Welfare Rights.

We were hoping for a more settled year compared to 2020/21 but that didn’t happen. We coped with switching back and forth from office and home, but it was the pace of legislative change that kept us working flat out to ensure all our stakeholders were up to date, and aware of changes that could impact on their clients.

The Covid easements on social security were removed one by one, but it was clear that what was left behind was a trail of debt, lost work, and benefit overpayments for many. At the same time the Tribunal service began to pick up pace with appeals, and medical assessments were re-started. A positive was that clients, who needed to, could once again visit advice agencies in person.

The temporary uplift in Universal Credit and Working Tax Credit made such a difference to low income households, and it was extremely  disappointing that, despite strong campaigning, the increase was not kept – especially with the cost of living shocks that were just round the corner. For the coming year we will be focussing on the managed migration of Universal Credit, and preparing for increased casework clients, including appeals.

Our Impact Report 2021/22 can be downloaded here