The Work and Pensions Committee has today
published the Government
response to its report Universal
Credit: The wait for a first payment.
The report, published
in October, drew on evidence from both organisations and
individuals which suggested that a significant proportion of
people faced financial and other difficulties during the wait for
a first Universal Credit payment. Among the Committee’s
recommendations was the introduction of a starter payment for all
people claiming for the first time, equivalent to three weeks of
the standard allowance (around £288 for a single person over 25).
In its
response, the Government says that there is ‘no need’ for a
starter payment and refuse to conduct or commission any research
on possible links between UC and rising foodbank use, increased
rent arrears and psychological distress.
The Government has also refused to commit to extending beyond
April the £20 weekly increase in UC, brought in at the start of
the coronavirus pandemic last year.
Rt Hon , Chair of the Work and Pensions Committee,
said:
“Our report put forward a set of practical and costed
proposals intended to offer a constructive way of mitigating the
worst effects of the wait for a first payment of Universal
Credit. The Government has dismissed those proposals out of
hand—and in some cases, simply ignored them.
Worst of all, Ministers are refusing point blank even to do
any research that might help them to understand the impact that
the five week wait is having on people. Our inquiry heard that
the wait may be linked to rising reliance on foodbanks,
spiralling rent arrears and even increased psychological
distress. It’s astounding that the Government won’t even look
closely at those findings, let alone do anything about them.
The new lockdown will have brought a renewed sense of
financial dread for many families. The Government could have
softened that blow by announcing that it would maintain the £20
weekly increase in UC past April. Instead, it has chosen to keep
households in the dark over whether this much-needed lifeline
will continue.
We are not alone in pressing for action on the wait. Voices
from across the political spectrum, inside and outside
Parliament, are calling for change. It’s time DWP took the
blinkers off and started to look at the real impact of the five
week wait.”
During the inquiry, the Committee heard from front line
organisations including Citizens Advice and the Trussell Trust on
the hardship experienced by many people when waiting for a first
UC payment. The National Audit Office report from July,
Universal Credit: getting to first payment, found that
the wait for an initial award could exacerbate financial
difficulties.
On starter payments, both the Trussell Trust and a July report
from the House of Lords Economic Affairs Committee called for all
new UC claimants to be given non-repayable grants.
Following evidence from former Work and Pensions Secretary
,
among others, the Committee also called for changes to the way
that historic tax credit debt is clawed back from people when
they move to Universal Credit. The Government response indicated
there will be no change in policy.
Members will have the chance to raise the Government’s response
with the Secretary of State when she appears before the Committee
on 3rd February.
