News Articles
The following news articles are not written or endorsed by Torbay Advice Network but are provided for informative and self-help purposes.
New articles are uploaded on a regular basis
Saving private renters
Why the Government should unfreeze Local Housing Allowance
Local Housing Allowance (LHA), which caps how much support is provided through the social security system to low-income private renters, was last relinked to the 30th percentile of rents in April 2024, and has been frozen in cash terms ever since. But private rents have risen considerably since then.
A low-income family renting a typical two-bedroom home faces a shortfall of £158 a month, and the gap between average rents at the lower end of the market and the housing support a private renter can receive via the benefit system is set to reach a record high of 23 per cent this October.
Public backs disability benefits across political divide
Two new chapters from the British Social Attitudes (BSA) survey, published by the National Centre for Social Research (NatCen), reveal that public support for disability benefits remains strong across the political spectrum, while dissatisfaction with the NHS is now more wide-ranging across the service than it was shortly before New Labour gained power in 1997.
New BSA research shows that very few people support reducing spending on benefits for disabled people, regardless of their political affiliation. In 2025, only 7% of people said there should be less spending on disability benefits, and 49% said there should be more spending (even if it would probably lead to higher taxes).
Targeted case reviews
A legitimate compliance exercise or a scandal in the making?
Government has a legitimate interest in seeking to prevent and reduce error in the benefits system and in taking action to recover funds lost. And there is widespread pressure for the Department for Work and Pensions to do just that. However, creating systems capable of doing this work is fraught with challenges, including in terms of maintaining fairness and legality. Chief amongst them is the complexity of undertaking error detection work at the scale necessary for effectiveness without harming benefit recipients, who are often vulnerable and for whom benefits are an essential source of financial support. Such challenges are also magnified when, as is typical in modern government, techniques such as outsourcing to private companies and risk assessment are adopted.
Failing us all
England’s social care charging system is broken
The cost of social care in England poorly accounts for differences in income and wealth, relies heavily on arbitrary circumstances, and even those with the lowest means receiving the most state support still pay £9,000 a year on average towards care home fees. This must change.
Social care in England is under the spotlight. The new Prime Minister has rightly and publicly made reform to social care a political priority. This briefing sets out why charging reform is necessary and explains how the current system delivers a bad deal for the state and social-care users alike.
A Minimum Income Standard for the United Kingdom in 2026
The Minimum Income Standard (MIS) continues to capture societal, economic, political and cultural changes and how they shape the public’s perceptions of an acceptable standard of living. Living with dignity and participating in society requires more than meeting basic material needs alone. People need the resources to maintain social relationships, make choices, access essential services and take part in the world around them.
Despite recent policy measures aimed at improving living standards, many households remain unable to afford this minimum. In particular, a growing reliance on the private rented sector is reshaping what members of the public consider necessary for an acceptable standard of living, reflecting the changing realities of housing in the UK.
Connect to Work
Connect to Work is an employment support programme in England and Wales to help people with disabilities, health conditions or other complex issues find and stay in work.
It is voluntary and is available both to individuals who are not in work, and to individuals who are in work but at risk of falling out of work as a result of their condition or barrier. Participants do not need to be on benefits.
Connect to Work follows the Supported Employment model. Supported Employment is a five-stage model that helps people move into sustainable paid work, and provides in-work support to help their career progression. The model was initially developed for people with a learning disability but over time, it has been increasingly used to support a wider range of disabled people and people with other barriers to work.
What works: Lessons from the frontline of digital support & advice services
Government and essential services have fundamentally changed. More and more services have gone digital, meaning that the problems people face often require digital support. But between 14 and 22 million people in the UK face one or more barriers to digital services.
In response, Citizens Advice have set up digital support services, both as part of our daily work, and as dedicated outreach and support. This report summarises 5 key things we’ve learned about providing effective digital support:
Help people with the tasks they want to do, instead of offering ‘digital skills’
Empower people to do tasks themselves.
Run outreach services to meet people where they are
Build trust over time with face to face support
Offer digital support side by side with other services, such as advice.
These lessons are drawn from a combination of 4 local service visits, adviser surveys, interviews and focus groups and 800 evidence forms relating to cases where clients faced digital exclusion issues.
Citizens Advance
A state alternative to the Bank of Mum and Dad
Britain is a place where wealth matters. Most 18-40 year olds who do not own their home think that the dream of homeownership is dead for many young people (70%).
The number of over indebted Brits is over 10 million, up from 7.7 million in 2017, and the burden of student debt has risen up the news agenda.
Around 1 in 4 adults (23%) could not afford to pay an unexpected £850 bill if it landed on their doorstep.
A lack of personal funds is the most cited reason for people not starting a business. Financial and housing pressures are holding people back from starting a family.
Personal and family wealth levels can alter the course of people's lives. Children of wealthier parents are more likely to go to university, even when controlling for a range of personal characteristics.
Advice in GP surgeries should be part of healthcare, not an optional extra
Advice in GP surgeries reaches problems medicine cannot solve
Advice in GP surgeries should be treated as part of prevention, not as a charitable add-on. When someone’s health is being damaged by debt, insecure housing, low income or an unresolved benefit claim, medicine alone cannot remove the cause. A prescription may manage the symptoms, but accredited advice can help change the circumstances producing them.
Too often, the health system is expected to respond clinically to problems that begin socially. A patient may visit their GP because they cannot sleep, feel persistently anxious or are struggling to manage a long-term condition. Behind those symptoms may be rent arrears, a cold home, the loss of income after illness, an unsuitable disability benefit decision or the strain of caring for a relative without adequate support.
None of these problems is imaginary. None is simply a matter of “resilience”. And none can be solved by telling the patient to search online or contact another organisation when they get home.