Source · Select Committees · Welsh Affairs Committee
Recommendation 13
13
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Paragraph: 95
Around 39% of claimants are in work.
Recommendation
Around 39% of claimants are in work. Many of those who became eligible for Universal Credit during the pandemic will have done so through losing income while on furlough rather than through losing a job. For those whose pay is supplemented by Universal Credit, the issue is not finding work, it is finding higher paid work. Accordingly, we welcome the changes in the autumn Budget to the taper rate and work allowance, putting more money into the hands of working households, and urge it to keep under review further changes which would benefit those in work.
Government response summary AI-generated
The government states that this recommendation, urging it to keep further changes to Universal Credit under review, is a matter for the Welsh Government.
Summary of the government's response below — read the verbatim text to verify.
Paragraph Reference:
95
Government Response
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HM Government · verbatim extract
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The UK Government has already taken action in response to Baroness McGregor-Smith’s report, commissioned by the Secretary of State, to significantly improve the work incentives in Universal Credit. Since last November, the UK Government has cut the Universal Credit taper rate from 63% to 55% and increased Universal Credit work allowances by £500 per year. These two measures mean 1.7m households will keep on average, around an extra £1,000 a year. These changes represent an effective tax cut for low income working households in receipt of Universal Credit worth £1.9 billion a year in 2022-23. They will allow working households to keep more of what they earn and strengthen incentives to move into and progress in work. Moreover, work allowances have been further increased as part of the annual up-rating exercise in April.
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