Tom Pollard

🚨New @NEF research out today on benefits conditionality: 🫵strict & prescriptive conditionality is pushing people into poor quality work or away from support altogether 📋the public is open to a more flexible & supportive approach that prioritises engagement Find out more👇🧵

@forwardnotback So sorry to hear this Tim - you've been such a warm, considered and hopeful presence on this platform and, as a fellow South Londoner, I've loved seeing you document your wanderings and cafe trips. Sending love to you and your family

Quick update, sorry no more #twitterquiz I am in critical care in Portsmouth and gravely ill. Sorry for the message, thanks for all the fun and friendship over the years. I can’t reply to messages.

Important moment this morning as @MindCharity CEO Dr Sarah Hughes gives evidence to the @covidinquiryuk on the impact of the pandemic on people with mental health problems, mental health services & the mental health of the nation. Watch from 10am here: @ukcovid-19inquiry?si=933UsfaE5rxUi2XR" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">youtube.com/@ukcovid-19inq…

NEW: The government wants to boost employment among people who receive universal credit - but our analysis suggests a lack of good-quality jobs is making this near impossible. And, in some local authorities, there’s as few as 5 vacancies for every 100 people on universal credit…

Anyone eligible for this package of benefit payments would also be able to claim Personal Independence Payment while in work. Many people in work also receive some Universal Credit, particularly for housing. So this is a completely false comparison, designed to whip up resentment

Media & political noise about "overdiagnosis" has ramped up this year, crowding out more thoughtful & constructive debate about how we should respond to rising levels of mental distress, of the kind set out by Mind CEO Sarah Hughes in this @HSJnews piece hsj.co.uk/mental-health/…

@AnushkaAsthana @pressgazette @RachBradleyITV @reshrums @ionanapier @lili_donlon Congratulations Anushka! Very well deserved

Wow super excited to win this - especially up against such an incredible shortlist ! Thank you @pressgazette and all the amazing sources who trusted us, especially on welfare. An award that’s really for an amazing team @RachBradleyITV @reshrums @ionanapier @lili_donlon & more

It's right to explore what's driving increased prevalence & what support people need. But as @johnharris1969 says here, in "a country in which questioning other people’s needs is almost becoming a national sport" the government risks stoking a toxic debate theguardian.com/commentisfree/…

Surprising to see an institution with the moral integrity of FIFA toadying up to Trump

This is a welcome & reflective intervention from @wesstreeting. 'Overdiagnosis' is a simplistic & stigmatising explanation for what, in reality, is a complex interplay of health, social & economic factors. The focus should be on getting people the right support at the right time

Huge moment to finally see the two-child limit scrapped. It has been a machine for driving up child poverty, which will cost us all more in the long term, scarring the lives of those directly hit by its cruel impact. Credit to everyone who has tirelessly campaigned for its end

Finally, the only way to support significant numbers of young people to overcome the barriers they face, particularly around mental health, will be to foster genuine engagement & offer genuine opportunities. Reverting to compliance & cuts again would be a huge mistake /5

This means listening to young people directly & accounting for the whole range of social, emotional & economic factors that they have experienced There are some welcome comments on this in McFadden's Times interview, including recognition that this is an "issue of inequality" /4

Any genuine attempt to better understand what is going on around young people, unemployment & poor health is welcome, especially as an alternative to rushing to propose further benefit cuts Critical that this review gets some key things right though... 🧵 bbc.co.uk/news/articles/…

The full report from @MindCharity is available here: mind.org.uk/news-campaigns…

Powerful @SkyNews piece on the need for better support services for young people's mental health, based a new @MindCharity report Long waits for support are impacting young people's mental & physical health, as well as their education & employment news.sky.com/story/mental-h…

.@MindCharity's response to Reform's proposals to "cut PIP payments to people with anxiety" in this @BBCNews piece: bbc.co.uk/news/articles/… Much of the political debate around PIP betrays a real lack of understanding of what the benefit is for, who gets it & how it's assessed

@KShabby16334956 @TomEvans80 That's really helpful to know - thanks Ken

@PollardTom @TomEvans80 Capita are the ones who decide the "main disabling condition" - i do wish Reform et al understood this. I would disagree they chose my correctly most disabling condition out of this list. What they did do, however, is ignore OCD and depression as if they dont exist.

PIP is assessed based on the impact of health problems & disabilities (often multiple & complex) on someone's ability to live independently Saying "we'll stop PIP for people with anxiety" just bears no relation to the reality of how the benefit operates telegraph.co.uk/news/2025/10/2…

@TomEvans80 That's interesting. I think the lack of data on the range of conditions people are claiming for is doing a lot of damage in this debate - trying to dig into this at the moment

@PollardTom I've seen some evidence as well that when Capita list the primary condition, this could be the first one alphabetically.