Recommendation 118

Should a claimant require money before the five week wait has been completed they can apply for an advance payment. This means a claimant can receive an advance worth the amount of their first estimated payment on Universal Credit.299 According to the Minister for Welfare Delivery, Will Quince MP, these advance payments can be made to claimants ‘usually within 24 hours, certainly within a small handful of days.’300 The advance payment needs to be paid back; however, a claimant does not pay interest on the payment—the total amount received as an advance is the same amount that is paid back to the DWP. The money is reclaimed by the DWP in the subsequent payments that the claimant receives from Universal Credit. As of, 12 April 2021, the conditions for advance payments have changed. Rather than pay back the advance over a 12-month period, claimants can now pay back their advance over a 24 month period if they prefer and the rate at which deductions of Universal Credit payments are made to pay for the advance has decreased from 30% to 25%.301