Policy @z2k_trust, previously advice @shelterscotland, views own
Lewisham
Joined October 2024
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Samuel Thomas retweeted
Disabled people are FIVE times more likely to get the correct benefits award at appeal stage, than from the DWP's mandatory reconsideration.
Our new research shows that mandatory reconsideration is a barrier to justice. We are calling for it to be replaced completely.
Think this is key.
Worried we are drifting towards a more binary system where unless you are classed as definitely never able to work (which applies to v few people) then you are expected to be working now. Disability is more complicated than that
Highly reminiscent of the benefit cap: purely about political gesture, adding yet more barnacles and complexity to the system, and not even generating significant savings. Quite aside from the many other obvious issues…
Samuel Thomas retweeted
The first benefit cap stats have been published since the 2-child limit was scrapped.
165,000 families - containing over 370,000 children - are now hit by the benefit cap. That’s 50,000 more families than before. 1/4
ALT Chart from the DWP showing the number of benefit capped households in Great Britain over time. It shows that 164,000 families receiving Universal Credit were affected by the benefit cap in May 2026, up from 115,000 families in February 2026. (These figures are slightly different from those quoted in this post because we have added the separate benefit cap statistics for Northern Ireland into the DWP’s statistics for Great Britain.
I find this line of argument silly.
The markets value policy stability. Would an attempt to pursue a highly contentious and risky programme of welfare cuts in this parliamentary context really do anything to reassure them?
ALT An excerpt from an article. It reads: 'Another said: “Burnham’s biggest cheerleaders were the same people who torpedoed the last planned changes to welfare. We’re trying to tell Downing Street: if you achieve cuts in the welfare bill, that will give confidence to the markets that you’re ready to look at other areas.”'
Samuel Thomas retweeted
PIP claimants, and disabled people more generally, are much more likely to be materially deprived than non-disabled people. But large gaps remain even when you compare people with similar incomes (deciles). This is likely partly due to higher living costs arising from disability
ICYMI: The housing crisis is forcing families miles from their jobs, schools and support networks. Out-of-area temporary accommodation disrupts every aspect of daily life.
Proud that Z2K's TA residents group worked with @BigIssue on this powerful piece.
The displacement of homeless people is one of the many consequences of our housing crisis. But one that isn't talked about enough.
Very happy to contribute our thoughts and stories to this @LGeraghty23 @BigIssue article.
biggestissue.substack.com/p/…
In a new @Z2K_trust blog, I've had a look at what the Timms Review's emerging recommendations could mean for disabled people.
There’s a lot to welcome in the proposals, but the Review's longer-term vision raises some much bigger questions.
🧵
The draft recommendations feel more like the start of a conversation than a final blueprint.
If the government is serious about rebuilding trust, the next phase of reform must be genuinely co-produced with disabled people.
You can find the full piece here: z2k.org/the-shape-of-things-…
Samuel Thomas retweeted
It has become fashionable to write articles about how people living in social housing don't deserve it.
This one is particularly misinformed.
Here's why... 🧵
Baffled by the takes saying this was a big mistake.
If the government intends to avoid broad benefit cuts, surely ministers need to make an explicit public case for that position, rather than appearing reluctant to defend it.
I'm genuinely still utterly stunned by this from Andy Burnham. This, afterall, is the guy who everyone said was great at the comms, the vibes and selling Labour's message. And here he is floundering at only his second PMQs.
Burnham is a lightweight who doesn't do his homework. He is only a few weeks into the job and he's already badly exposed as being totally out of his depth.