Deborah Padfield has been a Citizens Advice benefits adviser, trainer and supervisor in Cambridge, Peterborough and north Essex, where she still works. In the past she lived and worked in London's East End. She has considerable experience of mental illness and is on the steering committee of The Cambridge Commons.
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Published in: Shine A LightA job seeker has set himself alight: how many in the UK are steps from such desperation?The job seeker who set fire to himself in Birmingham appears to have been driven to this horrific act by an...
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Published in: openDemocracyUKCameron's collective responsibility
David Cameron's welfare speech implored the UK's unemployed to 'do the right thing' and work their way out of hard...
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Published in: Shine A LightLegal aid and arbitrary power
Today marks the final reading of the legal aid bill in the Lords. If - as seems likely - the bill goes through,...
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Published in: openDemocracyUKBenefit cap: a divide-and-rule tactic
26K per family in hand-outs is the limit. Reasonable, isn't it? How else do we get Britain off benefits? A Citizens...
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Published in: Shine A LightChild neglect: welfare benefits and child carers
The plight of young carers in Britain is described by a benefits adviser at Cambridge Citizens Advice Bureau.
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Published in: openDemocracyUKThe human cost of flexible labour
There is a new dangerous class in the UK: the precariat. Flexible hiring and firing is scarring a generation who...