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The efficiency imperative: driving impact via data driven outreach With increasing demand and shrinking resources, councils face growing pressure to deliver impactful support to vulnerable residents efficiently.

In this webinar, we explore how data driven outreach campaigns can help local authorities overcome these challenges and achieve impactful results.

Join us to hear from two leading local government organisations as they share their experiences using Campaign Manager, a powerful new feature of the LIFT platform.

Discover how they’ve leveraged their data using intelligent analytics to identify financially vulnerable residents, streamline their outreach processes, and maximise both resident outcomes and cost savings.

This session will cover:

- Strategies to manage rising demand with limited resources
- How data insights can drive targeted and efficient resident support
- Real world results from councils using Campaign Manager for impactful outreach campaigns

Join us to learn how your council can also turn insights into action and make smarter, data-driven decisions to support your communities.

With guest speakers:

- Fahmida Rahman, Senior Policy Officer, Greater London Authority
- Seth Pearson, Darlington Partnership Director, Darlington Borough Council
- Sarah Small, Darlington Partnership Programme Officer, Darlington Borough Council

26/3/2025

10:30am GMT

1.3 hours

Protecting vulnerable consumers in regulated sectors Regulated industries such as water, energy and finance play a critical role in people’s lives. With increasing economic pressures, more consumers are becoming vulnerable, requiring additional support and protections.

Regulators like Ofwat, Ofgem and the FCA have tightened expectations around how businesses identify, support and engage with vulnerable customers. Failure to comply can result in reputational damage, regulatory penalties and customer hardship. But how can organisations balance compliance with commercial priorities while delivering fair outcomes for consumers?

Join industry experts as we explore best practices, regulatory expectations and practical strategies for businesses to proactively identify and protect vulnerable consumers. Gain actionable insights on:

- The evolving regulatory landscape across Ofwat, Ofgem and the FCA
- Effective strategies for identifying and supporting vulnerable customers
- Case studies showcasing successful industry approaches
- How technology and data can enhance consumer protection

Join this webinar to learn how to strengthen your compliance strategy, improve customer engagement and safeguard both consumers and your organisation’s reputation.

Register now to stay ahead of regulatory expectations and build a more consumer focused business.

30/4/2025

10:30am BST

1.3 hours

Harnessing data for regional impact: empowering local leaders to drive change Devolution is one of the core missions of the new government, promising a strong focus on giving local areas more control over services. To tackle economic inactivity, and with many people across the UK needing support, it’s vital that local authorities deliver effective, targeted interventions. The success of tailored, region-specific approaches depends on how well local areas can harness data to drive change.

Local organisations, from Mayoral Combined Authorities to county councils, need to deliver these crucial services. Accessing and using the data insights required to implement efficient and effective programmes is a challenge and, without localised data, decision making can become less accurate. This leads to inefficient resource allocation and missed opportunities to reach those who need help the most.

Data analysis offers the key to overcoming these challenges. By harnessing the power of local data, authorities can get the accurate insights they need to target support where it will be most effective. With the right insights, local areas can design and deliver services that are more tailored, timely and impactful, ensuring the right residents get the right support at the right time.

Proven results from current data led initiatives already show the transformative potential of this approach.

Join this webinar to hear from guest speakers who have successfully implemented data driven campaigns. They will showcase real world examples of how they have come together to achieve measurable outcomes.

We’ll also explore how these data insights can be applied to address key issues like economic inactivity, youth unemployment and social isolation to deliver lasting change across regions.

21/5/2025

10:30am BST

1.3 hours

Blog

Disability benefits system review: the devil is in the detail

Jack Rowlands Published on 19th April 2024

Policy in Practice was invited to the Prime Minister’s launch of further reforms to the benefits system today. The event covered changes to how people are assessed as being too sick to work.

Rishi Sunak focused his speech on the importance of work, beginning by setting out his existing policies to make employment pay through the Living Wage, Universal Credit taper rate, childcare support and National Insurance cuts.

The key policy principles in the Prime Minister’s speech are all subject to a call for evidence, beginning with the launch of a green paper on Friday. The headlines have focused on a shift to specialist work and health professionals to take over issuing fit notes currently handled by GPs, but there was more in the PM’s speech.

Policy in Practice’s recent work on sickness benefits was covered in our Back to Work report where we found the key drivers of the rise in long term sickness benefits are:

an older and less healthy workforce
an inability to access health support early enough
and a social security system make it risky to re-engage with work.

Our X thread reporting live from the speech is available here.

The Prime Minister emphasises the importance of work

This part of the speech was perhaps the strongest, it felt like a personal and moral mission for the Prime Minister. He highlighted his policy successes: the Living Wage, the rollout of Universal Credit over the pandemic and the more generous taper introduced while he was chancellor, increases in childcare support and cuts to national insurance.

Sunak announced one major change to employment rules. The Administrative Earnings Threshold (AET) will be increased for both single people and couples to an equivalent of 18 hours, putting 180,000 claimants into intensive work search and, overall, bringing the number affected by all reforms to 400,000.

The migration of people from ESA only and ESA and Housing Benefit to Universal Credit is also to be moved forward from 2028.

Reform of fit notes: only 6% find people are able to do some work

The number of fit notes issued by GPs in England in recent years has steadily but not dramatically increased and is a mixed picture. It is worth noting that many fit notes issued each year are repeat notes and growth in these is likely to be a legacy of the pandemic.

Tony Wilson, Institue for Employment Studies writes a good thread on fit notes where he highlights the trends are broadly flat and they don’t entitle anyone to sickness benefits, only signing people off work. The figures also represent existing (repeat) fit notes, not just new notes issued. Central to sickness benefits is the Work Capability and PIP Assessments which the government is responsible for and is proposing to reform.

The Prime Minister spoke about the need to focus instead on what people can do, also announcing that people who are out of work, have a work coach and don’t get a job in 12 months will lose their entitlements entirely.

The government will also consult on changing the criteria for PIP, the assessment process and the type of support. The speech implies they may tighten the criteria and consider alternatives to cash payments for one off costs and adaptations.

Matching support to need

Sunak expressed the view that some disability benefits are not designed to encourage people to seek ongoing support, citing the growing number of people who are suffering from anxiety and depression, some of whom, the Prime Minister says, need more support.

Tackling fraud

He then drew attention to further policy priorities, including fraud and the need for a moral mission to get people dignified, purposeful work. Deven Ghelani spoke about benefit fraud recently with the BBC.

He also praised work coaches and the role of technology, including AI, in enhancing the advice and support people receive from the government.

The government will propose a new Fraud Bill to enforce civil penalties and allow information gathering for DWP led investigations, which will be allowed to rely on third parties information.

Our view: The devil is in the detail

The Prime Minister emphasised the bill for disability and sickness benefits is £69 billion and is forecast to rise by around 50% over the next parliament without action. The tone of the speech, focusing on supporting people to reach their potential, rather than finding cuts for the sake of it, is a welcome change from past announcements.

We will need to see the reforms proposed in the white paper though the support announced to help people back into work is very welcome.

But reforms to disability benefits are complex and affect a huge number of people with diverse and varying conditions. The detail of the proposals needs to be worked through carefully.

Policy in Practice is doing some research on how the 2017 reforms removing support for the intermediate Limited Capability for Work (LCW) group of disability benefits has been counterproductive, creating a binary system that makes returning to work a bigger risk for people who want to work.