Welfare Together’s Tracey Stone Offered Two‑Year Extension to Cabinet Office Debt and Fraud Information Sharing Review Board Role

07/24/2026 |

Welfare Together is proud to announce that Director Tracey Stone has been formally offered a two‑year extension to her appointment on the Cabinet Office Debt and Fraud Information Sharing Review Board, recognising her successful and influential tenure since joining the Board in 2024. The renewed term will run until 26 August 2028 and Tracey will continue to act in an independent capacity drawing on her personal expertise.

Tracey’s continued appointment reflects the impact of her work at the intersection of ethical data use, vulnerability‑aware practice, and fair debt recovery. Over the past two years, she has contributed to national oversight of information‑sharing frameworks designed to improve outcomes for both public bodies and the people they serve.

Her extension aligns with Welfare Together’s values of fairness, transparency, safeguarding, and early‑stage support for vulnerable residents and Tracey will be representing these in her contribution to government policy and governance.

This recognition highlights Tracey’s leadership in shaping ethical, effective approaches to debt and fraud prevention across the public sector.

Welfare Together Update: Summer 2026

07/23/2026 |

Hello and welcome to the quarterly update from Welfare Together, your partner for ‘last mile’ vulnerable customer support.

Firstly, we’d like to say a huge thanks to everyone who’s been following and engaging with us over the last few months. We’re now up to 800 followers on LinkedIn where we share useful content about issues facing financially vulnerable households. If you’re not already following us, please do so here!

Please also take a look at our new website where you’ll find information for creditor clients about working with us, case studies of our work, our customer portal and testimonials, and more!

Read on for insights and updates on our important work with vulnerable customers…

 

Vulnerability Insights

In case you missed it, our Director Tracey Stone recently shared ‘Why Local Authorities Need Specialist Partners to Deliver on the Government’s New Council Tax Reforms’ and appeared on the Credit & Collections Risk Podcast to talk about why households are falling into arrears, how council tax and utility debts differ from consumer credit, and why middle-income customers are increasingly affected by cost-of-living pressures (watch here).

We also had plenty to say about the newly published AdviceUK Member Survey Report highlighting the mounting pressure on advice services. Read why signposting to debt advice services is no longer enough and what creditors can do about it here.

Energy debt is currently top of the agenda and we’ve had several conversations with utility companies about how we can help. Recent research from the National Audit Office found that millions are unaware of the support available for essential bills. For energy companies, this is a critical reminder: support only works if people know it exists and can access it. Read more about what can be done to address this here.

 

Company News

We’re delighted that our vulnerable customer intervention work has been recognised in multiple industry award shortlistings including in two categories at the IRRV Performance Awards 2026:

  • Excellence in Social Inclusion, alongside Mid Sussex District Council, recognising the partnership’s success in identifying and supporting vulnerable residents, securing vital financial relief, and improving long‑term outcomes for households in hardship. Read the full case study here.
  • Excellence in Partnership Working, with Rugby Borough Council, celebrating a       collaborative model that has delivered early‑intervention support, increased engagement from residents in arrears, and significant returns for both the council and its communities. Read the full case study here.

We were also recently named as a Finalist in the Credit Connect Credit & Collections Industry Awards 2026 for Customer Vulnerability & Support Initiative of the Year and Innovator of the Year, and our Founding Director Tracey Stone has been named in the Credit Connect Industry Leaders List 2026, recognising her as one of the UK’s most influential figures shaping the future of responsible collections, vulnerability support and ethical practice.

The team has also been busy with lots of other initiatives including completing the Zero Suicide Alliance‘s Awareness Training to make having these difficult conversations with the vulnerable customers they deal with a little easier. Our dedicated independent Debt Adviser Fiona Monk has also been doing some incredible work.

 

Events

We had an incredibly busy Spring/Summer events season with highlights including exhibiting at the inaugural Vulnerability Registration Service Conference (watch our Director Tracey talking on camera from the event here) and speaking at several others.

We are also proud to be part of the LACEF Conference which, this year, brought together one of the strongest line‑ups yet. Our Director Tracey, who organises the event, reflects on the themes from the day including the evolving landscape of debt and recovery, relief schemes, liability challenges and rating complexities here.

We’re now looking ahead to the Autumn when we’ll be exhibiting at the Money Advice Liaison Group (MALG) Conference at St George’s Hall in Liverpool on 12 November 2026, where the theme will be ‘Nobody Left Behind: Driving Systemic Change for People in Debt’. We’ll also be at the IRRV Annual Conference on 29/30 September, the Compliance & Consumer Vulnerability Conference hosted by Helen Pettifer Training Ltd on 3 November in Milton Keynes, and the Rundles Reflect and Resolve Learning Conference on 25/26 November.

 

Additional help for families in need

At Welfare Together, we see first-hand how much even a small amount of additional help – a warm meal, a working fridge, heating in winter – can change someone’s situation, and mean that they are less likely to fall into debt again in future.

Right now, demand for this additional support is growing, and we don’t want to turn anyone away. That’s why we set up our Welfare Together Community Interest Company (CIC) to raise money so we can help and support more people with the basics many of us take for granted like food parcels, heating vouchers, and essential household items like fridges and cookers.

In October, we’re climbing Mount Snowdon and have so far raised £1,600 from individual sponsors. We’re looking for organisations who’d be willing to contribute to pushing the total up as high as possible. If you are able to support us in any way, please make corporate donations here.

 

Why signposting to debt advice services is no longer enough and what creditors can do to plug the gaps

07/22/2026 |

The newly published AdviceUK Member Survey Report 2026 makes for sobering reading. The data is stark:

  • Three‑quarters of advice organisations are facing rising demand.
  • Nearly half have had to cut services in the last year.
  • Workforce pressures are escalating, with redundancies, salary freezes and unpaid overtime now commonplace.
  • And critically, funding is falling at the very moment need is rising.

These are not just statistics, they represent real people who are struggling to access the free, independent advice they rely on to stay afloat. When services are this overstretched, signposting alone simply isn’t enough. Customers deserve meaningful support, not a referral to a queue that’s already at breaking point.

At Welfare Together, we see every day how early, proactive, compassionate intervention can prevent crisis and reduce pressure on the wider system. But that only works when advice organisations have the capacity, stability and recognition they need to do their job.

This report is a wake‑up call. The sector needs long‑term investment, workforce support and a commitment to ensuring people can access the help they’re entitled to before problems escalate. This is where Welfare Together’s early intervention, enhanced support service can come in to fill those gaps, reducing pressure on advice services and giving people the holistic support they need before they reach crisis point.

Find out more about working with us: https://welfaretogether.co.uk/clients

Welfare Together commissioned for new Rugby Council project following success cost-of-living of pilot

07/13/2026 |

Welfare Together has been invited by Rugby Borough Council to deliver a new cost‑of‑living support project in the Admirals ward, following the strong results and resident impact achieved through the recent Hillmorton ward pilot.

The Hillmorton project, delivered between August and December 2025, reviewed 2,431 households across 116 postcodes and set a new benchmark for proactive, data‑led vulnerability support. Welfare Together was contacted by 487 households, completing 101 full benefit entitlement checks, supporting 49 households with council tax reduction or related savings, and guiding 101 households through social tariff options. Six households in immediate hardship received direct financial assistance.

The pilot generated £159,236.50 in attributable financial gains for residents (a return of £15.92 for every £1 invested) alongside wider system benefits including arrears prevention and reduced demand on crisis services. Resident feedback praised the organisation’s compassionate, person‑centred approach, with many describing the support as life‑changing.

After the project was shortlisted for an IRRV Excellence Award, Rugby Borough Council asked Welfare Together to replicate this model in the Admirals ward, expanding the partnership and ensuring more households benefit from early intervention, entitlement checks, and practical cost‑of‑living support.

The new project will apply the same intelligence‑driven methodology, ethical engagement standards, and rigorous auditability that defined the Hillmorton pilot, while tailoring delivery to the needs and demographics of the Admirals community.

This commission reflects both the measurable impact of the initial pilot and Rugby Borough Council’s confidence in Welfare Together’s ability to deliver high‑quality, preventative support at scale. It marks the next step in a growing partnership focused on reducing financial vulnerability, improving resident outcomes, and strengthening long‑term collection sustainability across the borough.

Richard Moore, Revenues & Benefits Manager, Finance and Performance, Rugby Borough Council, said: 

“We are proud of the positive impact the pilot project had on our residents lives. This case shows what can be achieved when we work closely with partners, look beyond the debt, and support residents with the wider pressures they are facing.”

Read the case study from the pilot project.