Role
Richard Machin is an Associate Professor in Social Policy and a member of the leadership team in the School of Social Work, Care and the Community.
He teaches across a range of undergraduate and postgraduate modules on the following courses:
- BA (Hons) Health and Social Care
- BA (Hons) Social Work
- MA Social Work
- MA Public Health
- MSc Public Policy.
Richard is a Nottingham Civic Exchange Policy Fellow.
He has been awarded NTU's Vice-Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Teaching and is a senior fellow of the Higher Education Academy.
Career overview
Richard managed Derby City Council's Welfare Rights and Money Advice service for over ten years before pursuing an academic career. He was the course leader for the BA (Hons) Social Welfare Law, Policy and Advice Practice degree at Staffordshire University before joining NTU in 2018.
Research areas
- Social security
- Welfare reform
- Comparative social policy
- Multiple exclusion homelessness
- Poverty
External activity
Richard is an Associate Editor for the Journal of Poverty and Social Justice.
Richard is a freelance trainer for Child Poverty Action Group specialising in universal credit.
He sits on the management committee of Church Action on Poverty, and the advisory boards for the Money Advice and Pensions Service Financial Wellbeing Forum and the Trussell Trust Hunger in the UK research project.
He is an honorary associate of the Centre for Health and Development (CHAD) at Staffordshire University.
Sponsors and collaborators
University of Bergen, Norway.
Yale University, United States.
Publications
MACHIN, R., 2024. The art of the possible: local government experience of the COVID-19 pandemic. International Public Policy Observatory.
LOMER, S., SAWYER, M., ORTON, M., MACHIN, R., SNELL, C., MORGAN, H., GROVER, C., TUNSTALL, B., WERREN, C., BAEZA, J., HENEGHAN, M., NEEDHAM, C., BURN, E. and ALEXANDER, C., 2024. 2024 political manifesto poverty audit: audit report. Academics Stand Against Poverty UK (ASAP UK).
MACHIN, R., 2023. UK local government experience of COVID-19 lockdown: local responses to global challenges. Local Economy: The Journal of the Local Economy Policy Unit. ISSN 0269-0942
MACHIN, R., 2023. The UK – a home for Ukrainians? An analysis of social security and housing policy. Journal of Poverty and Social Justice. ISSN 1759-8273
MCCORMACK, F., MACHIN, R., RILEY, V., SPYROPOULOS, K., DUNN, K. and GIDLOW, C.J., 2023. Building legal literacy in organisations that support people experiencing multiple disadvantage. Journal of Social Welfare and Family Law. ISSN 0964-9069
MACHIN, R., 2023. UK autumn statement 2022, the worst is yet to come. Perspectives in Public Health, 143 (2), pp. 63-64. ISSN 1757-9139
ŰSTŰNKAYA, T. and MACHIN, R., 2021. Hidden from sight: why the complexity of ME/CFS needs to be recognised by policy makers. People, Place and Policy, 15 (2), pp. 91-99. ISSN 1753-8041
MACHIN, R., 2021. The two-child limit for benefits in the Supreme Court: implications for public health. Perspectives in Public Health. ISSN 1757-9139
MACHIN, R. and MCCORMACK, F., 2021. The impact of the transition to Personal Independence Payment on claimants with mental health problems. Disability and Society. ISSN 0968-7599
MACHIN, R., 2021. COVID-19 and the temporary transformation of the UK social security system. Critical Social Policy. ISSN 0261-0183
MACHIN, R.J., 2020. Regressive and precarious: analysing the UK social security system in the light of the findings of the UN Special Rapporteur on poverty and human rights. Social Work and Social Sciences Review, 21 (3). ISSN 0953-5225
SIMCOCK, P. and MACHIN, R., 2019. It’s not just about where someone lives: educating student social workers about housing-related matters to promote an understanding of social justice. Social Work Education, p. 1. ISSN 0261-5479
MASSIE, R., MACHIN, R., MCCORMACK, F. and KURTH, J., 2018. Having a voice: a collaborative research project exploring the challenges and assets of people experiencing homelessness. Journal of Integrated Care, 26 (4), pp. 342-352. ISSN 1476-9018
MACHIN, R., 2017. Made to measure? An analysis of the transition from Disability Living Allowance to Personal Independence Payment. Journal of Social Welfare and Family Law, 39 (4), pp. 435-453. ISSN 0964-9069
MACHIN, R., 2017. The professional and ethical dilemmas of the two-child limit for Child Tax Credit and Universal Credit. Ethics and Social Welfare, 11 (4), pp. 404-411. ISSN 1749-6535
MACHIN, R.J., 2016. Understanding holiday hunger. Journal of Poverty and Social Justice, 24 (3), pp. 311-319.ISSN 1759-8273
Press expertise
Richard has expertise in social security policy and practice, particularly in relation to universal credit and disability benefits, and wider poverty-related issues.
Press
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NEWS
Expert blog: The impact of financial support on self-isolation - giving evidence to the Covid-19 Inquiry
5 June 2025Associate Professor Richard Machin, an expert on social welfare and social security, recently presented a report and evidence to the independent public inquiry into the Covid-19 pandemic.
ntu.ac.uk/about-us/news/news-articles/2025/06/expert-blog-the-impact-of-financial-support-on-self-isolation-giving-evidence-to-the-covid-19-inquiry
How my research links to the UN SDGs
The four Sustainable Development Goals displayed align with the focus of my teaching and research, exploring the causes of poverty and inequality, holding decision makers to account and identifying achievable and realistic solutions.
