Happy new year to you all, and I hope 2026 is a fantastic and exciting year. Ah yes, LGR, local elections, and a fresh dose of Donald Trump inspired international chaos. Come back 2025, all is forgiven.
This is a second update on what has been happening while we have been stuffing our faces with Christmas pudding and Quality Street. There is a lot in the slide pack. It is worth a look, particularly the slides on what is happening in the US on welfare. There are things for us to learn, not because the systems are the same, but because some of the pressures are uncomfortably familiar. The overarching issues are not dissimilar to what we are dealing with here, and that includes local taxation and the long tail of Covid support. Public attitudes in the States also mirror our own drift back towards a rather Victorian view of who is deserving, who is not, and how quickly we reach for sanctions rather than solutions.
On the UK side, supported housing remains an unfinished job. Key parts of the Supported Housing (Regulatory Oversight) Act 2023 are still not in force, with the government saying implementation will begin in January 2026. JobsPlus is also in the mix. It is a hyperlocal employment support approach operating through 10 pilot sites, with over 1,000 sign-ups since summer 2024, more than 270 people into work, and a £400 into work bonus.
Equal pay remains a major story with very real consequences for budgets and capacity. Settlements are reported as passing £1bn, and GMB cites £1.1bn across six councils and almost 30,000 claims settled, with further claims expected in 2026. On Carer’s Allowance, an independent review led by Liz Sayce describes systemic failings, including the cliff edge where being over the earnings limit by 1p triggers repayment. The pack references around 200,000 historic cases for reassessment and around £75m pledged.
SEND funding also features, with at least £3bn over three years and an ambition for around 50,000 additional specialist places in mainstream schools. In CTR, County Durham has approved changes from 1 April 2026, including moving to banded support and capping most working age support at 90%. Other changes include ending working age second adult rebate, introducing a flat £10 non dependant deduction, and reducing the capital limit to £10,000, with a working age caseload of around 31,200.
On housing enforcement, Rent Repayment Orders and UC data sharing are expanding to 41 local authorities, with around 400,000 households cited as benefiting. Guidance says the new rules apply on and after 1 May 2026, and councils can seek up to 24 months of rent. Finally, on HB performance, the Q1 FYE 2026 figures cited show average processing times of 21 days for new claims and 7 days for changes, with around 1.1 million items processed and about 91% of them being changes. If you ever needed proof that changes of circumstance are the real workload beast, there it is.
On the legal front, there are two items worth noting. First, business rates avoidance: Emeraldshaw v Sheffield. The Court of Appeal decision is reported as 11 December 2025, [2025] EWCA Civ 1601. The case involved two hereditaments and two nominal “tenancies at will”, and the liability orders remained in force. Second, planning appeal costs and governance: a Forest of Dean case study cites 318 planning, or enforcement appeals over seven years, 93 appeals successful for the appellant, 13 costs awards, and 7 cost claims reported as outstanding. A reminder, if one were needed, that even when you win the argument, the admin and governance tail can still wag the dog.
Files to download
Please note that the handout contains additional slides covering other items of interest in the news and job adverts, which are provided in partnership with Business Smart Solutions (https://www.businesssmartsolutions.co.uk/).