DWP To Change Universal Credit Procedures

The government has pledged to improve Universal Credit procedures this summer, following concerns from social landlords that they are frequently not informed that their tenants are claiming the benefit. Social landlords have raised concerns about problems with the system, including letters arriving late or going missing in the post. One housing association senior employee said the problems made it hard to establish which tenants are claiming Universal Credit and therefore receiving direct payment of benefit. She added this led to difficulties supporting tenants with the transition to help prevent arrears. The changes, due to be introduced in the summer, include enabling landlords to be informed via email, rather than post. Read more on Inside Housing.