Journal of Social Security Law

We start 2026 with a look back at our last edition of 2025, focused on disability benefits. JSSL 2025(3) reviews the new 'Pathways to Work' agenda, the position of young citizens in need of disability benefits, and the experiences of veterans of disability benefit assessments🧵

Reducing child poverty isn't easy but we have a very good understanding of what works. With the Scottish govt set to announce child poverty statistics this week, @stephenboydecon in this piece for The Daily Record argues benefits play a huge role. dailyrecord.co.uk/news/politics/…

Child poverty is set to fall by 3 percentage points in 2026-27, primarily due to the two-child limit being abolished. But in the following years, the child poverty rate will start rising again. By the end of the decade, the projected rate is just 0.5 percentage points below last year.

The other huge error in what he says is that it ignores the national insurance receipts of £204bn which are in fact used to pay state pensions and a small number of other benefits. So the cost of much ‘welfare’ spending does come out of the £331.4bn income tax receipts.

The Children’s Commissioner for England, @Rachel_deSouza and child poverty campaigners will give evidence to us and @CommonsWorkPen on the government's new Child Poverty Strategy. Tuesday 24 March, 10am Full session details and watch live: committees.parliament.uk/event/26901

We’ve introduced long-term rules so people fleeing crises overseas can access certain benefits immediately, without meeting habitual residence or past presence tests. This helps people who had to leave quickly and need support. Find out more – bit.ly/new-rules-to-s…

The Department for Work and Pensions is now telling disabled people who need support through the Access to Work scheme that it could take 37 weeks to make a decision on their application, senior civil servants have told MPs. #AccessToWork #DWP disabilitynewsservice.com/new-access-to-…

Exciting News from Law Centre NI! We’re proud to announce that Owen McCloskey, our Head of Social Security, has been appointed to the Social Security Advisory Committee (1 Jan 2026 – 31 Dec 2030). Owen leads our social security team, providing advice and representation in complex cases. His extensive experience in test case litigation, training, and promoting access to justice makes him an ideal fit for this role. “I was delighted to be appointed to the Social Security Advisory Committee and have the opportunity to positively contribute to the valuable work it undertakes. I look forward to working with this panel of independent experts in scrutinising social security legislation and providing advice which helps to shape the views of Government, Parliament and the public.” Read more about Owen’s appointment and his work supporting people across Northern Ireland: lawcentreni.org/news/ssac-appo…

Our Chart of the week looks at an unemployment puzzle. Over 500,000 more people are unemployed compared to the start of 2023. But Universal Credit work search claimants have only grown by 27,000. What's more, there's no sign of an uptick in unemployed people claiming different benefits.

Child poverty is a complex subject — and no single measure tells the full story. Our explainer page describes the different statistics used, what they show, and what to look out for when hearing claims about child poverty during elections 👇 osr.statisticsauthority.gov.uk/guidance/child…

@StuartAdam_IFS @fiscalphillips “The Scottish and UK governments should work together to ensure that support for low-income households does not continue to create unfair and inefficient cliff-edges.” 📗 Read our Scottish election report, funded by @NuffieldFound & @RobertsonTrust, here: ifs.org.uk/publications/s…

@StuartAdam_IFS @fiscalphillips After an initial spike in successful applications for Scotland’s devolved ‘adult disability payment’, application success rates have now fallen significantly (from 55% to 35%). There is no published analysis yet of why this is: an important evidence gap to address.

NEW: Scotland’s devolved tax and benefit system is more progressive than the rest of Great Britain’s, but is unnecessarily complex and distortionary. 📊 @StuartAdam_IFS, @fiscalphillips, Jed Michael and Tom Wernham’s new report examines Scotland’s tax and benefit system [THREAD]

The abolition of the two-child limit by parliament is an important first step in driving down child poverty. It'll give millions of kids a better today & brighter tomorrow. Protecting children from poverty is the right thing to do & lays the foundations for a stronger country.

We're pleased to announce that the new edition of our Debt Advice Handbook is free to access online, thanks to our partnership with @MoneyPensionsUK You can view the new handbook from any computer or mobile device: bit.ly/418WJ6p

Great to write with @sabineegoodwin for @LabourList: We must resist the normalisation of foodbanks. We are seeing action to start tackling the need for foodbanks, but we need more to turn back the tide of hunger & hardship.

Without Access to Work, 50,000 disabled people could leave the workforce. Our new research, funded by @trustforlondon, shows why this vital scheme must be protected. Read the report here: thedisabilitypolicycentre.org/access-to-work

A social tariff that provides discounted prices for low-income families is the best way to deliver targeted energy support this winter. We modelled several alternatives, but none were as effective at targeting low-income households with high energy bills as a social tariff (in green).

"Good policy starts with listening... Sir Stephen Timms has the power to listen, to look at the evidence and to protect our access. We’re asking him to do exactly that." 70 organisations urge Sir Stephen Timms to hear evidence on Motability changes. transportforall.org.uk/blog/2026/03/1…

🚨PIP Consultation How effectively PIP is delivering on its intended purpose Whether PIP assessment provides fair access to the right support Whether experience of claiming PIP varies for different groups How changes…since 2013 have impacted PIP ✍🏻now gov.uk/government/new…

The Timms Review steering group wants to hear your views on the future of PIP The first step in the group’s engagement – a Call for Evidence – is now open. They will share more ways to get involved soon Share your views by 28 May 2026 at ow.ly/cwSE50YvB9o