Universal Credit Is A Social Policy Disaster In The Making

Universal credit is the biggest change to our welfare system in 40 years. By the time it has been fully rolled out in 2022 it will potentially affect 8 million people across the UK. The rollout so far has been controversial, and fraught with difficulties. Social housing organisations, in which only around 2.6% of tenants are currently claiming universal credit, have been hit particularly hard by the speed and scale of the change. In August 2017 the DWP released a guide for landlords, in a bid to explain what the changes will mean and how they can support their tenants. Unfortunately, it made little to no mention of how to deal with the slew of administrative issues, faults and delays, which have already caused hardship for so many claimants. Read more on the Guardian website.

Housing Benefit: The Black Hole That Continues To Grow

Since 2011, as benefits have been cut back, a black hole has started to appear in our welfare system for private renters. This black hole is the widening gap between housing benefit and rents at the very cheapest end of the private rental market. This is because while housing benefit rates for private renters have been frozen by the government, private rents have continued to climb. We calculate that if something doesn’t change before 2019/20, the gap between housing benefit rates and local rents will have grown so much that the black hole in Britain will be worth £1.9billion. More than one million people will be affected by this. And few have the resources to sustainably cover the increasing shortfalls. Read more on the Huffington Post website.

Minister Admits Disabled People Are Wrongly Refused Benefits

A Tory minister has been forced to repeatedly admit that some disabled people are being wrongly refused access to vital disability benefits, adding further weight to accusations that cuts have left the welfare system unfit for purpose. On three occasions, Penny Mordaunt, the disabilities minister, was forced to defend the Government’s treatment of people with disabilities, after opposition MPs cited a number of examples of their constituents being messed around by the Tory welfare system. MPs from across the House rose to speak about how disabled people in their constituencies were struggling to claim the support they desperately need. Read more on Welfare Weekly.

Tory Slammed After Dismissing Concerns Welfare System Is Forcing People Into Rent Arrears

The Tory benefits boss has been slammed after dismissing concerns his new welfare system is causing hardship and forcing claimants into rent arrears. Damian Green claimed “teething problems” had cleared up despite council figures showing average rent arrears of more than £900 among some Universal Credit claimants. The Work and Pensions Secretary downplayed evidence of problems raised by MPs and MSPs during a joint Westminster-Holyrood committee meeting. SNP MP Pete Wishart, who chaired the session, said areas where the full service began, including Inverness, reported a sharp rise in housing arrears. Direct payments to landlords are taking between six and 10 weeks to process. Read more on the Daily Record website.

Welfare System Reforms Are Fair, Says Iain Duncan Smith

Changes to the UK's welfare system are fair, Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith has insisted, as some of the new measures came into effect. Mr Duncan Smith said it was about restructuring the culture so "people find work always pays".  "The reality is that successive governments have come in and when they've had a problem they've cut welfare bills and then later on they've ballooned again," he told BBC Radio 4's Today Programme. "What I'm trying to do... is to change the process so that we end up restructuring the culture so that people find that work always pays. It doesn't right now." When asked if he could live on £53 a week, in response to a question posed by a working benefits claimant, Mr Duncan Smith said: "If I had to I would." Read more on the BBC website.

Anger as Lone Parents Face Benefit Cuts

Charities have spoken of their fury over changes to the welfare system which will force unemployed single parents with children about to start school to find a job or risk losing part or all of their benefits.  These 124,000 single parents with children aged five and six were given only eight weeks notice of the fact that they would have to move from income support to jobseeker's allowance (JSA). Previously, lone parents of older children have been given up to 12 months notice, giving them a greater chance of planning ahead and improving their skills and qualifications.  According to research published by the charity Gingerbread, single parents moving to JSA now also face a much harsher time finding "a family-friendly job in a hostile labour market characterised by low economic growth and high unemployment".  While the definition of their availability for work must take their childcare responsibilities into account, a lone parent could risk losing part of his or her benefits for up to three years if they are judged to be seeking work with insufficient vigour. The Department for Work and Pensions estimates that only 20% of the 124,000 are expected to find employment.  Read more on the Observer website.