Did you know that the DWP has created a website dedicated specifically to Universal Credit? The site is designed to help claimants and supporters negotiate their way through the often complex and confusing benefit labyrinth.
You’ll find the information at
https://www.understandinguniversalcredit.gov.uk/
Universal Credit (UC) was established to support you if you are on a low income or out of work, and includes a monthly payment to help with your living costs.
Universal Credit replaces:
- Child Tax Credit
- Housing Benefit
- Income Support
- income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA)
- income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA)
- Working Tax Credit
This site is certainly comprehensive and covers UC from a number of prespectives. It will help you understand what Universal Credit means for you, with short video testimonials from some claimants who have found the process beneficial. There are nice bright, smiley pictures, too; images that wouldn’t look out of place on a housebuilder’s website or in a glossy lifestyle magazine.
The site will be useful for some, but the introduction of Universal Credit remains the most controversial of all of the UK Government’s welfare reforms – and despite minor adjustments, the new benefit is still causing big problems for tens of thousands of claimants, many of whom are among the most vulnerable in our society.
Last week, Work and Pensions Secretary Amber Rudd became the first government minister to concede that delays to benefit payments may have led to a surge of people claiming emergency food parcels.
Speaking in the House of Commons, Ms Rudd said: “It is absolutely clear that there were challenges with the initial rollout of Universal Credit and the main issue which led to an increase in foodbank use could have been the fact that people had difficulty accessing their money early enough.”
According to foodbank charity Trussell Trust, the number of food parcels being claimed by struggling Brits has soared from 61,000 in 2010/11 to 1.3 million last year. The introduction and continued roll-out of Universal Credit is one of the reasons for this – and last week the charity launched their #5WEEKSTOOLONG campaign.
Trussell Trust Campaigns Manager Tom Say said: “We’re a country that prides itself on making sure proper support is in place for each other when help is most needed – that’s why we created our fire service, our health service, and our benefits system. But Universal Credit – our new benefits system – isn’t the poverty-fighting reform that was promised.
“In 2018, our research showed a 52% average increase in food bank use in areas that have had Universal Credit for at least 12 months compared to 13% in areas that have not.”
The five week wait is too long
“From the very start, everyone who applies for Universal Credit has to wait at least five weeks for a first payment – and some people wait longer. This is leaving many without enough money to cover the basics.
“There are other problems with Universal Credit, but the five week wait is one of the key reasons why we’ve seen a rise in people needing food banks where it has been rolled out.”
The government knows the wait is too long
“I don’t want people to have to go to food banks.” That’s one of the first things Amber Rudd, the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, said when asked about the five week wait for the first Universal Credit payment.
“That’s why the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) offers ‘Advance Payments’ to those struggling with the wait. But, because these have to be repaid, they leave people between a rock and a hard place: no money now or not enough money later?
“And it’s why from July 2020 some benefits under the old system will carry on being paid for two weeks when you transfer over to Universal Credit. But this still leaves a three week gap and, in the meantime, 1.6 million people are expected to move onto the new system without this support.
“So people may still be forced to food banks as a result. This is not right.
#5WeeksTooLong
“The government needs to end the five week wait – you can help make that happen by joining the #5WeeksTooLong campaign.
“We’re asking everyone who thinks five weeks is too long to join together with food banks, charities, faith and community groups, so we can show how damaging the wait is and demand change from Amber Rudd and her colleagues in government.
“Sign up now to join the campaign or find out more on our website “.
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