Recommendation 55

The five week wait for a first payment of Universal Credit is an inevitable consequence of the fixed monthly assessment period. It is very difficult to remove the wait for 88 Universal Credit: the wait for a first payment all claimants without a complete dismantling of the UC system. But there is much more that the Government could and should do to mitigate its effects. The measures we have proposed would, taken together, provide vital support for those claimants who need it most. (Paragraph 234) Universal Credit: the wait for a first payment 89