Cuts to disability benefits in your area plus new analysis on UC sanctions and auto help with water bills

Top stories

1. In the news: Disability benefit reforms could cost households £6.8 billion

Our latest analysis shows that 2.9 million people across the UK are at risk of losing support under proposed disability benefit reforms, putting £6.8 billion in income at stake.

Local and regional impacts are stark. In Somerset alone, the loss could total £50 million; in Southwark, 15,000 households may lose out. Single parents, carers and families with disabled children are among the worst affected. Our findings were featured in the Guardian, BBC Radio Somerset, the MJ and London Loves Business and LBC radio.

Local authorities can act now by using their data and our tools to identify who is most affected and put support in place. Employment and skills, public health, adult social care and revenue and benefits teams should all be interested in this analysis.

Read the full analysis
Contact us to understand the impact in your area and how we can help

2. Pilot results: How auto enrolment can cut water bill hardship

Water bills rose again in April, pushing more low income households into financial difficulty. A new pilot by Policy in Practice, Thames Water and Richmond and Wandsworth Councils shows how auto enroling households into social tariffs can help.

By securely matching council benefits data with water company records, over 1,200 eligible but unclaimed households were identified and automatically enrolled for support. Each household has saved £316 per year, delivering £390,000 in annual savings. With bills rising, this could grow to over £930,000 in total support by including those at risk of falling into arrears.

For water companies, auto enrolment reduces hardship, boosts customer engagement and lowers admin costs. We want to bring more water companies and councils together to roll this out across the UK.

Read our pilot findings
If you're a water company or local authority contact us to explore how auto enrolment can support your residents and reduce admin

3. New analysis: Deductions and sanctions are undermining Universal Credit’s role as a safety net

As the government’s 'Fair Repayment Rate' comes into effect this week, new analysis from Policy in Practice reveals how automatic debt deductions and sanctions in Universal Credit are leaving many families without enough to live on. While Universal Credit is designed to offer stability, millions of claimants are not receiving their full entitlement. We find that:

Most sanctioned claimants lose 100% of their standard allowance, leaving nothing for the month
1 in 4 couples with children can’t meet basic costs after deductions
8 in 10 low income private renters on Universal Credit live in unaffordable housing
Single parents and carers are the hardest hit by deductions

The government is reducing deduction rates this April with the introduction of the Fair Repayment Rate, but it’s not enough. We’re calling for urgent reforms to ensure the system supports people, rather than pushing them into hardship. We recommend that:

Affordability checks are done before applying deductions
A support-first approach to government debt recovery is taken
A broader cap on deductions to include policies like the benefit cap
Sanctions are reformed to prevent full loss of income except in the most serious cases

Read the blog and full report: Hidden holes: Deductions and sanctions for people on Universal Credit

4. Use data for fairness, not just recovery, said Deven Ghelani on LBC radio

Appearing on LBC on 26 April, Policy in Practice director Deven Ghelani responded to the government’s proposed Fraud, Error and Debt Recovery Bill in conversation with Matthew Wright. While the bill targets £9.7 billion in overpayments, Deven emphasised that over £22 billion in benefits go unclaimed annually.
He called for a shift in mindset, from using data solely to recover debt to using it to unlock support.

Highlighting a culture of risk aversion in government, he stressed the need for better data governance and noted promising progress already underway. He said, “It’s hard to oppose data driven recovery if we also commit to data driven fairness.”

Listen back here

Equifax Financial Health Report 2025 highlights income maximisation vision

This month saw the launch of the Equifax UK Financial Health Report 2025 at the House of Commons, where Policy in Practice’s vision for income maximisation was featured prominently.

We contributed to the report’s findings, which explore how greater access to support can transform lives, not just for those on the lowest incomes, but for working households too.

Deven Ghelani spoke about the urgent need to close the “awareness gap” on available support like social tariffs for broadband and water, which are heavily underclaimed despite being widely needed.

“We simply must come together as an industry to make it easier for people to access support... We’re at a tipping point - people shouldn’t have to apply separately to five different agencies for help,” Deven said.

The report highlights how the current fragmented approach to financial support is wasting resources and missing opportunities to deliver real change. Deven called for a shift from transactional to transformational support, placing a stronger safety net around people as they engage with the benefits system.

Read the Equifax Financial Health Report 2025

Supporting people in debt through income maximisation

Last week, Policy in Practice’s Director, Deven Ghelani, joined panelists Tracey Stone, Welfare Together, and Tom Clark, LACEF, to speak with over 100 frontline debt advisors at an event hosted by Debt Free Advice and Toynbee Hall at the Greater London Authority. The event brought together local government, advisors and support organisations to share strategies for helping residents in negative budgets.

Deven highlighted how income maximisation can play a key role in improving financial resilience, building trust, and supporting long term engagement. He spoke about how advisors can help clients access unclaimed support and outlined Policy in Practice’s work to streamline access to benefits and social tariffs, including new initiatives with local authorities and utility providers like Thames Water.

Policy in Practice continues to work with councils and service providers to ensure people get the help they’re entitled to, quickly and efficiently.

Policy in Practice on BBC Breakfast: Helping households tackle rising costs

Following the average £30 increase in household bills in 'Awful April', Genevieve Orford from Policy in Practice appeared on BBC Breakfast to offer practical advice for people struggling with the rising cost of living.

She highlighted that 8 million people across the UK are missing out on £23 billion in unclaimed benefits and encouraged viewers to use a benefits calculator to check their eligibility. This, she said, can be a crucial step in boosting income during tough economic times.

Genevieve also shared tips on reducing outgoings by checking energy usage and accessing discounted social tariffs on essential services like broadband and water.

Learn how the Better Off Platform can help organisations support people with the cost of living

Policy in Practice at Solace in the South

Policy in Practice attended Solace in the South on 24–25 April at Norton Park near Winchester. Thank you to everyone who stopped by to connect with us.

Sam Fathers and Amy Bassi represented our team, sharing how councils across the South are using our tools, including LIFT, Better Off Calculator, MAST and Council Tax Reduction (CTR) analysis, to better support residents and make smarter, data driven decisions. Listen to Sam, below.

Learn how the Better Off Platform can help councils reduce demand and increase financial resilience

Councils in East Sussex have successfully collaborated to identify and support residents missing out on financial assistance. By implementing our Low Income Family Tracker (LIFT) platform they have streamlined data across county and district levels to reach those eligible for unclaimed benefits proactively.

This collaborative, data driven approach has increased benefit uptake and strengthened partnerships between councils, enabling targeted campaigns and better resource allocation to support vulnerable residents.

Read the full case study here

Better Off Calculator featured in Money Marketing

Our Better Off Calculator was featured in Money Marketing for its role in a successful pilot with lender Match the Cash.

As part of a new customer vulnerability process, declined applicants were referred to the calculator, helping many access around £800 per month in unclaimed benefits, easing financial pressure without relying solely on credit.

The insight shaped a new credit product and highlighted how income maximisation can improve outcomes and product design. The pilot used the MorganAsh Resilience System (MARS) to assess vulnerability and trigger support.

Read more about the Better Off Calculator for the finance and debt sector

Following on from our findings on the expected impact of disability benefit reforms, we dig deeper into the details to reveal how the changes are expected to affect individual regions and local authorities across the UK.

Local authority and council leaders need to understand how people in their areas will be affected, both to prepare for rising service demand and to protect the people most at risk. This analysis answers those questions. We’ve broken down the expected human and economic impact in every local authority, showing just how unevenly the effects will be felt.

The OBR estimated the fiscal impact of the government’s reforms to disability benefits as saving £4.1 billion and impacting 800,000 people in receipt of the Personal Independence Payment (PIP). However, their analysis missed out some key reforms, like the scrapping of the work capability assessment, and the knock on fiscal impacts of cuts in support on the demand for local health and social care support, or the economic impacts on local authorities.

We have modelled the economic impacts of each of the changes on each local authority.