Good morning. Welcome back to Survival Guide. Isabella here.

It’s been another busy week in the Big Issue newsroom as Rachel Reeves has announced her Spring Statement. It’s an opportunity for the chancellor to stand up in parliament and break down her plans for the future of the UK economy and provide hope that our finances are in good hands.

This newsletter was actually launched two years ago in time for another chancellor’s Spring Statement, when Jeremy Hunt was contending with the height of the cost of living crisis. 

We’ve had a fair few budgets to break down since then, but this one feels like a big one – specifically for people claiming benefits.

The Labour chancellor doubled down on the government’s plans for welfare cuts. Despite outcry over the plans in recent days, she even went further and announced a further freeze to the health element of universal credit for new claimants.

We also found out that 250,000 people will be pushed into poverty by the government's plans. That includes 50,000 children. 

But there are people fighting for change. Later in this newsletter, we head to a protest against the benefit cuts which took place outside parliament yesterday, and we detail how you can raise your voice against the cuts.

In better news, Reeves also pledged a £2bn investment in building social housing and affordable homes – with a target of 1.5 million affordable homes by the end of the decade. 

We break down exactly what the Spring Statement means for you.

If you’ve got a story to share, we want to listen. Get in touch at isabella.mcrae@bigissue.com or share your story here.

What do you need to know about the Spring Statement?

Welfare cuts. We mostly knew about this already. The government announced its plans to reform the health and disability benefit system last week. Fewer people will be eligible for PIP, and the universal credit health element is being frozen for current claimants and cut in half for new claimants. 

What’s new is that the health element will also be frozen for new claimants instead of increasing every year in line with inflation. 

Also new is that we now know how many people are going to be affected by the changes. Around 3.2 million people will lose at least a bit of financial support. And it will push 250,000 people into poverty – including 50,000 children. 

Scary stuff. But remember, these plans are not set in stone. They are still under consultation and there won’t be any changes happening to your benefits until at least 2026.

Read more about the welfare cuts here.

No tax rises. You heard that right. Reeves confirmed that there will not be any tax rises in her Spring Statement. That’s good news for many of us, but she also didn’t announce a wealth tax, which many campaigners are calling for. A 2% wealth tax on assets over £10million would raise £24bn, while only impacting around 20,000 people.

Building more social housing. The chancellor announced a £2bn investment in the government’s affordable homes programme would bring 18,000 new social and affordable homes. The cash injection comes from a down payment from the Treasury with more long-term investment set to be announced in June’s spending review.

The government has set a target of building 1.5 million homes while in power but has, so far, declined to set a target for how many will be social homes.

Defence spending is up. Reeves confirmed the government will be committing £2.2bn of extra spending to defence, alongside cutting the aid budget.

Read more about the Spring Statement here.

In case you missed it

'People are scared': Surge in helpline calls after Labour announces plans for benefit cuts. Increasing numbers of people are calling charities in "distress", fearing that they will lose their benefits. Get the story.

'They had nowhere to go': The story of rough sleepers left outside in London's Covid-19 lockdowns. Not everyone was helped off the streets as the pandemic kicked in five years ago. I’m Still Here captures a year of the pandemic in London. Read more.

'Frustrated, angry, exhausted': Food banks forced to 'throw out food donated by supermarkets'. One worker spent £375 on carpet cleaning after a donation of rotten bananas. Here’s the story.

It's 15 years since the UK government promised to end child poverty. Time to revive that ambition. This week marks the 15th anniversary of the Child Poverty Act. But those years have been wasted, writes Just Fair’s Alex Firth. Read about it.

There's no defence for raiding the social security pot. The government is looking to reduce its social security bill while being obliged to cough up for defence. Get the story.

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Disabled people hold Downing Street protest over Spring Statement benefit cuts

Deaf and disabled people and their supporters took to Downing Street yesterday to protest against the welfare cuts.

“Labour should be ashamed of their proposed cuts,” said Linda Burnip, co-founder of Disabled People Against Cuts (DPAC). “They will push disabled people into even greater poverty and destitution.”

Banners at the protest read “Cuts kill”, “Cut war not welfare”, and “Welfare not warfare”. One woman was pictured holding a sign that said: “You are killing my mum to bomb someone’s son.”

MP John McDonnell – the former Labour shadow chancellor who was suspended from the party after voting to scrap the two-child benefit cap – also spoke at the protest.

“Disabled people are facing the biggest cuts to their benefits in a decade, causing immense harm,” he said. “Full support to DPAC which is standing up against this attack.”

Read the full story and find out how you can make your voice heard against the cuts.