Hello, it’s been way too long since we last posted 😦 . We promise to do better as we give this website a thorough clean ahead of the Celtic New Year 🙂 . But first some NEWS about new webpages on this site and the next edition of the Big Book of Benefits and Mental Health 2026-28
The Big Book of Benefits and Mental Health 2026-28
We haven’t done a new edition since 2021-23 😦 . It arrived late but it was also able to be a bit ahead of its time as we captured a lot of changes announced that summer. In the intervening years not a lot changed within the benefits system apart from the ‘migration’ from ‘legacy benefits’ to UC taking off and the annual uprating of benefits rates. So, rather than a new edition, we have been posting free annual updates on our Downloads pages: both for all those book pages with rates and sums on them and a rewritten Benefit Changes chapter to cover other benefit changes. We also started new pages on this website for Universal Credit.
It’s now high time for a NEW edition of the Big Book :-). Old copies will be wearing out and all chapters could do with updating and the book re-arranged as ‘legacy benefits fade away and talk of changes for sickness and disability changes fills the air,. And talk starts becoming action in April 2026.
A brand new, fully updated and rewritten Big Book of Benefits and Mental Health 2026-28 will be available from April 2026. We will raise the money for a print run, as people tell us they like the familiarity of a printed book – but we will still aim to make it a little bit lighter and easier to carry :-).
We will also be looking at online/e-book versions too – cheaper to produce, even lighter to carry and that could be continually updated.
The printed / kindle version will be a two-year edition – again with free updates when rates change and for other changes. The plan for the edition after this new one will be for April 2028 when the next round of big changes is due to happen.
New webpages on this site
Universal Credit:
We have totally rewritten and updated these pages as at September 2025. These started off to help people worried about the the big switch from legacy benefits over to UC, which is now due to have been completed by April 2026. But these pages also help those coming fresh to UC or who are already claiming UC, with all those common questions raised by UC’s very different way of doing things. These pages draw heavily on questions about UC raised by people living with mental health issues; so many thanks to all at Recovery in the Bin.
Sickness and Disability benefit changes :
Both the last Conservative Government and the current Labour Government had / have big plans for changes to these key benefits for people living with mental health issues. It’s been a worrying time ever since talk of “welfare reform” for these benefits started getting serious since Autumn 2023. Some proposals came close to happening, but then got dropped. Others will be happening, but full details are yet to emerge. These pages will keep you up to date with What’s happening? (and What’s not ? :-), When? and How?
Big Book of Benefits 