Citizens Advice Exeter says Universal Credit announcement “encouraging” but “must go further”

Leading local advice charity, Citizens Advice Exeter, is warning that hundreds of people in the city could still face financial hardship despite changes to Universal Credit announced by the Work and Pensions Secretary Amber Rudd.  

Universal Credit rolls together six existing (or legacy) benefits into a single claim and one monthly payment; replacingincome-based Jobseeker’s Allowance, income-related Employment & Support Allowance, Housing Benefit, Working Tax Credit, Child Tax Credit and Income Support.

Amber Rudd announced thatthe Government will not extend the two-child limit on Universal Credit for children born before April 2017. She also confirmed that a pilot to support people from ‘legacy benefits’ on to Universal Credit will proceed in a test and learn approach. Piloting schemes to provide more frequent payments for new claimants, a new online system for private landlords and a more flexible approach to childcare provisions will also take place

Around 1,200 families in Exeter are currently claiming Universal Credit, with 11,500 families in the city due to move onto the new benefit by 2023.

Steve Barriball, Chief Executive of Citizens Advice Exeter, said:

“It’s encouraging to see the Secretary of State taking a fresh look at the welfare system. 

“Universal Credit has to work in practice as well as in theory. We welcome any move to make it a more flexible system that can be adapted to suit the way people live their lives. 

“But to really get to grips with the problems of Universal Credit, the government will need to go further. This means investing more in the benefit so people have enough to live on and don’t have to wait 5 weeks for a first payment, while also making sure it is paid in a way that works for people's individual circumstances. 

“Universal Credit must work for everyone, which is why we’ll continue to monitor its impact on the people who come to us for help.”

The announcement by the Work and Pensions Secretary comes as Citizens Advice Exeter releases its advice trend statistics for the nine-month period ending 31stDecember 2018 which shows that it has helped with 478 enquires about Universal Credit.

People helped by the local advice charity include:

A client with severe mental health issues meaning that they were unable to make a claim by phone or online  and could not find a suitable appointee

Clients being wrongly informed that they must claim Universal Credit when, in fact, they would be better off remaining on legacy benefits

A client seeking simple information from the Universal Credit helpline, but the helpline was unable to answer the question

A client who lost their Universal Credit account details and spent three hours trying to resolve the problem with the Universal Credit helpline and Job Centre staff.

Steve added: “Our commitment is always to provide the advice people need for the problems they face. However, we can only continue to do this if we have the necessary resources and we need to increase public and business donations. Anyone wishing to support our work can donate on-line by going to the Support Us section of our website (www.citizensadviceexeter.org.uk)”

Alternatively, donations can be made in person at the charity’s offices on Dix’s Field in Exeter.