Select committee: Work and Pensions Committee
Recommendation 43
Third Report: Universal Credit: the wait for a first payment
Published 19 Oct 2020
Paragraph 183
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)
The Universal Credit Transition Fund is an initiative to support vulnerable people in applying for Universal Credit as soon as they are eligible, and rightly puts organisations that work most closely with these groups at the centre. Timely applications to Universal Credit will mitigate the impact of the five-week wait. The disruption created by coronavirus this year has left the future funding of the Fund in some doubt. We recommend that the Department and HM Treasury continue the Universal Credit Transition Fund by renewing its funding for the next financial year.
From: Work and Pensions Committee, Third Report: Universal Credit: the wait for a first payment (HC 204), paragraph 183, 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.