IMAGINE having no money in the bank and being told that you won’t have any coming in for five weeks unless you’re prepared to put yourself into further spiralling debt. How would you cope?
That’s the stark reality for people moving onto Universal Credit who have to wait five weeks for their first payment.
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So what happens to people with no family or friends they can ask, no financial resilience at all, not a penny in the bank, not a thing in the fridge – how do they get by while waiting five weeks?
These are the people who are forced to turn to food banks.
If they take up the advance payment offered by the job centre, it’s a loan and has to be paid back.
Paid back out of a benefit that hasn’t kept up with inflation due to the benefit freeze. It’s a debt, a debt which must be paid back out of an amount not enough to live on in the first place.
So they’re faced with making tough choices. Heating or eating, a life thrown into further and spiralling debt and as I heard last week, some women are having to turn to sex work to survive. Yes, you heard it right.
As a member of the Work and Pensions Select Committee I’ve heard heart-wrenching stories from travelling the country to visit some of the poorest Brits with our chair Frank Field, seeing first-hand the effects of the benefits freeze and the rollout of Universal Credit.
Brexit has completely paralysed politics and taken our focus away from what should matter to Government the most – helping the neediest in our society.
Why on earth are we waiting for a four week assessment period for them to prove they have no money?
Heidi Allen MP
The design of the new benefits system means they won’t get paid for five weeks and it’s a issue I won’t let go of.
As both The Sun’s Make Universal Credit Work campaign and the food bank operator Trussell Trust argue – that wait is five weeks too long and we need to fix it to make the benefits system work properly.
Making the advance payment the first payment rather than a loan to pay back is the best way to stop thousands falling into poverty.
Time and time again I hear stories from people who are pushed further into poverty and destitution because of Universal Credit’s five week wait.
And for years the recommendations we make to Government based on the evidence we hear are ignored as they relentlessly try to defend the fundamental design flaws in the system.
And the heartbreaking thing is I can see how easily we could transform people’s experience of Universal Credit.
The DWP say the ‘solution’ to the wait is for people to apply for an advance. But what they continue to fail to recognise is that this ‘advance’ is a loan which can push people into deeper debt, with record numbers forced to use food banks.
For the most vulnerable, the answer is clear, make any advance payment their FIRST payment. If they have no money and no prospect of income, why on earth are we waiting for a four week assessment period for them to prove they have no money?
It makes no practical nor moral sense.
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The Sun wants to Make Universal Credit Work
UNIVERSAL Credit replaces six benefits with a single monthly payment.
One million people are already receiving it and by the time the system is fully rolled out in 2023, nearly 7 million will be on it.
But there are big problems with the flagship new system – it takes 5 weeks to get the first payment and it could leave some families worse off by thousands of pounds a year.
And while working families can claim back up to 85 per cent of their childcare costs, they must find the money to pay for childcare upfront – we’ve heard of families waiting up to 6 months for the money.
Working parents across the country told us they’ve been unable to take on more hours – or have even turned down better paid jobs or more hours because of the amount they get their benefits cut.
It’s time to Make Universal Credit work. We want the government to:
- Get paid faster: The Government must slash the time Brits wait for their first Universal Credit payments from five to two weeks, helping stop 7 million from being pushed into debt.
- Keep more of what you earn: The work allowance should be increased and the taper rate should be slashed from from 63p to 50p, helping at least 4 million families.
- Don’t get punished for having a family: Parents should get the 85 per cent of the money they can claim for childcare upfront instead of being paid in arrears.
Together, these changes will help Make Universal Credit Work.
60% of claimants are taking up an advance payment as they can’t afford to wait for five weeks, so the money is going out of DWP’s door anyway!
This would stem the spiral of debt and give the most vulnerable a fighting chance.
Couple that with an immediate lift of the benefit freeze and our welfare system would start to motor again.
Heidi Allen is the independent MP for South Cambridgeshire and a member of the work and pensions select committee.
What to do if you have problems claiming Universal Credit
IF you’re experiencing trouble applying for your Universal Credit, or the payments just don’t cover costs, here are your options:
Apply for an advance – Claimants are able to get some cash within five days rather than waiting weeks for their first payment. But it’s a loan which means the repayments will be automatically deducted from your future Universal Credit pay out.
Alternative Payment Arrangements– If you’re falling behind on rent, you or your landlord may be able to apply for an APA which will get your payment sent directly to your landlord. You might also be able to change your payments to get them more frequently, or you can split the payments if you’re part of a couple.
Budgeting Advance – You may be able to get help from the government to help with emergency household costs of up to £348 if you’re single, £464 if you’re part of a couple or £812 if you have children. These are only in cases like your cooker breaking down or for help getting a job. You’ll have to repay the advance through your regular Universal Credit payments. You’ll still have to repay the loan, even if you stop claiming for Universal Credit.
Cut your Council Tax – You might be able to get a discount on your Council Tax or be entitled to Discretionary Housing Payments if your payments aren’t enough to cover your rent.
Foodbanks – If you’re really hard up and struggling to buy food and toiletries, you can find your local foodbank who will provide you with help for free. You can find your nearest one on the Trussel Trust website.
