Following compelling evidence of the problems in the rollout of
Universal Credit in its recent follow ups - see Universal Credit
update for full details - the Committee has
relaunched its inquiry into the benefit, and is now inviting
written evidence on any or all the following points, with a
deadline of 20 March 2017 :
· How long are
people waiting for their Universal Credit claim to be processed,
and what impact is this having on them?
· How are
claimants managing with being paid Universal Credit monthly in
arrears?
· Has Universal
Credit improved the accuracy of payments?
· Have claimants
reported making a new claim for Universal Credit, and then found
that the system has not registered their claim correctly?
· What impact is
Universal Credit having on rent arrears, what effect is this
having on landlords and claimants, and how could the situation be
improved?
· Would certain
groups benefit from greater payment process flexibility and, if
so, what might the Government do to facilitate it?
· Does Universal
Credit provide people in emergency temporary accommodation with
the support they need, and how could this be improved?
· What impact is
Universal Credit having on the income and costs of local
authorities, housing associations, charities and other local
organisations?
· How well is
Universal Support working, and how could it been improved?
· What impact has
the introduction of full Universal Credit service had in areas
where it has replaced the live service?
Rt Hon MP, Chair of the Work and
Pensions Committee said:
“Huge delays in people receiving payments from Universal Credit
have resulted in claimants falling into debt and rent arrears,
caused health problems and led to many having to rely on food
banks. It is bad enough that UC has a built-in six-week wait
between someone applying and them receiving their first payment,
but we have heard that many have to wait much longer than this.
The adverse impact on claimants, local authorities, landlords and
charities is entirely disproportionate to the small numbers
currently claiming UC, yet has told us he thinks it
will take decades to optimise the system. We have therefore felt
compelled to investigate UC yet again. We will examine what its
impact is on claimants and those local bodies which deal with
them, and what Government needs to do to ease the pressure on
those worst affected.”
