Universal credit (UC) is now the main benefit for working-age people. It is claimed by people who are disabled and by those who are not, and by those who are working and those who are not. But how well does UC support those who might need more help to claim? In particular, does the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) respond to the needs of people with mental health problems to ensure they can access UC fully?
When the coalition government published its flagship paper on universal credit (UC) in 2010, it promised a ‘digital first’ benefit. Since then we have seen the digitalisation of the UK’s working-age social security system, a process that continues today. But what impact has this transformation had on claimants and their rights?
Investment in social security alone will not be enough to end child poverty in Scotland, but the last 25 years shows us the clear link between social security and poverty rates across the UK. What opportunities do Scotland’s powers to invest in social security offer? And how can the Scottish government use them to reduce child poverty?
Many of us have been irritated by the splintering of the notion of poverty in recent years. Food poverty, fuel poverty, water poverty, digital poverty, transport poverty, period poverty: surely they are all just poverty we have cried! With ‘poverty’ defined as a relative lack of income, is there any merit in looking at different poverties?
What do the UK government’s crucial decisions about universal credit (UC) in 2021 tell us about social security policy? The government faced significant opposition to cutting the £20 which had been added to the UC standard allowance as the pandemic struck but went ahead anyway. The October 2021 budget then offered significant improvements to UC for those in work. These policy choices tell us a lot about current government priorities.
Every child death is a tragedy. With child poverty rising and deepening, what role does deprivation have in child mortality? What does the National Child Mortality Database in England tell us about what we can do to reduce the number of child deaths?
The social security system has been a central feature of the pandemic response. As we move out of the emergency phase of the crisis, however, the future direction of social security policy has rarely seemed more uncertain. How can we ensure we are campaigning for ambitious change, and how can we ensure people with lived experience of the system can bring their expertise to that campaign?
There is increasing focus in research and policy making on the importance of the expertise brought by those with lived experience of poverty. What happens when experts by experience and experts through study and practice come together to merge their knowledge on poverty? And what implications does such a merging of knowledge have for research and policy?
The US has long been associated with high rates of child poverty, both on its own terms and relative to other wealthy nations. Currently, the US is in the early stages of repurposing an old policy tool – a national child allowance – to a new end: cutting child poverty during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. How does this compare to the past and present situation for children and child benefits in the UK?
Reducing poverty-related stigma to improve the uptake of free school meals is critical. The COVID-19 pandemic has illustrated how millions of families rely on school food to help make ends meet. How are free school meals delivered in different schools and what impact does that have on children? What can be done to reduce shame and stigma for children eligible for free school meals?
In-work poverty has been on the rise in the UK. Just before the pandemic hit, three-quarters of children living in poverty had at least one parent in work. What role does the social security system, and in particular universal credit, play in helping or hindering low-income working families?
In 2022, the UK will be examined under the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. As part of this process, the Children’s Rights Alliance for England (CRAE) has coordinated the civil society submission to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child. Outlining the key issues for children’s rights in the UK, CRAE’s report warns that a child’s right to an adequate standard of living has regressed since 2016. What progress has been made in protecting and promoting children’s rights, and how is the UK government falling short?
