Editorial:

The State of Local Welfare Hayley Bennett Despite a view that the UK welfare state is highly centralised and standardised, available support in terms of cash transfers and welfare services varies across the UK. Not only are there policy differences across the four UK countries; for various reasons there are also notable differences in the support available at the local level. Drivers and experiences of poverty differ and may depend on the neighbourhoods, localities, cities, and regions in which people live. Examining the design and delivery of local welfare, including variations in practices and inequalities in access and entitlements, is essential for improving anti-poverty policymaking. In this State of Local Welfare report, we seek to build a better understanding of what could be termed ‘local welfare’ and its role in addressing poverty. We draw on substantial qualitative research with local authorities, third sector organisations, and citizens to examine how and why variations in support might exist, as well as analysing quantitative data on the design of, and spend on, specific local welfare schemes. We identify and reflect on spatial variations, access, and barriers and introduce some broader critical questions about why local welfare matters. Even though it might look like local authorities don’t have much power or autonomy over social security and anti-poverty policies, we offer evidence of differences in administrative approaches and discretionary practices in local welfare systems. This includes a plethora of additional anti-poverty activities, as many local councillors, mayors, public servants, and charities want to reduce poverty to help their local communities. At the same time, local authorities are under increasing financial pressure as they grapple with a multitude of service demands and limited budgets, meaning the support they can provide is often under strain. As UK social security is a complex multi-level system, our examination of local welfare involves a consideration of devolved welfare practices and policies, alongside the wider context of UK-level social security policies. On the one hand, with the right resourcing local welfare has the potential to offer innovative place-based approaches to addressing spatial inequality and poverty, including a renewed role for local actors. On the other hand, however, it also raises important questions about increasing place-based inequalities through uneven access to cash transfers and localised welfare services. As we demonstrate throughout this report, it is essential that the provision of local welfare is adequately resourced and structured to ensure that local authorities and place-based third sector organisations are not left responsible for filling substantial gaps in the national safety net. This is a particularly critical time to examine the role and design of local welfare and devolved social security. Since the 2024 election, the new Labour government in Westminster has announced policy interest in addressing spatial inequalities and poverty, including plans for more decentralisation and devolution of some social policies to an increasing number of mayoral regions and combined authorities. It also launched a new Child Poverty Strategy stating that ‘many of the key factors influencing child poverty are rooted in place’1. At the time of undertaking our research and report, the UK government committed to revising some of the existing local welfare schemes, and in early 2026 it launched a new Crisis and Resilience Fund to be delivered at the local level in England. Policymakers thus have a growing need for insights and evidence around spatial inequalities and the design and delivery of local welfare, multi-level social security, and place-based anti-poverty initiatives.