Prof Gráinne McKeever
@mckeevergrainne.bsky.social
3.5K followers 2.4K following 68 posts
Law Professor at Ulster Uni, Belfast. Co-Editor of Journal of Social Security Law. Former Vice-Chair of Social Security Advisory Committee. Writing a book on 'Legal participation for litigants in person: protecting the right to a fair trial.'
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mckeevergrainne.bsky.social
Delighted we'll be publishing our book on 'Legal participation for litigants in person: protecting the right to a fair trial' w @hartpublishing.bsky.social in 2026, following the footsteps of @leader-kate.bsky.social, @jessmant.bsky.social & others, building on our @nuffieldfoundation.org research.
Reposted by Prof Gráinne McKeever
anthonypainter.bsky.social
Removing benefits from those with indefinite leave to remain will leave 100,000s of families facing destitution. And if you think that mass impaired child development, a mental and physical health crisis is in the national interest, I'm afraid you simply aren't thinking things through.
Reposted by Prof Gráinne McKeever
jrf-uk.bsky.social
Around 1 in 4 children in Scotland are living in poverty.

Poverty remains far too high, and people are feeling overlooked and ignored by politicians.

The next Scottish Parliament is an opportunity to build a better future for all children in Scotland. 🔽 1/4
Around 1 in 4 children in Scotland are in poverty. On top of this writing are four children running, part of a saltire and the logo - JRF, Scottish Election.
Reposted by Prof Gráinne McKeever
annadent.bsky.social
🚨*Tomorrow morning* you can receive a bumper edition of my Digital Welfare State newsletter, packed with good things about Freedom of Information, including the things I found out (and didn't) about how DWP are using AI

✉️Sign up and join over 110 other lucky readers!
Digital welfare state: origins, controversies, research — ABD Consultancy
How are governments worldwise using AI and other tech to administer the welfare state? Find out about research, policy and investigations into the digital welfare state, including digital surveillance...
www.abdconsultancy.co.uk
Reposted by Prof Gráinne McKeever
bymyong.bsky.social
I‘m giving a public talk at UCL on Thurs 16 Oct. The title is “Bureaucracy and distrust: the civil service in the constitution” looking at the civil service’s constitutional foundations, and how it might respond to a populist govt. @sirJJkc.bsky.social will chair!
www.ucl.ac.uk/laws/events/...
Hybrid | CLP - Bureaucracy and Distrust: The Civil Service in the Constitution
This lecture will be delivered by Dr Ben Yong, as part of the Current Legal Problems Lecture Series 2025-26
www.ucl.ac.uk
Reposted by Prof Gráinne McKeever
ianfraser.bsky.social
Dr Christopher Rudge, law lecturer at the University of Sydney, says the report that Deloitte prepared for Australia's Department of Employment and Workplace Relations contained “hallucinations” because of an initially undisclosed use of generative AI. Now the government is getting its money back.
Deloitte to pay money back to Albanese government after using AI in $440,000 report
Partial refund to be issued after several errors were found in a report into a department’s compliance framework
www.theguardian.com
Reposted by Prof Gráinne McKeever
alexgathomas.bsky.social
Our reaction to Mel Stride’s big day at the Tory conference

There are savings to be made in the civil service. But an arbitrary headcount target & ignoring new demands on the state won’t deliver them

The hard work of doing that falls to the govt

www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/comment/mel-...
Reposted by Prof Gráinne McKeever
cfpjustice.bsky.social
Do you trust that the new Hillsborough Law can stop public officials from lying to the public?

See our new video on the Hillsborough Law in Parliament and follow for real-time updates:
youtube.com/watch?v=MCoS...

#HillsboroughLaw #CentreForPeoplesJustice #CFPJ
Hillsborough Law in Parliament - The journey begins
YouTube video by Centre for Peoples Justice
youtube.com
Reposted by Prof Gráinne McKeever
jenraso.bsky.social
It may be that the future isn't jobless, but it's worth asking which jobs persist, who performs them, where, under what conditions. And importantly which types of *labour* are maintained, intensified, devalued, etc. Often, AI/tech create more labour, but not necessarily in the form of paid jobs.
Reposted by Prof Gráinne McKeever
resfoundation.bsky.social
Is there room for compromise on the two-child limit?

Entirely scrapping it would have the biggest impact on child poverty and be most cost-effective.
The two-child limit means that an
additional 500,000 children are
currently growing up in poverty. If current policies remained in place,
we would expect one-in-three British
children to be growing up in poverty
by the end of the decade immediate abolition would cost £3.5 billion
per year and lift half a million children out
of poverty by the end of the decade. How do less ambitious options measure up? Other rumoured options would be less cost effective and other options would risk creating new cliff edges.
Reposted by Prof Gráinne McKeever
alexclegg.bsky.social
Very encouraging to read that the Government is preparing to lift the two-child limit as part of its child poverty strategy, but it is disheartening that options short of scrapping it entirely are still being considered. Thread on why this would be the wrong choice for an ambitious strategy:
Rachel Reeves to lift two-child benefit cap in November budget
Exclusive: Officials exploring options to change rule that affected 1.7 million children in Great Britain last year
www.theguardian.com
Reposted by Prof Gráinne McKeever
cpaguk.bsky.social
To reduce child poverty, government must scrap the two-chid limit. And that means fully scrapping it – no benefit cap, no tapers, no new limit. All children deserve the best start in life, and messing around the edges of this policy won’t cut it. 2/2
Reposted by Prof Gráinne McKeever
helenbarnard.bsky.social
Rumours swirling that Government may try to avoid fully scrapping 2 child limit by changing it to a 3 child limit, only lifting it for some groups or giving lower support to 3rd and subsequent children. Helpfully @resfoundation.bsky.social already crunched the numbers, finding that...1/4
Reposted by Prof Gráinne McKeever
rightsnet.org.uk
Government’s £500 million Fair Pay Agreement for social care workers is welcome, but it’s only a downpayment on a long-term solution

www.rightsnet.org.uk/now/post/68377
Reposted by Prof Gráinne McKeever
Reposted by Prof Gráinne McKeever
paulspicker.bsky.social
If the i paper is right, 'lifting' the 2-child limit might be for working families only, or a 3-child limit. Neither is good enough. Both exclude some of the poorest children. Both impose a penalty for blending families. And both call for questions about rape.
Reposted by Prof Gráinne McKeever
clodaghtait.bsky.social
1950s Ireland, when capital was the key to matrimony.
Reposted by Prof Gráinne McKeever
liamthorp.bsky.social
A very busy few days covering the Labour Party Conference here in Liverpool. We have wanted to make the creation of a Hillsborough Law front and centre of our coverage as it means so much to this city.

Thanks to colleagues @danhaygarth1.bsky.social and @lottgibbons.bsky.social for the team effort
Reposted by Prof Gráinne McKeever
ruthpatrick0.bsky.social
Such vital and important research! Excited to see what the @cfpjustice.bsky.social does - very timely after yesterdays speech too!
mckeevergrainne.bsky.social
As part of the work of our new #CentreForPeoplesJustice
@cfpjustice.bsky.social we've created this video about the making of #HillsboroughLaw (aka the Public Office (Accountability) Bill), intended to get public authorities to tell the truth: youtu.be/MCoSZzEOWLk?...
Hillsborough Law in Parliament - The journey begins
YouTube video by Centre for Peoples Justice
youtu.be
Reposted by Prof Gráinne McKeever
leader-kate.bsky.social
My ILR cost something like £1200 in 2013, what then felt like a huge amount for a PhD student. Citizenship then cost £700 a year later. This now looks positively cheap compared to the current costs of £3k plus for ILR and £1700 for citizenship.
danielsohege.bsky.social
Migrants already "earn the right to settlement" through extortionate visa costs, which can run into tens of thousands of pounds. They prop up key services, including through the Immigration Health Surcharge.

Pushing the hostile environment on steroids helps no-one.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Mahmood demands migrants earn right to settlement in UK
New tests will include learning English to a high standard, paying National Insurance and not claiming benefits.
www.bbc.co.uk
Reposted by Prof Gráinne McKeever
cobrien.bsky.social
Did you know that the Scottish Government has immediate plans to introduce a top-up benefit for families in Scotland affected by the UK's two child limit? Short 🧵

The Scottish Commission on Social Security scrutinised the draft regulations at pace this summer & I was invited to submit observations
Front page of Scottish Commission on Social Security Scrutiny report on draft Regulations:
The Two Child Limit Payment (Scotland) Regulations 2026
Reposted by Prof Gráinne McKeever
cjayanetti.bsky.social
Campaigners have warned that nearly 600,000 disabled people could be at risk from the next round of the government’s welfare reforms.

The figures relate to the DWP's plans to abolish the Work Capability Assessment (WCA).

By me, for the Big Issue: www.bigissue.com/news/social-...
600,000 disabled people at risk of Labour's next round of benefit cuts
Campaigners have warned that nearly 600,000 disabled people could be at risk from the next round of the government’s benefit cuts.
www.bigissue.com