Source · Select Committees · Work and Pensions Committee
Recommendation 3
3
Rejected
Paragraph: 17
We welcome the inclusion of those on legacy benefits in the Government’s support measures.
Recommendation
We welcome the inclusion of those on legacy benefits in the Government’s support measures. We recognise that there are logistical difficulties in getting the necessary support in place quickly, but the Government does not seem to have taken on board our previous recommendations to improve systems. While we understand that in this case one-off payments may have been quicker to put in place, and able to reach more people, we agree with the Secretary of State’s opinion from 2021 that they are not the preferred approach. We recommend that other options, such as more responsive benefit uprating, are prioritised in future.
Government Response Summary
The government says one-off payments are the quickest way to deliver support given the current cost-of-living situation. There is no commitment to prioritising other options like more responsive benefit uprating in the future.
Paragraph Reference:
17
Government Response
Rejected
HM Government
Rejected
The temporary uplift in Universal Credit (UC) was intended to support those most affected financially by the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic when being newly unemployed. The cost-of-living situation now is different and affects everyone. One-off payments are the quickest way to deliver support to over 8 million customers in receipt of income related benefits and 6 million customers receiving disability benefits before the next benefit up- rating in April 2023. Over 8 million pensioner households will also receive a pensioner cost of living payment alongside their winter fuel payment this coming winter.