Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Caroline Marrows @cmarrows.bsky.social · 6h

www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Water bills to rise further for millions after appeal

Five water companies win permission for higher bills as they seek more funds to fix outdated infrastructure.

www.bbc.co.uk

Caroline Marrows @cmarrows.bsky.social · 6h

www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home...

UK poverty crisis as 500,000 children in homes trapped in benefit debt cycle

Exclusive: Tens of thousands of families are forced to take out loans to cover the five-week wait until their first universal credit payment – but many struggle to pay it back

www.independent.co.uk

Caroline Marrows @cmarrows.bsky.social · 8d

www.theguardian.com/money/2025/o...

‘It’s unsustainable’: homes in Great Britain brace for winter with soaring energy debts

As typical annual dual-fuel charge rises to £1,755, charities warn over record £4.4bn owed to suppliers

www.theguardian.com

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Caroline Marrows @cmarrows.bsky.social · 14d

www.the-independent.com/news/uk/home...

Mobile and broadband companies ‘not being upfront’ about better renewal deals

Citizens Advice said the ‘murky practice’ of hidden deals was forcing loyal customers to ‘jump through hoops’.

www.the-independent.com

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Caroline Marrows @cmarrows.bsky.social · 15d

www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Energy standing charge options coming, but they might not cut bills

The regulator's plans could be in place by the end of January, but it warns total bills won't fall.

www.bbc.co.uk

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Reposted by Caroline Marrows

Citizens Advice @citizensadvice.bsky.social · 22d

Our latest data shows that people’s problems are becoming more urgent and more complex.

And the systems designed to support them are harder to navigate than ever.

Join us on 25 September to hear from a panel of experts and explore our data ⤵️ https://bit.ly/41XFPsn #CADataInsights

Promotional graphic by Citizens Advice announcing an online event titled "Data Insights Unravelling Complexity to raise living standards," addressing the overlapping issues people are going to them about. Scheduled for Thursday 25 September from 2-3pm with a hashtag #CADataInsights.

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Caroline Marrows @cmarrows.bsky.social · 24d

www.the-independent.com/news/uk/home...

Renters skip hot meals and lower heating to afford energy bills

Citizens Advice is calling for enforcement of the Renters’ Rights Bill to protect renters from retaliation when asking for upgrades and repairs

www.the-independent.com

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Caroline Marrows @cmarrows.bsky.social · Sep 8

www.thirdsector.co.uk/human-guardr...

‘Human guardrails’ are critical to AI-supported service delivery, charity innovation lead stresses

Stuart Pearson says the successful launch of a chatbot tool at Citizens Advice showed that human advisers remain of primary importance

www.thirdsector.co.uk

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Caroline Marrows @cmarrows.bsky.social · Aug 29

www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home...

True impact of this summer’s heatwaves on health revealed

Millions suffered sleepless nights and stress

www.independent.co.uk

Reposted by Caroline Marrows

Anne Pardoe @annepardoe.bsky.social · Jul 14

New paper from Citizens Advice on how to deliver tangible growth - which puts money in people’s pockets - in consumer markets.

TLDR: Consumer confidence is key & slashing hard won consumer protections without adequate safeguards isn’t the answer.

How to deliver tangible growth in consumer markets

UK households need tangible economic growth which puts money in their pocket. Consumer confidence is critical - cutting consumer protection is not the answer

www.citizensadvice.org.uk

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Reposted by Caroline Marrows

Ed Pemberton @epemberton.bsky.social · Jul 10

2) In the UK, depending on whether you live, there is an 18 year difference in how long you can expect to live a healthy life. We explore these health inequalities through our data and the experiences of the people we help.

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Caroline Marrows @cmarrows.bsky.social · Jul 10

www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Royal Mail given go-ahead to scrap second-class post on Saturdays

Regulator Ofcom says fewer second class deliveries will help Royal Mail cut costs.

www.bbc.co.uk

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Reposted by Caroline Marrows

Clare Moriarty @claremoriarty.bsky.social · Jul 1

If the UCPIP Bill becomes law it will cut PIP for over 400k disabled people & UC for over 700k people who are disabled or have a long-term health condition by 2030. Government’s own impact assessment says the cuts will plunge 150k people into poverty by the end of this Parliament

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Caroline Marrows @cmarrows.bsky.social · Jun 30

www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater...

'I've got no money. I'm constantly cold. I don't want to be here anymore'

The Manchester Evening News spent a day at Citizen's Advice to find out what impact Labour's controversial welfare cuts could have

www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk

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Reposted by Caroline Marrows

Victoria Anns @victoria-anns.bsky.social · Jun 26

How will the proposed disability benefit cuts impact disabled people? Today we’re sharing the story of one of the people we’ve helped: Anita*.

The cuts could mean she loses over £8k per year (43% of her income)❗

New blog out now: medium.com/p/1ab8959922a1

Anita’s story

How cuts to disability benefits could impact millions

medium.com

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Reposted by Caroline Marrows

julia-rt.bsky.social @julia-rt.bsky.social · Jun 11

V. positive Spending Review has confirmed multi-year funding for crisis support. Good to see move towards crisis support being a permanent part of welfare support, and away from the short-term Household Support Fund approach -
But still some questions about how the new fund will work in practice

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Caroline Marrows @cmarrows.bsky.social · Jun 11

Join @CitizensAdvice on 26 June to explore the challenges disabled people face.

Do the government’s proposals offer any real hope to improve outcomes for disabled people? ⤵️
www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/citizens-a... #CADataInsights

Citizens Advice Data Insights: Spotlight on Disability

Join us as we examine how cuts to disability benefits are expected to pull hundreds of thousands of disabled people into poverty.

www.eventbrite.co.uk

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Reposted by Caroline Marrows

Tom MacInnes @tommacinnes.bsky.social · Jun 10

What that adds up to is a cut that won’t save the money it’s supposed to, but will change the benefit in ways that weren’t intended. This happens every time governments try to save money and call it reform. The same mistakes get made over and over. (5/6)

Work won’t cut it: income from employment and benefits for disabled people

Briefing by Craig Berry and Becca Stacey comparing income from benefits and employment for people affected by cuts to Personal Independence Payment and Universal Credit health element

www.citizensadvice.org.uk

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Reposted by Caroline Marrows

Luke Young @lukeyoung.bsky.social · Jun 6

“Of the many severe critiques of the government’s Pathways to Work plan for these disability cuts, one of the most authoritative is the Citizens Advice response, Pathways to Poverty.”

Pleased to see our policy work on disability cuts is cutting through

www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Free school meals for more children in England is a positive thing, but there’s a catch | Polly Toynbee

The government’s announcement won’t mean much if disability and Pip cuts push more families into poverty, says Guardian columnist Polly Toynbee

www.theguardian.com

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Caroline Marrows @cmarrows.bsky.social · May 21

www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

I will not resile from difficult welfare decisions, says Kendall

The work and pensions secretary says welfare changes are

www.bbc.co.uk

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Caroline Marrows @cmarrows.bsky.social · May 19

www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

New buy now, pay later rules aim to protect shoppers

Lenders will have to carry out affordability checks and shoppers will have faster access to refunds under the plans.

www.bbc.co.uk

Reposted by Caroline Marrows

Tom MacInnes @tommacinnes.bsky.social · Apr 17

The process behind these huge policy changes has not been good. This is pretty straightforward data, could and should have come out with the Green Paper.

Louise Murphy @louisemurphy.bsky.social · Apr 17

As an aside - it's frustrating that this data was only released via the FOI process and wasn't included in the Green Paper evidence pack.

(Despite the Green Paper being released a month ago now, we still only have an "interim evidence pack", which just includes 6 charts rehearsing old material.)

Martin Bonner @argentas.bsky.social · Apr 16

The DWP have responded to my FOI request. Their figures indicate that 87% of clamants currently receiving PIP daily living at the standard rate, and 13% of claimants receiving enhanced rate, are likely to lose their entitlement if the score 4 changes go ahead.

www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/pers...