Projects
Advice Extra – York
The Welfare Benefits Unit is pleased to be able to offer extra support to advisers in York who are working with Universal Credit claimants or dealing with complex benefit issues.
Through Advice Extra we are able to provide detailed, casework-level guidance to frontline advisors supporting York residents, examining complex cases in depth from start to finish.
Offering pro-active follow-up and in-depth support to advisers and other workers at a time of high complexity and change in the benefits system, the project aims to:
- empower existing local community advice services to deliver accurate, up-to-date advice;
- ensure specialist benefits advice is available to a wide range of York claimants who receive support in the community, within health or social care settings or who access advice services independently;
- identify recurrent issues and provide solutions, sharing this information through our advice and mailings to help avoid problems with benefit claims;
We are grateful to City of York Crisis and Resilience Fund for the funding of this project into 2026-27.
In 25/26 we supported 112 cases through AdviceExtra, supporting 30% of advice line calls with follow up in-depth support. The majority of residents in these cases did not work due to ill health, and 80% of cases involved a household with a disabled member.
The success of Advice Extra is rooted in our ability to accurately identify clients who, with more intensive casework, can overcome the hurdles of the benefits system. This strategic selection means we anticipate an increase in benefit in just under half of those cases supported through AdviceExtra – a significant uplift from the 33% achieved through our standard advice service.
Improving the Local Welfare Safety Net – York
Since 2024, the Local Welfare Safety Net partnership has been examining local welfare support in York through data collection and participatory work with residents. This Lloyds Bank Foundation funded project is led by WBU and consists of six other partners: the University of York, City of York Council, Age UK York, Citizens Advice York, York Foodbank and Peasholme Charity. The project aims to influence policymaking and programme design for tangible change.
Two research reports have been published from this project, available to download below:
Residents’ Experiences of Local Welfare Support in York 2026 Report
Improving the Local Welfare Safety Net Report – Lived Experience Research 2026
Making DWP ‘Targeted Case Review’ process fairer for benefit claimants across the UK
The Targeted Case Review project aims to make the Department for Work and Pensions’ review process fairer for Universal Credit claimants. Working with advisors, researchers and people with lived experience, we identify systemic issues, provide guidance and resources, and advocate for changes that protect claimants’ rights and improve outcomes. The project is part of a collaboration between the Welfare Benefits Unit and the Administrative Fairness Lab, and is funded by the Legal Education Foundation. You can find resources and information produced from this project here.
