is clearer than ever that the real driver has been pressure to meet an arbitrary savings target.

This government's attempt to justify cutting benefits has completely fallen apart. They're slashing support for ill and disabled people to meet their arbitrary fiscal rules.

@pollardtom.bsky.social reacts to the cuts announced in the spring statement

Excellent summary.

There is even more in the DWP documents, including confirmation that an expected 150,000 people will lose carer's benefits.

assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/67e3fa...