Jan 8, 2018
My guest on the podcast today is Dr Sam Royston, author of a new book called Broken Benefits.
Britain is going through the most radical upheaval of the benefits system since its foundations were laid at the end of the 1940s. In Broken Benefits, Sam Royston argues that social security isn’t working, and without a change in direction, it will be even less fair in the future.
Drawing on original research and high-profile debates, this much-needed book provides an introductory guide to social security, correcting misunderstandings and exposing poorly understood problems.
It reveals how some workers pay to take on additional hours; that those who pay national insurance contributions may get nothing in return; that some families can be paid to split apart; and that many people on the lowest incomes are seeing their retirement age rise the fastest.
Dr Sam Royston is Director of Policy and Research at The Children's Society and chair of the End Child Poverty coalition, and spends much of his time trying to make the benefits system work a little bit better for children and families.
He regularly gives evidence to Parliamentary Select Committees on welfare reform issues, and his work often appears in the national press.
Here's my conversation with Sam Royston, author of Broken Benefits, in episode 298 of Informed Choice Radio.