Government claims success for Universal Credit during crisis, but leading expert disagrees

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Benefits boss Neil Couling says his civil servants have handled huge increase in claims, but leading expert says it’s been less of a humdinger for tenants and landlords.

More
Universal Credit payments are being paid on time than ever before, with 100,000
claimants due to receive the benefit today, the busiest since the new benefit
was introduced.

The Department
for Work and Pensions (DWP) has had more than 1.8 million Universal Credit
claims during the lockdown, compared to 55,000 in a typical week, which would
add up to about 330,000 claims over the same period.

Universal
Credit director general Neil Couling says 93% of payments are being made on
time compared with about 87% in normal circumstances.

He
also claims that most problems are caused when DWP staff have to chase essential
information that hasn’t been supplied by claimants. Those applying must wait
five weeks for their first payment while they’re assessed and the money is sent
to their account.

Says
Couling: “The first claims were received on 16^th March, so we are
now about two weeks into those payments due.

“The claimants have gone through the first monthly assessment periods and remarkably, despite all these pressures and the changes we’ve made to Universal Credit processes, we are able to pay more people in full than in normal times.”

Expert view

Universal
Credit expert Bill Irvine at UC Advice & Advocacy says some tenants
found they got nothing or very little in their first payment due to the timing,
because the benefit is offset against income.

Despite the fact that future payments are
likely to rise as people’s earnings have dropped, he adds many landlords are
complaining that while some tenants had received the payment they’re telling
landlords they can’t afford to pay rent because they don’t have the money.

“People didn’t realise the housing part was
part of the award,” Irvine tells LandlordZONE. “Some landlords were counting on
that money as income, however, there’s no provision to claim the Universal
Credit themselves because the capital value of their property prevents them
from making a claim.”

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