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Top stories
New report explores how administrative data can demonstrate the impact of legal services
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This month we published a new report for the Legal Education Foundation (LEF), ' Exploring the potential of administrative benefits data to evaluate the impact of legal services'.
Produced in collaboration with the Central England Law Centre and Coventry City Council, the research explores how administrative benefits data can help build a clearer picture of the wider outcomes of legal assistance.
The report explores:
- The impact of legal assistance on incomes and homelessness
- The value of close collaboration between local authorities and legal advice providers
- The power of administrative data to evaluate the impact of local advice services
Thanks to Legal Futures, The Law Society Gazette, and RightsNet for covering this groundbreaking research.
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New research reveals £1.7 billion in unclaimed Council Tax Reduction
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We recently published ' Missing out on millions', new research produced in partnership with Independent Age exploring the take-up of Council Tax Reduction (CTR) among older people in England.
We found that almost half of eligible older people are not receiving the Council Tax Reduction they are entitled to, leaving an estimated £1.7 billion unclaimed each year. Increasing take-up could lift up to 74,000 older households out of poverty.
The research highlights the barriers preventing people from accessing support and explores opportunities to improve take-up, including better support for local authorities and the potential for automatic enrolment.
Read the full report to explore the findings in more detail, or use our interactive tool to see the level of unclaimed Council Tax Reduction in your local authority area.
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Accidents and Entitlements: Linking the wider determinants for A&E admission and health to welfare
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This upcoming report explores a question that matters for every council and health partner: how does household income shape the way people use healthcare? Funded by the Health Foundation and produced by Policy in Practice in partnership with Medway Council and the Medway and Swale Health and Care Partnership, the report links administrative benefits data with A&E admissions data at the household level.
Register your interest to receive a copy when the report is launched later this week.
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Lantern integrated the Better Off Calculator into its affordability journey, enabling customers to complete automated income checks and identify unclaimed benefits during digital affordability assessments.
To date, the integration has helped 751 households discover additional financial support, uncovering £4.6 million in annual unclaimed benefits, with an average of £513 in extra monthly income identified per household. Read more
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Canterbury Food Bank used the Better Off Calculator to identify households missing out on financial support while measuring the impact of its advice and referral service.
Between January and May 2026, the organisation identified 200 households eligible for support. Benefit checks have already secured more than £25,000 in confirmed additional income for households, with further claims progressing.
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Highland Council has launched the Better Off Calculator on its website to help residents understand the financial support available to them and improve household financial resilience.
By providing clear, personalised guidance, the tool helps residents make informed financial decisions while encouraging early access to advice and support through the council and Citizens Advice. Read more
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Three South Cambridgeshire District Council initiatives delivered using LIFT have been shortlisted for national awards.
The shortlisted projects include a Healthy Start campaign that achieved the largest increase in claims in the country, a data-sharing initiative that helped more than 80 additional children access free school meals and community events that connected older residents with financial support they were eligible for. Read more
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West Berkshire Council has helped older residents secure an estimated £922,000 in lifetime Pension Credit through targeted outreach using our Low Income Family Tracker (LIFT).
The campaign generated 24 new Pension Credit claims, worth an estimated £72,000 each year for residents, with further outreach now underway. Read more
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Welcome to our new clients
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Stay in the know with our next online webinar
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The LGR playbook: Stabilising services, modelling council tax and allocating Crisis and Resilience Funding
Tuesday 21 July 10:30 - 11:30
Register here
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You may have seen us at a few events in June: we were at the London Revenues Group Court & Enforcement meeting, the Innovations Conference North, a parliamentary drop-in on data sharing and energy affordability support, NAWRA's quarterly meeting, the LGC Awards, NHS ConfedExpo and LACEF.
Book a call with us here.
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We’re attending the following events in July. We hope to see you there.
2 July: Employment & Skills Convention, Lowry Hotel in Manchester. Come and see us at our stand.
6 July: IRRV Golf Association Day and Sponsors Cup, Maxstoke Park Golf Club, Warwickshire
7-9 July: LGA Annual Conference, Bournemouth International Centre
7-9 July: NWG Innovation Festival, Newcastle Racecourse
16 July: MALG AGM & National Members Meeting, Arboretum, London
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Updates across the Better Off Platform
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LIFT: 'Saved cohorts' new feature
This month, we introduced Saved cohorts to save groups of households for regular monitoring as circumstances and eligibility change over time. This eliminates manual list-keeping for external campaigns. Currently available within Outcome Tracker, we plan to expand Saved cohorts to other screens like Street view soon.
NB: If you are a LIFT client and you haven't made the change to the new dashboard yet, schedule a call with your Client Services Manager to find out more and ensure you are getting the most out of the platform.
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Better Off Calculator: We are a finalist in the Consumer Credit Awards
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We are delighted to announce that our Better Off Calculator has reached the final stage in the Consumer Credit Awards 2026.
The winners will be decided solely from reviews so thank you to every valued user that has taken the time to leave a favourable review. If you haven't yet, there is still time to leave a review here. Smart Money People who run the awards are offering a prize of £1,000 to one lucky voter.
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MAST: Data linkage with LIFT
We are excited to share that our data linkage project with Neath Port Talbot has officially received information governance approval.
As the client uses both LIFT (Low Income Family Tracker) and MAST (Multi-Agency Safeguarding Tracker), we will be able to link their data to identify vulnerability in a whole new way.
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Our project seeks to look at open cases in Adult Social Care (ASC) and Children’s Social Care (CSC). Matching all open social care case postcodes from MAST directly into LIFT allows us to highlight households within those specific areas that are currently experiencing debt or poverty, missing out on vital benefits, impacted by welfare reforms, or at risk of homelessness.
Now that information governance approval is in place, we are looking forward to seeing how this insights-driven approach helps the team in Neath Port Talbot deliver targeted, life-changing support.
Stay tuned for more updates as the project progresses!
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The transformative impact of legal assistance: evidence for local authorities
Drawing on our recent research with Central England Law Centre and Coventry City Council, o ur latest blog explores how local authorities can use administrative data to demonstrate the value of legal and welfare advice services.
It shows how legal assistance can reduce poverty, prevent homelessness and improve long-term outcomes for residents, helping councils build the case for protecting or investing in advice services despite ongoing budget pressures.
Read blog
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One in three new parents are failing to apply for Child Benefit in their child’s first year
Following Deven Ghelani's appearance on BBC Radio 4's Money Box, this blog explores why many parents are failing to claim Child Benefit in their child's early years.
It explains how the High Income Child Benefit Charge has added complexity to what was once a near-universal benefit, with some parents missing out on up to £1,400 in their baby's first year.
Read blog
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£7,610 raised for Great Ormond Street Hospital Charity
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Thank you to everyone who supported our fundraising for Great Ormond Street Hospital Charity over the past few months.
Following the outstanding care they provided to our Managing Director, Jade Alsop's son, Archie, during his recovery from meningitis last year, colleagues, clients, partners and friends came together to raise funds through bake sales, fitness challenges and a sponsored walk from Twickenham Stadium to Great Ormond Street Hospital.
Thanks to your generosity, we raised £3,805.03, which was matched by Policy in Practice, bringing the total raised to £7,610.06.
We're incredibly grateful to everyone who donated, joined us on the walk or helped spread the word. Your support will help Great Ormond Street Hospital Charity continue its life-changing work for seriously ill children and their families.
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Open roles at Policy in Practice
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Business and Account Manager | Client Services Manager | Engineering Manager
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