Interesting read on a different country’s experiences with economic inactivity and labour market policy ft.com/content/deaba0…

It's publication day for the pamphlet I've been working on with Gordon Brown

Nice write-up of the rescue plan for 'austerity's children' from Patrick Butler here. I'll post the full doc and my own take on Prospect when they're live later
theguardian.com/business/artic…

Blog on Rishi Sunak speech on sickness + benefits

➤ sick notes a minor issue
➤ WCA/PIP reforms unclear
➤ SSP must be more generous
➤ more conditionality: can cost more than it saves
➤ employment support welcome
➤ but 'any job' isn't the way fwd

policyinpractice.co.uk/disability-ben…

I'm The Centre for Social Justice for the PMs speech on reforms of sickness benefits.

Live 🧵 👇🏾

A vital update to our unclaimed benefits total, look out for Deven Ghelani and Policy in Practice tonight

Getting the message out on shows like this and The Martin Lewis Money Show Live has helped thousands to find and claim benefits they didn’t know about or thought they were ineligible for

Every constituency in Britain saw a rise in sickness benefit claims last year, with Conservative areas experiencing some of the biggest increases ⬇️ thetimes.co.uk/article/sickne…

Government data is severely undercounting the number of homeless households placed out of area dlvr.it/T5CZpR #ukhousing

I created a cool web app using Ordnance Survey data - British Placename Mapper (placenames.rtwilson.com). It allows you to search for place names that match various criteria (starts with 'great', ends with 'burgh' etc) and plot them on an interactive map. #gis #geospatial

🚨🗺️📊Calling all UK local data nerds… After more than a year of development, we’ve just launched #ExploreLocalStatistics , a brand new way to explore 57 datasets from across government right down to a local authority level!
…lore-local-statistics.beta.ons.gov.uk
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Concerning how rents keep rising even as CPI eases… but nice timing that this ONS tool has just been launched for LA level breakdowns ons.gov.uk/economy/inflat…

This fascinating chart on real wage rises is absolutely not what people customarily say about the last 9 years. Worth questioning some preconceptions here: on.ft.com/4ajHsm4 via Financial Times

Why have British sea-fronts gone from Tourism hotspots to Housing Benefit hotspots?

Take Blackpool - along the seafront there are over 6 private rented HB claims for every 10 households (of all tenures), with over £1 in every £3 in rent paid through housing benefit.
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Great news: Welsh Government consulting on simplifying CTR applications and moving towards a flat rate non dep deduction.

All steps in our report w/ Bevan Foundation twds a simpler Welsh benefits system. Credit to Steffan Evans + team for making the case. gov.wales/proposed-chang…

Extra reflections. An extra 1% of working-age people on benefits as too ill to work in last decade seems plausible given aging population, record NHS waiting lists & a pandemic. But fact we're back to mid 00s rates suggests crackdowns & cuts aren't the answer.

Twice as many people on benefits now have no conditions attached such as being required to look for a job, with the gap widening since Covid thetimes.co.uk/article/almost…

Today's jobs stats: pretty subdued again.

- Employment rate still well down on pre-Covid
- Half a million more outside labour force, especially older and young people
- This is holding back recovery, with 900k unfilled jobs
- Need to do more to reach and support people...
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