On Tuesday 9 March the House of Lords Economic Affairs Committee
and the House of Commons Work and Pensions Committee will hold a
rare joint evidence session on Universal Credit.
This cross-house, cross-party committee
evidence session follows the Government’s disappointing response
to both committees’ recent reports on Universal
Credit.
At 3pm, the committees will take evidence
from ,
Minister for Welfare Delivery at the Department for Work and
Pensions. He will be accompanied by , Senior
Responsible Owner at the Department for Work and
Pensions.
This evidence session will be held
remotely and streamed on Parliament
TV.
, Chair of the House of Lords Economic
Affairs Committee, said:
“Our cross-party, evidence-based
report concluded that Universal Credit in its current form fails
to provide a dependable safety net and called on the Government
to reform it.
“The Government’s response to our
report failed to engage with many of the ideas we proposed for
reforming Universal Credit. That’s why we’re taking this
unprecedented step of working with a Commons select committee to
push the Government to provide answers to the substantial
problems that we identified in our respective reports, in order
to better protect the most vulnerable in our
society.”
Rt Hon MP, Chair of the House of Commons Work and Pensions
Committee, said:
“The flaws in the Universal Credit
system, particularly problems caused for some people by the wait
for a first payment and the hardship it can cause, have long been
highlighted by many, both inside and outside of Parliament.
Sadly, the Government has failed to engage with constructive
proposals for change—and refuses even to do its own research to
find out the impact of its policies. We hope that this rare joint
session of Commons and Lords committees will lead to a change in
the Government’s approach and that Ministers will start to take
note of the strength of the arguments to reform UC to make sure
it works as a safety net for
all.”
The topics that are likely to be covered
in the evidence session include:
-
The extension of the £20 increase to
Universal Credit
-
Lack of additional support for legacy
benefit claimants
-
Starter payments to alleviate hardship
during the five-week wait
-
Link between the wait for Universal
Credit’s first payment and rising food bank
use
-
Historic tax credit
debt
-
The monthly assessment and frequency of
payments
-
Support for vulnerable
claimants
-
Balancing the use of sanctions as a
deterrent and the claimant’s security of
income
In July 2020 the Lords Economic Affairs
Committee published its report, Universal Credit isn't
working: proposals for
reform. Read
the Government’s
response to it.
In October 2020 the Commons Work and
Pensions Committee published its report, Universal Credit: the
wait for a first payment. Read the Government’s response to
it.
