The rollout of Universal Credit should be paused until significant problems with it are fixed, says Citizens Advice. In a new report – Delivering on Universal Credit – the charity reveals that the requirement to wait for six weeks to receive any payment means people face serious financial insecurity, with many being forced into debt.
The research also identifies a wide range of administrative challenges, including problems with the online system and long waits to get help over the phone, which can make the initial six week wait even longer.
Universal Credit merges six existing benefits into one – including tax credits, housing benefit and Employment and Support Allowance (ESA).
By 2022 over 7 million households will receive Universal Credit and new Citizens Advice analysis reveals over half (54%) of these will be working households.
Universal Credit will be claimed by more than half (52%) of all families with children in the UK and 6 in 10 (58%) households where an adult is disabled or has a long term health condition.
As part of the new study, Citizens Advice surveyed 800 people who sought help with Universal Credit in areas where there is full service – meaning anyone who would have previously have claimed one of the old benefits has to apply for Universal Credit.
It finds:
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Over a third (39%) of people are waiting more than the 6 weeks it should take to receive their first payment.
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Just over 1 in 10 (11%) are waiting over 10 weeks without the benefit.
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3 in 5 (57%) are having to borrow money while waiting for their first payment.
In the last year Citizens Advice supported more than 30,000 people with Universal Credit issues, with a quarter (25%) also needing help with debt issues.
The report also reveals that people are having problems with the application process. These range from difficulties using a computer or with the online system, to issues getting hold of the right evidence to support their claim.
And when things go wrong the research shows people are not able to get the help they need: nearly a third (30%) of people said they had to make more than 10 calls to the Universal Credit helpline during their application process, often having to wait over 30 minutes to get through.
Full service Universal Credit has been rolling out gradually across England and Wales for over 2 years, to around 5 new areas each month. But in October this process is set to speed up significantly, to over 50 new areas every month.
Citizens Advice is calling on the government to pause this acceleration and use the time to fix key problems with Universal Credit, before thousands more people are brought into the system.
The national charity also highlights that, unless addressed, these challenges will undermine the goals of Universal Credit, to simplify the benefits system and offer people the security and support they need to move into and progress in work.
As it stands many people are facing uncertainty about how much money they will receive and when it will arrive. This insecurity filters through to other areas of their lives, for instance making it harder to focus on finding work while they worry about how to keep on top of bills or put food on the table.
One woman turned to Citizens Advice for help when her Universal Credit application was delayed because her childminder didn’t provide receipts on a type of letter headed paper which was required as evidence for her claim. Because of this delay she lost her childcare places and had to take time off work to care for her children. Further delays to her Universal Credit claim then meant she could still not afford childcare, and she has since lost her job for taking so much time off.
Citizens Advice Chief Executive, Gillian Guy, said: “Universal Credit is already failing too many people, pushing them into debt and leaving them without the means to make ends meet. Citizens Advice supports the principles of Universal Credit, but pushing ahead with roll out while the system remains beset with problems will put thousands more families at financial risk.
“The current flaws with the system also undermine the very reasons Universal Credit was introduced: to simplify the benefits system and make sure every hour of work pays. As things stand, too many people are finding Universal Credit very complicated, and problems such as long wait for payments or difficulties getting help with an application mean they are less able to focus on getting into work or increasing their hours.
“The government needs to pause plans to accelerate the roll out of full service Universal Credit this Autumn and devote the time and resource needed to tackle the key problems which mean the system is not working.”
In its new report Citizens Advice makes a range of recommendations to fix Universal Credit before it is rolled out more widely:
Reduce how long people have to wait for their first payment
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Remove the 7 waiting days at the start of a claim, to reduce the amount of time people have to wait for their first payment.
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Make sure everyone moving to Universal Credit is told they can get an Advance Payment to help them while they wait for their first payment.
Improve the support available to people so they can make ends meet
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Introduce an online system so people can book their initial Jobcentre appointments online rather than having to call the Universal Credit helpline.
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Make the Universal Credit helpline free of charge, at least until the roll out is complete.
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Allow people to adjust to Universal Credit by offering everyone options in how they would like the benefit to be paid.
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Put in place a comprehensive support package before Universal Credit roll-out accelerates, to make sure people get advice to manage their money and deal with any complications in the application process.
Universal Credit fact sheet
Universal Credit was introduced in 2013, aiming to simplify the benefits system, to make transitions into work easier, and make every hour of work pay. It’s there for people on low incomes or not in work to help them meet their living costs.
Universal Credit is for people both in work and out of work, disabled people and those with a health condition, single people and those with families, people who own their homes and people who rent.
It replaces six means-tested benefits and tax credits with one benefit. This is paid in arrears, as a single household payment, on a monthly basis.
It is designed to use Real Time Information from HMRC to respond to changes in income, gradually reducing the UC payment as earnings increase to ensure work pays. The six benefits it replaces are:
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Income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA)
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Income-based Employment Support Allowance (ESA)
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Housing benefit (HB)
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Income Support (IS)
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Child Tax Credits (CTC)
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Working Tax Credits (WTC)
Universal Credit is being rolled out gradually across the country, one job centre at a time. Everywhere in the country either operates a “live service” or “full service”.
Live service areas are places where a limited version of Universal Credit is in place only for certain people (eg single adults not in work), so as to test the system on on those with simpler claims. ‘Full’ service has been developed to upgrade and build on the first, ‘live’ system.
From May 2016, full service Universal Credit began to be introduced across the country, in a small number of local authorities initially, which meant all new claimants of the six different benefits being replaced are required to apply for UC.
Live service roll-out is now complete, but full service roll-out is ongoing and due to accelerate significantly from October 2017. All areas will eventually become full service by 2022.
There are currently 467,000 people on Universal Credit in England and Wales, with around 48,000 new claims each month. By the time roll-out is fully complete, around 7.2 million families will receive Universal Credit.
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