Universal Credit - A seriously flawed system !!!

Something those of us on the 'left' knew about and have been telling the scumbag 'nasty party' for years !!!


Universal Credit failing millions as current design ‘punishes poorest’, says Lords report
'It has led to an unprecedented number of people relying on food banks and not being able to pay their rent'



UK has 'some of the most punitive sanctions' in world, report says ( Getty )
Universal credit “punishes the poorest” and its current design is responsible for soaring rent arrears and unprecedented demand for food banks, according to a new report into the welfare system.

Publishing the findings of their inquiry, peers on the cross-party Lords Economic Affairs Committee said millions of claimants are being failed and called on ministers to urgently inject investment into the scheme.

The scathing report argues that while the contentious system should not be replaced – as it would risk causing severe disruption – substantial reforms are needed to it “fit for purpose”.

“Change cannot come soon enough,” they said. “The economic effects of the Covid-19 pandemic have resulted in many more people claiming universal credit and millions more are expected in the months ahead.”

Stating that the UK has “some of the most punitive sanctions in the world” regarding the administration of welfare, the Lords report added: “There is limited evidence that they have a positive effect.


“Removing people’s main source of support for extended periods risks pushing them into extreme poverty, indebtedness and reliance on food banks. We recommend that the government publish an evaluation of the impact of conditionality and sanctions on mental health and wellbeing.”

The five-week wait for claimants to receive their initial payment under the scheme, peers said, “entrenches debt, increases extreme poverty and harms vulnerable groups disproportionately”.

The report also urges the Department for Work and Pensions to introduce a non-repayable, two-week initial grant for all those claiming universal credit to provide security and mitigate issues in relation to housing costs.

On funding, the peers said a catch-up is “needed urgently following the substantial cuts to social security over the last decade”.

“The temporary increase in the standard allowance in response to the Covid-19 pandemic is welcome, considering the evidence that we received which set out the inadequacy of universal credit and its impact on poverty levels,” the report added.

“The government should commit immediately to making the increase in the standard allowance permanently. Universal credit should be set at a level that provides claimants with dignity and security.”

Chair of the Economic Affairs Committee Lord Forsyth of Drumlean, a Conservative peer, said that while most agree with original aims of universal credit, in its current form “it fails to provide a dependable safety net”.

“It has led to an unprecedented number of people relying on food banks and not being able to pay their rent. The mechanics of universal credit do not reflect the reality of people’s lives.”

He added: “It is designed around an idealised claimant and rigid, inflexible features of the system are harming a range of claimant groups, including women, disabled people and the vulnerable.

“The five-week wait for a first payment must be replaced by a non-repayable two-week grant to all claimants. The monthly payment calculations which can result in big fluctuations to claimants’ incomes should be fixed for three months. Historical tax credit debt needs to be written off.

“The punitive nature of universal credit has not worked. It punishes the poorest by taking away their sole source of income for minor infractions. It needs rebalancing, and more carrot and less stick, particularly as large numbers of claimants will have ended up on it because of events completely out of their control.”

Read more

• 
  'Most families on universal credit borrowing money since lockdown'

Jonathan Reynolds, the shadow work and pensions, said: “Sadly, this report confirms what many have known for a long time – universal credit is simply not working. There is a clear consensus that the system is not delivering on its objectives and is instead pushing people further into poverty and debt.

“Everyone can see the universal credit is a broken, overly punitive system entrenching working parents and their children in poverty. It’s time the government started listening and stopped doggedly pursuing a failed agenda.”

A spokesperson for the DWP said: “The case for universal credit has never been stronger. The system defied its critics in unprecedented and unforeseeable circumstances, processing more than 3.2m new claims at pace since mid-March and paying more than a million advances worth hundreds of millions of pounds to those in urgent need within days.

“We remain committed to supporting the most vulnerable in society, which is why we currently spend over £95 billion a year on the benefits system. We’ve also increased the universal credit standard allowance by up to £1,040 a year, as part of a package of welfare measures worth over £9.3 billion.

“We welcome the acknowledgement by the committee that universal credit is here to stay and we will consider their recommendations in detail.”

 

Sometimes I wonder, is my universal credit valid anywhere in the universe? It should be right? It's universal credit. I think this is a purpose setup for when we meet the aliens.

 

This is a very sad fact.
I know this is true because I have been helping with food banks.
What did we expect from a Conservative government?

 

Universal Credit is a UK social security benefit, therefore its only valid in the uk. !!!

 

The scumbag 'nasty party' have ALWAYS been scumbags, what is annoying is that people, knowing what they are like still keeping voting for these bastards !!!

 

Well that's false advertising.

 

Go ahead and complain to the scumbag 'nasty party' - but good luck with that - I would be interested in reading their reply if you get one !!!

 

So according to Theresa (remember her ???) and Boris - we're supposed to be "all in it together" - just that some are more 'in it' than others !!!


Coronavirus: Number of families hit by benefit cap doubles in three months during pandemic
Charities call for immedate suspension of policy to stop wave of homelessness

• Jon Stone Policy Correspondent @joncstone
• 2 days ago
• 21 comments

The policy has driven homelessness, putting families into rent arrears ( Getty Images )
The number of families having their incomes cut by the government's benefit cap doubled in just three months during the first wave of coronavirus, official statistics show.

As of May 2020 150,000 households had their social security payments capped by the policy, a 93 per cent increase from the previous quarter.

There was also a 500 per cent increase in new households being hit by the cap for the first time – suggesting many people are feeling its sting for the first time.

The policy leaves families unable to pay their rent, with 2018 research showing two thirds covered for six months or more go into arrears with their landlords. It also disproportionately affects ill and disabled people.

The government claims the benefit cap is an incentive to work, but unemployment is set to rocket in the aftermath of the pandemic as businesses shutter or scale back staffing to cope with lockdown, social distancing regulations, and economic recession.

• 
  105,000 universal credit claimants forced to wait 11 weeks for payment

Chancellor Rishi Sunak has now begun to unwind his furlough scheme and transfer costs of supporting laid-off workers onto employers, with the new state support set to disappear entirely in the autumn.

Jon Sparkes, chief executive at homelessness charity Crisis, said the cap needed to be immediately suspended to prevent a wave of homelessness.

“With each passing day comes new job losses as the impact of the pandemic is felt. These figures show thousands of people are turning to the benefits system to break their fall, only to discover that the benefit cap is cutting them off from vital support," he warned.

“Despite ongoing assurances that the benefit cap grace period would protect people newly claiming, we know that people on low incomes aren’t getting this support, which is leaving many worrying about how they are going to pay their rent or put food on the table for their children.

“If we are to avoid a wave of people from losing their homes through no fault of their own, it’s vital that the government immediately suspends the benefit cap so that people have the means to stay afloat. Otherwise we risk all the good work to protect people being undone.”

The Child Poverty Action Group’s chief executive Alison Garnham today added: “The benefit cap has always been nonsensical because it’s an arbitrary limit that’s applied irrespective of needs. In a pandemic it is egregious. People who’ve lost earnings or jobs because of Covid-19 are finding that they’ve also lost significant amounts of their social security support because of the cap. That isn’t right. The cap is causing intense hardship yet in the pandemic most routes for escaping it are closed off so families are left without a life raft.

We should not be further impoverishing vulnerable children because their parents live in high rent areas and for very real and practical reasons are unable to work more hours or move house
Alison Garnham, Child Poverty Action Group
“The cap hits hardest the very families who are least able to avoid it – single parents with very young kids who even in normal times can’t just get a new job , increase their working hours or up sticks to cheaper housing – precisely because they are caring for very young children. In a pandemic their chances of escaping the cap are extremely limited or non-existent.

“Parents on low wages have no wriggle room – if they receive universal credit and earn less than £604 a month they’re capped but if they earn more than £616 they lose free school meals. It’s a terrible poverty trap. The cap should be lifted so that every parent can meet their children‘s needs in the pandemic and beyond it.

“We should not be further impoverishing vulnerable children because their parents live in high rent areas and for very real and practical reasons are unable to work more hours or move house to escape the cap.”

The average amount of money lost from the cap £58 per week. Of all households capped, 87 per cent (133,000) are families, and 62 per cent are single parent families.

The cap is £13,400 a year for single adults outside Greater London and £15,410 a year inside London. The corresponding figures for families are £20,000 and £23,000. Most households who hit the cap do so because of housing benefit, which is often paid directly to landlords.

Seema Malhotra, Labour’s Shadow Employment Minister, said ending the cap would help the poorest families in the country.

“These figures must serve as a wakeup call to the Government. Labour has repeatedly called on the Government to scrap the benefit cap to avoid the picture we are seeing today," she said.

“This is a policy that is pushing children and families into poverty. With around eight job seekers for every vacancy, rising to 20 per vacancy in some parts of the country, this is a Government totally out of touch with the reality of people’s lives.

“The Government must target support at those most in need, rather than pursuing a one size fits all approach. Ending the benefit cap would put much needed cash into the pockets of Britain’s poorest families, helping them through this crisis without a devastating increase in household debt.”

Layla Moran, one of the contenders in the Liberal Democrats' ongoing leadership contest, said: "These figures should act as a wake-up call to the government. Their stubborn refusal to review the cruel cap on benefits is pushing thousands of children into poverty.

"At the outset of the crisis, the chancellor said we will be judged by our capacity for compassion. Ministers are failing abysmally at that test.

"We need to seize this moment to fix the broken welfare system and introduce a Universal Basic Income so no-one is left behind."

A DWP spokesperson said: “The benefit cap, up to the equivalent salary of £28,000 in London, ensures fairness for hard-working taxpaying households and a strong work incentive, whilst providing a much needed safety net of support."