MPs ramp up pressure on Theresa May to slash Universal Credit waiting time
2 min read
A report by the Work and Pensions committee has piled pressure on Theresa May to bring down the six-week waiting time for new Universal Credit claimants.
MPs have called on ministers to bring the wait down to four weeks, adding that the current system was forcing many into "acute financial difficulty".
The Prime Minister has repeatedly batted away calls from opposition and Tory MPs to halt the planned roll-out and fix – telling the Commons yesterday that the new system was "simpler" and it "makes sure work pays".
The report concluded that the “cruel” six-week period remains a “major obstacle” to the programme’s success, with more than half of low and middle income families having no savings, and two thirds having less than a month's worth.
It also hits out at the system’s failure to “mirror the world of work” given “no one in work waits six weeks for a pay cheque”.
And MPs say the Advance Payments put forward by Government to mitigate some of the consequences of the current design “do nothing to address their underlying foundations”, as being loans they can push claimants into debt which some will find “impossible” to afford.”
Conservative committee member Heidi Allen said: "Despite the clear support for universal credit, there is cross-party recognition that the six-week wait does not honour the original intentions of the system.
"To truly represent the world of work, the payment cycle must mirror how the majority of people are paid i.e. monthly."
“Universal credit will only be the success it deserves to be if it works with claimants to find work, and not against them.”
Committee chair Frank Field added: “The baked in six week wait is cruel. No one can give us any real justification for it.
“Such a long wait bears no relation to anyone’s working life and the terrible hardship it has been proven to cause actually makes it more difficult for people to find work.
“It is not too late for the Government to avert a Christmas disaster. They must act now.”
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