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 co-chairs two university groups: the Multiple Exclusion Research Group and the Trent Institute for Learning and Teaching (TILT) Supporting Learning for Employability Group.
He is currently a member of the Quality Assurance Agency (QAA) Advisory Board responsible for revising the subject benchmark statements for Social Policy. These provide quality assurance in Higher Education by defining what can be expected of a graduate at the end of their studies.
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
Richard writes for a range of academic (e.g., Critical Social Policy, Local Economy), professional (e.g., Legal Action, Poverty) and media publications (e.g., the Guardian, the Conversation) on the following topics:
- Social security
- Welfare reform
- Comparative social policy
- Multiple exclusion homelessness
- Poverty
Full details of published works, reports, blogs, conference submissions and podcasts can be found here.
He is an Associate Editor for the Journal of Poverty and Social Justice and an Editor for Disability and Society.
External activity
Richard is a member of the Social Security Advisory Committee (SSAC), serving a five-year term from January 2026 to December 2030. The SSAC is an independent statutory body acting as the UK Government’s advisory body on social security matters. SSAC members are appointed by the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, under the regulation of the Commissioner for Public Appointments.
In October 2024, Richard was appointed as an expert witness for the COVID-19 Inquiry providing a report on the effectiveness of financial support during the pandemic and the impact on adherence with the Test, Trace and Isolate system. He gave evidence before the Inquiry in May 2025.
He sits on the management committee of Church Action on Poverty, and the advisory board for the Trussell Trust's 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.
University of Manitoba, Canada.
Lakehead University, Canada.
Publications
MACHIN, R., 2025. The future of debt advice and financial capability in a criminal justice setting. Probation Journal. ISSN 0264-5505
MACHIN, R. and HESS, C., 2025. Warm spaces as a new manifestation of austerity localism. Sociological Research Online. ISSN 1360-7804
WALKER, C., MACHIN, R., ZEMANDL, E. and BATES, E., 2025. Shining the light on repeat food bank use in Nottingham: complex cases, system gaps and opportunity pathways. Nottingham: Nottingham Civic Exchange.
MACHIN, R., 2025. Expert report for the UK Covid-19 Public Inquiry: an analysis of the effectiveness of COVID-19 financial support and the impact on adherence with the Test, Trace and Isolate system. UK COVID-19 Inquiry.
FAKOUSH, H. and MACHIN, R., 2024. Countering dominant immigration trends: an evaluation of the implication of bespoke UK resettlement schemes. In: B. SOJKA, S. KÖPPE, A. PARMA and R. CEFALO, eds., Analysis and debate in social policy, 2024. Social Policy Review (36). Bristol: Policy Press, pp. 172-193. ISBN 9781447373575
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.
