Webinar: Navigating Pandemic Social Security: Benefits, Employment and Crisis Support During COVID-19

24 February, 3-4.30pm

In recent years, the process of claiming benefits has become increasingly complex with a range of external actors mediating the relationship between benefit claimants and the Department for Work and Pensions. These intermediaries provide important information, advice and support that is often key to helping households either initiate or sustain a claim for low-income social security. This includes work surrounding benefits and income maximisation; Help to Claim; crisis and emergency food provision, housing, welfare rights, employment support, debt advice and money management, community support and local government assistance. Such activities provide a crucial bridge for many benefit claimants and those financially struggling. Partnering with ERSA, this event marks the launch of a new report from Welfare at a (Social) Distance to consider what impact COVID-19 has had on the benefits, employment and crisis support currently available, and what lessons in the immediate and longer term.

Drawing on a nationally representative survey of 7,601 benefit claimants, our report outlines the nature and significance of support accessed by households and what this means for those with more complex needs. During COVID-19, organisations and actors providing support have had to adapt and respond to the challenges that social distancing presents. To explore what bearing this has had on the coverage and quality of support that many benefit claimants rely on, we have interviewed managerial and front-line staff, held meetings with national informants and attended multiple practitioner and policy steering groups across four local areas (Leeds, Salford, Newham, Thanet) since May 2020. At this event, we will outline our findings and consider some of the fundamental challenges facing local eco-systems of support, including their capacity to safeguard access and universality to social security going forward.

Responses from Nick Butler at the Department for Work and Pensions and Minesh Patel, Principal Policy Manager at Citizens Advice.

Welfare at a (Social) Distance (@DistantWelfare) is a major national research project funded by the Economic and Social Research Council as part of UK Research and Innovation’s Rapid Response to Covid-19.

If you have any questions, please email us at events@ersa.org.uk.