Dan Sutherland

A very stirring piece that does makes you think about how poorly society treats people without whom so many of our health and care services would become inoperable

"Cutting disabled people's benefits won't magically create suitable jobs, particularly in those parts of the country that have long had weaker jobs markets. It's little wonder so many disable people are fearful of the impact of the government's cuts" - Abby Jitendra, Principal Policy Adviser

Ahead of a crucial vote on cuts to disability benefits, our new evidence casts doubt on whether jobs are even available for disabled people facing cuts 📢

The analysis found that the parts of the country among the hardest hit by the cuts have fewer job opportunities 1/3

A graph showing that local authorities with weaker local economies have more people on UC that are searching for work or unable to work due to a health condition for each vacancy in that area

Much of the Government's intention for cutting PIP and UC is to motivate people to find a job

But cutting social security can't 'incentivise' people into jobs that don't exist

New @jrf-uk.bsky.social analysis shows there are simply too few jobs for the Government's argument to hold

Just 1 in 5 people (19%) know that the cost of professional home care services could cost more than £1,000 per week. Most thought the cost was lower, with almost half (47%) thinking costs were between £200 and £600 a week on average. This is from a JRF poll carried out by FocalData in 2024.

People are unaware of high care costs, the cost of caring yourself, or long waiting lists.

Most of us hope the social care system will be there for us in times of need. But the system we have currently is inadequate.

Our latest analysis has found a ‘care expectation gap’ 🔽 1/4

MPs urge Rachel Reeves to extend paternity leave Calls come as research suggests UK economy would benefit from more generous offering to new fathers

NEW analysis from @jrf-uk.bsky.social & @centrepropolicy.bsky.social shows how improving paternity leave can boost UK growth

Data from countries with more generous leave shows it tackles gender norms & helps women into work, with an economy-wide benefit of £2.8bn

www.ft.com/content/5c4a...

"The balance here is off the scale" 📢

The government's proposed cuts to disability benefits will deepen poverty and hardship, and push many further from work.

Watch @iainkporter.bsky.social give evidence to the Work and Pensions Committee on the cuts.

Our analysis showed up to 400,000 people would be pushed into poverty by the Government's proposed disability benefits cuts.

This was put to PM Keir Starmer by @debbieabrahamsmp.bsky.social at today's Liaison Committee.

He said the cuts would 'change behaviour'.

Watch below 🔽 1/2

Since the latest announcement of cuts to health related benefits:

📢 60% of the public think the Government is going in the wrong direction to tackle the cost of living crisis and hardship.

This includes 41% of those who backed Labour in July.

Find out more 🔽

Cuts have ‘huge implications for hardship’ says charity Katie Schmuecker is from anti-poverty charity the Joseph Rowntree Foundation.

🗣️ "At the moment, the risks of the world changing are being borne by disabled people, some of the most vulnerable and marginalized in our society."

@katieschmuecker.bsky.social discusses the impact of disability benefit cuts on @channel4news.bsky.social last night.

www.channel4.com/news/cuts-ha...

No one: ....
The DWP:

I think a situation as dire as this came as a surprise to even my most seasoned colleagues.

Disability cuts *are* cuts to carers benefits

Households with a disabled person and a carer could lose over £1000 a month, with a net cut of £500m to carers benefits by 2030

These are already some of the most financial insecure families in the country who need more support, not less

New analysis from @sam-tims.bsky.social & @statspeter.bsky.social sets out example losses from the disability benefit cuts- over £12,000 a year in 2029/30 if you lose out on PIP, UC health and Carers Allowance.

This article is a must read accompaniment for the real life human impact.

Line graph showing real disposable incomes for the average family feel during the cost of living crisis, before some recovery to 2025. From then, incomes are forecast to fall across the rest of the decade.

Living standards are forecast to have already peaked this parliament, with Keir Starmer on track to preside over the worst parliament in modern history for living standards.

New JRF analysis on living standards ahead of the Spring Statement ⬇️

1/🧵

UK government borrowing overshoots expectations Official figures will add to pressure on chancellor as she prepares for Spring Statement next week

With the Chancellor expected to miss her fiscal rules next week, there are always choices on how to respond.

Cutting disability benefits by £5b and further squeezing public services, already facing £8b in cuts to unprotected departments, are the wrong choices.
1/3

Upcoming work from JRF will show changes outlined in Government's green paper will make it harder for young people furthest from the labour market to get into jobs.

As the inimitable Rachel Casey remarks.."it's already pretty damn hard." Watch this space.

Today's announcement to raise the standard allowance of Universal Credit (off the back of sick and disabled people) seems arbitrary. Will £98 a week be enough to afford the essentials next year? 🤷‍♂️

An Essentials Guarantee would make sure there's a legal duty for an independent recommendation

Secretary of State for Work and Pensions Liz Kendall's speech today laid out plans to cut disability and sickness benefits by billions.

❌ No truly moral choice would leave disabled people without support designed to allow them to lead a dignified life, or facing hardship. 1/4

Image of Government press release stating a "383% rise in less than five years" in the number of people considered too sick to look for work.

Yesterday, a Government press release claimed the number of people “considered too sick to work” had "quadrupled" since the pandemic (a "383% rise"). This is incorrect. In fact, it’s not even close. It's more like 40%.

This thread explains why 🧵1/7

It's frustrating so see this idea reemerge, and for it go unchallenged on R4 Today while cuts to the most vulnerable are being discussed

First of all, historical analysis by @jrf-uk.bsky.social has found that it is very rare for two generations in the same family to have never worked

UK social safety net among weakest in rich world, analysis finds Think-tank report comes as Keir Starmer seeks to convince Labour MPs to back welfare spending cuts

UK has one of the weakest social security systems in the rich world, with poorest households worse off than Slovenian counterparts.

Jobless benefits covered the cost of essentials in just two of the past 14 years. 

@niesrorg.bsky.social finds

on.ft.com/4ijBPIO (£)

Our welfare system is morally indefensible - but not like Keir Starmer thinks The Prime Minister reportedly told his MPs yesterday that the UK welfare system is morally indefensible.

Our welfare system is morally indefensible - but not like Kier Starmer thinks

www.lbc.co.uk/opinion/view...

Cutting disability benefits will intensify already high levels of hardship.

@trusselluk.bsky.social find:

1 in 5 people on universal credit and claiming disability benefits used a food bank in the last month

2 in 5 had skipped meals in the past 3 months

Cuts will make this worse.

Bleak new @trusselluk.bsky.social / @yougov.co.uk research that'll only make some Labour MPs feel more uneasy about the prospect of significant welfare cuts this spring

Write-up by @nadinebh.bsky.social

Care demands can push people into hardship, particularly if they leave work to care.

Our inadequate parental and paternity leave system drives this insecurity.

Increasing paternity leave and ensuring all families in work can access it is an important way to prevent families from hardship. 📢 1/2

Fascinating to work on this report and get under the skin of what "economic insecurity" means. It's more than a feeling.

100 years on from Joseph Rowntree’s death, there is a growing sense that we are, or need to be, entering a period of transition even greater than that seen in Rowntree’s time.

As a social change Foundation, it is time to put all our wealth in service to shaping and speeding up that transition.

If you're not following @rachelleearwaker.bsky.social you're only getting half the story..

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

Excellent overview of the choices facing the Government on the child poverty strategy by @guardianheather.bsky.social

Badenoch: claiming benefits should bar foreign workers from settling in UK Tory leader wants Labour immigration bill to include 10-year period before eligibility for state aid and granting of indefinite leave

There are already people who have come to contribute to our country who can’t claim benefits, even if they work in critical but low paid sectors like care.

We already have a 10 year route to settlement.

Both policies drive destitution. They are not a model.

www.theguardian.com/world/2025/f...