Select committee: Work and Pensions Committee
Recommendation 32
Third Report: Universal Credit: the wait for a first payment
Published 19 Oct 2020
Paragraph 139
Addressed to Department for Work and Pensions
Work and Pensions Committee Universal Credit: the wait for a first payment All items in this report Report on parliament.uk ↗ Inquiry on parliament.uk ↗
Recommendation (the committee's words)
DWP must immediately make improvements to the Universal Credit system to formalise how it identifies and defines vulnerable claimants, as part of its overall approach to safeguarding vulnerable people. This will be a substantial piece of work, and DWP should set out when it expects to achieve this. The new mechanism should, as the Minister for Welfare Delivery suggested, include the ability to identify vulnerable and disadvantaged groups and specific cohorts of people. DWP should gather data to identify whether any such groups are more likely to experience problems during the wait for first payment, delays to their payment, or any other issues throughout their claim. DWP should proactively use this information to expedite claims for these people, ensuring that they do not face further delay, and to provide the additional support that they need.
From: Work and Pensions Committee, Third Report: Universal Credit: the wait for a first payment (HC 204), paragraph 139, 19 October 2020
Government response
The government responded to the whole report on 12 January 2021 (deadline 19 December 2020).
Summary written by Accountability Index from the government's response. It is not the government's own words.The Government notes the Committee's report and, in the sections summarised here, declines to adopt most of its main recommendations, saying that advances mean "No one has to wait five weeks for a payment".
- On research into the impact of the wait, the Department states that it "will not be conducting nor commissioning any research", saying resources were reallocated to the COVID-19 response.
- On a starter payment, the Government says there "is not a need for a starter payment in UC" because New Claim Advances are available, and cites increased fraud risk. It says it will "not be introducing" more frequent payments by default.
- On the deduction cap, it points to the lowering from 30% to 25% of the standard allowance, "effective from October 2021", and says further lowering "would not be an effective way to protect vulnerable claimants".
- It states that it "does not agree that monthly updates" on Work Coach recruitment are appropriate, but will ensure "relevant updates" are supplied to Parliament. It also reports a commitment to increase Work Coaches by 13,500 by end of March 2021.