Social welfare
#GeneralElection2019 - Human Rights: what do the parties say? Excellent infographic by Rights Info
Published 27/11/2019 by Claire Gilbert
THE GENERAL ELECTION & HUMAN RIGHTS Rights Info is looking at each of the party manifestos and has picked out the key policies relating to human rights. There are huge issues in this election around access to justice and protections of rights. This useful summary brings together the pledges in one place. Rights Info will be updating their page as new manifestos are released.
Lesson for funders – public support for Human Rights must be cultivated
Published 20/11/2019 by Claire Gilbert
The Thomas Paine Initiative has called on funders to help capture the public’s hearts and minds, and counteract the threat to democracy from populist leaders. “Public opinion cannot be left to chance”, and communications strategy must be nurtured“at every stage” of the grant making process.
Benefits claims in Wales - 4/5 appeals are successful (Wales - BBC coverage)
Published 20/11/2019 by Claire Gilbert
Four in five appeals processed in Wales against UK government decisions to deny people disability benefits succeeded, new data shows. Government officials said appeals made up a small share of all claims. Charities said the success rate of appeals showed benefits assessments were beset by "poor decision-making" and "obvious inaccuracies".
More people than ever turning to Food Banks - Trussell Trust new figures (Guardian coverage)
Published 20/11/2019 by Claire Gilbert
Trussell Trust reveals steepest increase in Food Bank usage in five years as it hands out 823,000 emergency food parcels in six months. The trust, which runs two-thirds of the UK’s food banks, said it distributed a record 823,145 food parcels between April and September, including 301,653 that went to children. This was a 23% increase on the same period last year, representing the steepest rise the charity has witnessed since its network of food banks was fully established.
Supreme Court decision on Human Rights duties for Courts & Local Authorities - DWP & “Bedroom Tax”
Published 13/11/2019 by Claire Gilbert
The Supreme Court clarified today that Courts & Local Authorities can set aside government regulations that are incompatible with human rights legislation. The case stemmed from challenges to the 2013 housing benefit changes widely labelled the 'bedroom tax'and was supported by human rights organisations Liberty, Child Poverty Action Group and Public Law Project (PLP), with international firm Herbert Smith Freehills. PLP director Jo Hickman said: 'This judgment re-affirms that people should be able to enforce their human rights under the European Convention on Human Rights in any court or tribunal, without having to bring separate legal proceedings - just as the Human Rights Act says they should be able to.
Social Change Conversation Toolkit by SRANE and Just Fair
Published 16/10/2019
JustFair and SRANE (Social Rights Alliance North East) have produced a toolkit for bringing people together to discuss social change. With a tagline "Talk.Act.Change." the toolkit offers an agenda and methodology for holding meetings on social issues and working towards change.
Job Opportunity with Public Law Project - Research Assistant
Published 16/10/2019
Location: Central London (currently Kings Cross) Hours: Full time (35 hours a week). Requests for part-time working (min 25 hours) considered. Salary: £25,000 per annum (pro rata if part time) Closing Date for applications is 20th October 2019.
Avoid Legal Jargon with ‘Looked-After’ Children - guide for lawyers
Published 25/09/2019 by Claire Gilbert
Campaign groups, including the Youth Justice Legal Centre, the Howard League for Penal Reform, and Just for Kids Law, have published best practice guidance for criminal practitioners on effective advocacy for Looked-After children at the police station.
CPAG’s Early Warning System
Published 31/08/2018
CPAG (the Child Poverty Action Group) have launched the 'Early Warning System' project to record the impact of benefit changes since 2013 on individuals and families across England and Wales. You can record your experiences through their system now.
Workbook: Mental Health, Mental Capacity: Raising a Human Rights Issue
Published 31/08/2018
The British Institute for Human Rights has made a workbook available for those with mental health or mental capacity issues and their advocates.
Free resources for housing professionals from Shelter Legal
Published 26/03/2018
Shelter Legal is a website containing a wide variety of resources for housing professionals. The good news is that the comprehensive and up-to-date housing law resources are now available for free.
Free online web app enables people to access PIP and ESA expertise digitally
Published 08/01/2018
Earlier this year, Hastings-based seAp won the 2017 Charity Times Award for their ground-breaking online web app which enables people across England and Scotland to access their expertise digitally. The organisation, which provides advocacy for people needing help to access their rights, beat seven other organisations – including the National Trust and Age UK – to win the award for the best use of technology.
Fixing and Delivering on Universal Credit – a report from Citizens Advice
Published 01/09/2017
Universal Credit is the biggest change ever made to the benefits system. By 2022, more than 7 million households will be receiving it, over half of whom will be in work. The aim of Universal Credit - to simplify the benefit system - is right. But it is currently failing too many people and forcing many into debt. Universal Credit is currently being rolled out across the country, but this process is set to accelerate from October 2017. Citizens Advice has already helped 47,000 people with Universal Credit and our evidence reveals a number of problems which need to be addressed. If roll-out is not paused to allow this to happen, 7 million households face financial risk. Summary & full report available here.
The Advice Quality Standard - the quality mark for organisations providing advice on social welfare issues.
Published 19/05/2017
(Author: Lindsey Poole, Director at Advice Service Alliance) You might have heard people in the voluntary advice sector talk about the 'Advice Quality Standard' or AQS. But what is this thing and what does it tell you about the organisations who hold it?
Social welfare law web tools, from Lasa, with free widgets to add to any website
Published 09/05/2017
Lasa have a developed a series of web tools, all designed to support citizens' access to justice in relation to social welfare law issues. Each tool uses a postcode to find local and national resources in the area. They currently have nationwide tools for Social care, Council tax, Universal Credit, personal independence payment and work capability assessment. An additional tool, Advicelocal, is available in London and provides a borough-by-borough guide to legal information and support. Get the widgets: If you have a website or blog, you can grab one of their widgets to add to your site for your visitors to use for free.
