Insights archive
Housing pressure, local government reorganisation and public trust A narrative account of the discussion held on 20 July 2026, chaired by Malcolm Gardner A discussion that began with homeless households being placed hundreds of…
Read articleRecurring digital payments have quietly become a fixed feature of household finances across the UK, Europe and the United States. For revenues and benefits services, understanding their scale, their cross-national consistency — and their…
Read articleThe Independent Revenues and Benefits Monday Discussion Group on 30 March ranged across three familiar but connected themes: supported housing, local government reorganisation and the latest poverty figures. What tied the conversation together was…
Read article19 January 2026 (12:02pm) The group marked “Blue Monday” with a mixture of humour and hard reality: policy change arriving at speed, year-end pressures stacking up, and councils trying to keep services stable while…
Read articleWe reconvened for the first session of 2026 with Malcolm Gardner in the chair, supported by Nicki Duckworth, and a familiar cast of local government finance, revenues and welfare experts, including Naomi Armstrong, Paul…
Read articleSummary of participant views – 24 November 2025 This week’s Monday Discussion Group opened with a sense of déjà vu. With the Budget only days away, Malcolm Gardner remarked that most of its contents…
Read articleIndependent Revenues & Benefits Monday Discussion Group10 November 2025 The latest Monday Discussion Group, chaired by Malcolm Gardner, explored pension credit take-up, changes to notional pension income rules, and the real impact of the…
Read articleAt the latest Independent R&B Monday Discussion Group, chaired by Malcolm Gardner, members took a deep dive into the stubborn issue of unclaimed benefits, the challenges of Universal Credit, and the shifting dynamics of…
Read articleThe Independent Revenues & Benefits Monday Discussion Group was back on 8 September, with Malcolm Gardner welcoming everyone after the summer break. Smiles all round, though the mood paused for a moment as Malcolm…
Read article1 September 2025 We’re on our summer pause, so instead of a live session this week we’ve shared the second mid-break slide pack. It’s a chance to catch up on what’s happening across revenues…
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