Six-Week Wait For Universal Credit Set To Be Reduced

The government is preparing to confirm that it will cut the six-week waiting time for universal credit, caving in to Conservative backbench rebels. After being promised concessions by ministers, a group of Tory MPs concerned about the impact of the delay on their constituents were persuaded not to vote against the government in a Labour-led debate on universal credit last month. The six-week wait was the central concern of the group, which includes Heidi Allen and Johnny Mercer, and the government is expected to reduce it, most likely by eliminating the seven-day mandatory waiting time at the start of any new claim. Read more on the Guardian website.

'Three In Four Universal Credit Tenants In Arrears'

Social housing representative bodies are calling on the government to review Universal Credit as new research finds more than three quarters of tenants are in rent arrears. The NFA and ARCH have published the findings of their latest survey of councils and ALMOs which found one year on from the rollout of Universal Credit across England 79% of around 3,000 tenants that are on UC are in rent arrears compared to 31% of other tenants.  The NFA and ARCH will call for the government to abandon the seven day waiting period for Universal Credit, review the in-arrears policy to see if this is causing “unnecessary hardship and long term disadvantage” for UC entitlement and speed up the UC assessment process to three weeks. Download the report from the NFA website.

Seven-Day Wait Sparks Rent Arrears Fears

The government has confirmed it is pressing ahead with its plan to introduce a seven-day waiting period into its flagship welfare reform, despite warnings from the Social Security Advisory Committee (SSAC) that it should not go ahead. Under the measure, claimants have to wait seven days after their claim before they become entitled to universal credit, in addition to the month and seven days that claimants currently wait between making a claim and receiving their first payment. In consultation responses, which were published in the SSAC’s report alongside the government’s response, landlords expressed concern that the move would increase rent arrears and take its toll on income streams. Download the report from the GovUK website.