UP TO ten thousand Brits on the old benefits system will finally start being moved onto Universal Credit this summer, ministers have confirmed.
Amber Rudd told MPs that a number of people in Harrogate will be put on to the controversial six-in-one benefit system as planned, as she rushed through laws this evening.
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But MPs won’t get a vote on whether to approve it, as it will be passed by an obscure emergency law instead.
The Work and Pensions Secretary said she would fast-track the rule change through in the last days of Theresa May’s rule.
And she also confirmed that 13,000 severely disabled people would be able to get access to hundreds of pounds of cash they are owed back from Wednesday onwards.
They will get an extra £405 per month as part of a £600million package, she confirmed today, which will be backdated to the date they went onto UC.
The news will be a relief for disabled Brits who have been waiting months to be finally repaid the cash they lost moving over, even though Ms Rudd stopped disabled Brits from going onto it by accident.
MPs have been demanding they bring forward the rule changes for months.
If the amount of money someone would get on Universal Credit is less than they are getting now, those in the pilot will get ‘transitional cash’ to cushion the blow.
However, those who have already moved over – because of getting a new job or moving house – didn’t have any access to such money.
The up to 10,000 who are set to go onto the new system will get additional help to make sure they apply properly for the new benefits system, and ministers promised they would use it to learn from any issues when they put the remainder of Brits onto the new system.
Ms Rudd said that those who go over will be “carefully supported” and the Department will continue to “make sure it support the most vulnerable”.
Those in the trial will get access to an extra two weeks of housing benefit and a discretionary hardship fund payment, in addition to an advance payment, she said today.
But Labour’s Margaret Greenwood blasted the DWP boss for unveiling the laws at the “11th hour” and demanded a full debate on the changes.
“To do any less would be an absolute disgrace,” she said.
And Frank Field asked why it’s taken “a year to get to this position” and called on her to publish how she would assess whether the pilot would be successful.
The so-called ‘managed migration’ rollout had been put on hold as MPs had refused to sign off the regulations with a vote in the House of Commons over an ongoing row over how best to move people over.
Ms Rudd finally admitted last week that the five-week wait for Universal Credit it “really hard” on Brits and has to go, in a major boost for The Sun’s Make Universal Credit work campaign.
She’s revealed a raft of changes to benefits and Universal Credit since coming into the DWP role.
Last week she promised that Universal Credit cash will now be paid directly to the main carer, helping to free abused women from controlling partners.
She pledged to be a champion for “tackling domestic abuse” in Government and vowed to have a dedicated officer in every job centre to spot and help victims.
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 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.
Join our Universal Credit Facebook group or email UniversalCredit@the-sun.co.uk to share your story.
2million Brits are already on the new system, Ms Rudd said today.
But around 3 million Brits are still on the old legacy benefits and are expected to be transferred over to Universal Credit in the near future.
But the programme has been beset by delays and is now years behind schedule.
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