THE Department for Work and Pensions stood its ground on Universal Credit yesterday after more than 20 leading charities urged them to halt its roll out across Scotland.
Oxfam, the Scottish Council of Voluntary Organisations, Citizens Advice Scotland and Enable Scotland are among 24 experts groups to sign a joint letter calling on the DWP to abandon the phased introduction of the benefit and make “serious changes” to the system.
Universal Credit (UC) replaces six established benefits with a single payment and the DWP says the change makes life easier for recipients – as well as saving £2.7 billion a year.
Full roll-out was initially supposed to be complete this year, but IT problems have pushed it back to 2022.
Meanwhile, waits of around six weeks for initial payments are blamed for causing a major build-up of rent arrears in parts of the country where it has been introduced, causing the Scottish Government to petition London for change.
Yesterday the DWP again resisted such a call following the publication of the charity letter, which claims the system is causing social harm.
The call comes four months after the Trussell Trust reported a spike in foodbank demand in areas where it has been introduced, with a 34 per cent jump in East Lothian.
It states: “In five years UC will be claimed by over 650,000 households in Scotland. In principle it is a good idea which should make life easier for both the claimant and the delivery agencies alike.
“However, having seen how UC has worked so far, it is clear that it is leaving thousands of people struggling to make ends meet. The flaws include a six week waiting period between a person’s claim and their initial payment. Another issue is that UC is an entirely online system, yet our evidence is that many applicants don’t have access to computers or the skills to use them.
“Together, we believe the government must halt the rollout of the benefit so that these and other flaws can be fixed before they harm any more people. This will require serious changes, not just minor adjustments.
“Fundamentally, we need a benefits system that supports those in need, and it is in that spirit that we are calling to halt and fix UC.”
Responding, a DWP spokeswoman said: “The best way to help people improve their lives is to help them into work, and under Universal Credit people are moving into work faster and staying in work longer than under the previous system.
“We are rolling out Universal Credit in a gradual, safe and secure way and the majority of people are managing their budgets well, meanwhile the Scottish Government now has significant welfare powers including flexibility over Universal Credit payments.”
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