Universal Credit

Question

Local Welfare Provision Schemes are local schemes to help claimants in urgent need following an emergency or unforeseen event and have no other source of help.

These schemes are administered and determined by local authorities in England, while in Scotland and Wales this is a devolved matter. Therefore, we have not assessed the demand for Local Welfare provision as a result of the introduction of Universal Credit.

Following Autumn Budget 2017, the Department has introduced a range of measures to support claimants and ensure no one has to experience hardship at the point of claim. These include: making advances of up to 100% of the indicative award available (from the start of a claim) and increasing the repayment period to 12 months, removing the 7 waiting days; providing an additional payment of 2 weeks of Housing Benefit to support claimants when they transition to Universal Credit; and changing how claimants in temporary accommodation receive support for their housing costs.

Measures introduced at Autumn Budget 2018 will provide further assistance for claimants over the next few years. These include reducing, from October 2019, the maximum rate at which deductions can be made from a Universal Credit award from 40% to 30% of the standard allowance, with the period over which these recoveries are made extended from 12 to 16 months in October 2021. Payment of Income Support and the income related elements of Employment and Support Allowance and Jobseeker’s Allowance will continue for two weeks after a claim for Universal Credit has been made, effective from July 2020, benefitting 1.1 million households. Additionally, from April 2019, there will be a £1000 increase in work allowances from April 2019, which will provide a £630 boost for households with children, and for people with disabilities.