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9 Oct 20
The government will face some tough choices on benefit reforms following record applications, with some aspects of the system already “ripe for reform”, according to the Institute for Fiscal Studies.
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31 Jul 20
Peers have urged the government to write-off £6bn in historic tax credit debt, as part of a reform of the Universal Credit system.
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10 Jul 20
The Department for Work and Pensions has made “poor progress” in reducing fraud and error in the administration of Universal Credit, according to the National Audit Office.
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23 Jun 20
The government should raise the rates of legacy benefits to remove unfair disparity in comparison to Universal Credit, a report from the Work and Pensions Committee has said.
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22 May 20
It is feared that as much as £1.5bn may have been lost in fraudulent claims for Universal Credit in recent weeks, according to a report from the BBC.
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6 Apr 20
Universal Credit needs an “emergency boost” to ensure it can properly support people finding themselves out of work due to the coronavirus pandemic, the TUC has said.
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2 Apr 20
The government has been urged to get Universal Credit ‘battle ready’ for an unemployment ‘crisis’, after nearly one million people applied to receive UC benefits in just two weeks.
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20 Mar 20
Universal Credit ‘advances fraud’ is estimated to have cost the Department for Work and Pensions up to £150m in the 18 months to December 2019, according to the National Audit Office.
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6 Feb 20
The UK Statistics Authority has slapped down the prime minister over his claim universal credit has succeeded in getting 200,000 people into work.
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13 Nov 19
Whichever party addresses the shortcomings of universal credit, it should commit to designing the system hand in hand with claimants, writes Joseph Rowntree Foundation’s Iain Porter.
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22 Oct 19
Two thirds of young, single parents will be worse off as they switch to Universal Credit, a think-tank has warned.
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18 Oct 19
London boroughs should play a “leading role” in administering welfare support to residents in the capital, an umbrella group has said.
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30 Sep 19
Labour has promised to scrap the “unmitigated disaster” of Universal Credit and replace the Department for Work and Pensions with a ‘Department for Social Security’.
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13 Jun 19
The introduction of universal credit, and in particular the five-week delay before receipt of the first payment, has led to an “unacceptable” rise in rent arrears north of the border.
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5 Jun 19
An £8.3bn package of investment in social security could lift 700,000 children out of poverty, according to charity analysis.
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28 May 19
Strikes over universal credit workloads could spread to other parts of the country, a union has warned.
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25 Apr 19
A record 1.6 million food bank parcels were given out in the UK last year, a charity has found.
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23 Apr 19
Universal credit will see 1.9 million claimants lose at least £1,000 each year compared to the previous benefits system, a think-tank has said.
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14 Jan 19
The government has side-stepped “the cruellest benefit cut in history” with the latest universal credit changes, according to the chair of the work and pensions committee.
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10 Jan 19
MPs have today called for a minister for hunger to tackle the high levels of food insecurity in the UK.
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13 Nov 18
Council tenants claiming universal credit owe on average more than two-and-a-half times the rent arrears of claimants on the previous housing benefit system.
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29 Oct 18
Philip Hammond has announced an extra funding boost for the government’s flagship universal credit welfare scheme and said the system is “here to stay”, despite criticism.
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1 Oct 18
Work and pensions secretary Esther McVey announced to the Conservative Party conference today £39m is to be given to a support service to help people access universal credit.
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15 Jun 18
Universal credit is pushing additional costs onto councils, while the overall scheme may never provide value for money, according to the National Audit Office.
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15 May 18
Welfare reform has had a substantial impact on the Scottish housing sector, with the introduction of universal credit pushing up rent arrears for social tenants, according to a report from the...