Recommendation 35

Even with the temporary suspension of the Minimum Income Floor, self- employed people still need to grapple with some of Universal Credit’s other rules. Even experienced advisers have at times found it difficult to navigate some of the complexities. As a result, some people may have missed out on support to which they were entitled. The Government will also recognise that many self- employed people have not received any Government financial support from either Universal Credit or the various coronavirus grant or loan schemes. The Treasury Committee has estimated that more than a million people have missed out on government support during the pandemic. We recommend that DWP enhance its communications to self-employed claimants, to ensure that self-employed people, and organisations giving advice, understand its policies clearly. The Department should also work closely with advice organisations to monitor how well self-employed people understand their entitlement to benefits and whether other problems of eligibility are arising. It should also work with other Government Departments, and with the devolved administrations, to ensure that people who claimed Universal Credit in the early stages of the pandemic do not lose out from support schemes which were made available later and which they could not have foreseen.