This episode focuses on welfare benefits and support in England and Wales.

The welfare benefits system is designed to provide financial support to individuals and families in need. However, according to a report published in 2025 by Policy in Practice, over 7 million households in the UK are missing out on benefits and support due to limited awareness, complexity in the benefits system and stigma around claiming. These barriers are found to often overlap and disproportionately affect people already facing other disadvantages, including carers, disabled adults, older people on low incomes, single parents and people without strong social networks.

Discussing this topic is Gary Vaux, the author of Community Care Inform's Benefits A-Z knowledge and practice hub. Gary has been involved in welfare rights for many years and until recently managed a team of local authority benefit and debt advice workers. His background includes training and writing on welfare benefit rules and policies, and he was also chair of the Social Security Advisers Group at the Local Government Association.

Questions are asked by Gemma Balmford, content editor at Community Care Inform Adults.

Subscribe to the Learn on the go series to stay up-to-date with new episodes. Look out for the final episode in Season 2, which will be released at the end of February 2026. 

Links to resources mentioned in this podcast

Advicenow
Age UK
Benefits and Work
CC Inform's benefits A-Z (free for CC Inform subscribers)
Child Poverty Action Group
Citizens Advice
Contact
Disability Rights UK
entitledto
Mencap
MIND
Motor Neurone Disease Association
Policy in Practice
Rightsnet
RNIB
RNID
Scope
Turn2Us

This episode focuses on welfare benefits and support in England and Wales. The welfare benefits system is designed to provide financial support to individuals and families in need. However, according to a report published in 2025 by Policy in Practice, over 7 million households in the UK are missing out on benefits and support due to limited awareness, complexity in the benefits system and stigma around claiming. These barriers are found to often overlap and disproportionately affect people already facing other disadvantages, including carers, disabled adults, older people on low incomes, single parents and people without strong social networks. Discussing this topic is Gary Vaux, the author of Community Care Inform's Benefits A-Z knowledge and practice hub. Gary has been involved in welfare rights for many years and until recently managed a team of local authority benefit and debt advice workers. His background includes training and writing on welfare benefit rules and policies, and he was also chair of the Social Security Advisers Group at the Local Government Association. Questions are asked by Gemma Balmford, content editor at Community Care Inform Adults. Subscribe to the Learn on the go series to stay up-to-date with new episodes. Look out for the final episode in Season 2, which will be released at the end of February 2026.  Links to resources mentioned in this podcast <ul><li><a href="https://www.advicenow.org.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Advicenow</a></li><li><a href="https://www.ageuk.org.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Age UK</a></li><li><a href="https://www.benefitsandwork.co.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Benefits and Work</a></li><li><a href="https://adults.ccinform.co.uk/knowledge-hubs/benefits-a-z/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">CC Inform's benefits A-Z</a> (free for CC Inform subscribers)</li><li><a href="https://cpag.org.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Child Poverty Action Group</a></li><li><a href="https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Citizens Advice</a></li><li><a href="https://contact.org.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Contact</a></li><li><a href="https://www.disabilityrightsuk.org/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Disability Rights UK</a></li><li><a href="https://www.entitledto.co.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">entitledto</a></li><li><a href="https://www.mencap.org.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Mencap</a></li><li><a href="https://www.mind.org.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">MIND</a></li><li><a href="https://www.mndassociation.org/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Motor Neurone Disease Association</a></li><li><a href="https://policyinpractice.co.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Policy in Practice</a></li><li><a href="https://www.rightsnet.org.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Rightsnet</a></li><li><a href="https://www.rnib.org.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">RNIB</a></li><li><a href="https://rnid.org.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">RNID</a></li><li><a href="https://www.scope.org.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Scope</a></li><li><a href="https://www.turn2us.org.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Turn2Us</a></li></ul>

Learn on the go is the Community Care Inform podcast where practitioners, trainers, consultants, academics and researchers discuss practice, research, and theories and what they mean for social workers. Listening to episodes is a convenient way to learn and refresh your knowledge when you don’t have much time to read or prefer other ways of getting information and reflecting on your practice.

We’ve been recording Learn on the go on an ad hoc basis since 2017. Over these eight years our podcast audience has grown, and in 2025 we made the decision to start recording Learn on the go in seasons. We launched Season 1 Episode 1 in January 2025.

During each season, episodes are released monthly on the last Friday of the month and all episodes appear on Inform Adults and Inform Children or you can subscribe to Learn on the go through Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to your podcasts.

Learn on the go is the Community Care Inform podcast where practitioners, trainers, consultants, academics and researchers discuss practice, research, and theories and what they mean for social workers. Listening to episodes is a convenient way to learn and refresh your knowledge when you don’t have much time to read or prefer other ways of getting information and reflecting on your practice.   We’ve been recording Learn on the go on an ad hoc basis since 2017. Over these eight years our podcast audience has grown, and in 2025 we made the decision to start recording Learn on the go in seasons. We launched Season 1 Episode 1 in January 2025.   During each season, episodes are released monthly on the last Friday of the month and all episodes appear on Inform Adults and Inform Children or you can <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/learn-on-the-go/id1268644821" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">subscribe to Learn on the go through Apple Podcasts</a>, <a href="https://open.spotify.com/show/17Hqmsd9mouCwMfXUpf4GD" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Spotify</a>, or wherever you listen to your podcasts.

We discuss the latest research, theories and practice issues, and look at what they mean for social workers.

Learn on the go: the Community Care podcast

This episode focuses on welfare benefits and support in England and Wales.

The welfare benefits system is designed to provide financial support to individuals and families in need. However, according to a report published in 2025 by Policy in...