Families with young children are sleeping on night buses. People with disabilities don't have the support to wash themselves. British children are unable to access their citizenship, leaving them ‘stateless’.

These are just a few of the situations that systemic, unlawful practices by UK public bodies are forcing people into.

The practices are an affront to human rights and democracy. But there is hope. Pioneering organisations are using the law to litigate, educate, collaborate and turn lives around.

In this series we investigate what seems to be an epidemic of unlawful public decision-making and the impact it is having. In our podcasts we learn and draw inspiration from some of the people who are fighting back.

The Unlawful State is funded by the Baring Foundation, which supports organisations to use the law for social change.