Universal Credit

[poppet2]

There's loads out there Anna...happy enough to live on what the state provides..

 

Does that include those who received a 60% discount to purchase a state owned council house?

[truman]

Does that include those who received a 60% discount to purchase a state owned council house?

 

I've always thought that that wasn't a good idea..although if you read this it appears that Labour weren't totally opposed to the idea..in fact it looks like they were thinking of it first...

 

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2015/aug/26/right-to-buy-margaret-thatcher-david-cameron-housing-crisis

[Anna B]

The move to Universal Credit is unecessary, unhelpful, deeply flawed and going to cost a fortune to administer.

 

If it's anything like PIP, I dread to think of the court costs etc as people go to appeal to try to get justice. But most of all I dread to think of the hardship.

[El Cid]

The move to Universal Credit is unecessary, unhelpful, deeply flawed and going to cost a fortune to administer.

 

If it's anything like PIP, I dread to think of the court costs etc as people go to appeal to try to get justice. But most of all I dread to think of the hardship.

 

It does give that impression, but they must be pressing ahead for a good reason.

[the_bloke]

You're probably right, but this will affect more than just the unemployed. It will affect the working poor, those on tax credits and even those getting family allowance (or its modern equivalent) I believe, so that's a lot of people.

 

When you add that to the number of people being affected by lack of public services and cuts across the board, I think they will have surely had enough.

 

Data here:

 

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/739377/universal-credit-statistics-to-9-august-2018.pdf

 

Currently 880,000 households are receiving UC, of which 37% of those people on UC are employed.

 

There are 27 million households in the UK. So currently 3% of the households in the UK are on UC.

 

Even with the ongoing switch to UC from the myriad of other benefits, I very much doubt there will ever be significant numbers of people to reach a critical mass to cause the Government to reverse a system that has been on the cards since 2013.

 

The buck stops with the Government, but we all know it's the public sector and civil service that's made such a mess of the implementation of UC. Which lets face it, is no surprise.

[Anna B]

It does give that impression, but they must be pressing ahead for a good reason.

 

When Ian Duncan Smith started it off it might have seemed like a good idea with good intentions. But even he bailed out when he realised it was going to be deliberately underfunded to the tune of 2 billion, so any good it might have done was replaced by the usual Tory urge to stamp hardest on the poorest. These are the most vulnerable people in society, especially the disabled for which there is absolutely no excuse.

 

For once I don't blame the civil service for getting it wrong. There was no way they could get it right. It was sabotaged from the start. Deliberate Tory maleficence to make life as difficult as possible for those in need, like their lives weren't difficult enough already.

 

---------- Post added 18-10-2018 at 13:01 ----------

 

Last night Tory MPs blocked the release of the Government's own analysis on the impact of Universal Credit.

 

Clearly they want to cover up how it's devastating people's lives

Edited October 12, 2018 by Anna B

[Anna B]

Yet another independent report on Universal credit has come out pointing, out its obvious flaws and the devastation it is going to have on people's lives, But Still the government is refusing to listen...

 

Everybody is going to be affected, but particularly the working poor and the disabled. Disgusting that these two groups are being targeted for cuts, yet little is being done to target the richest people in society in this 'age of Austerity.'

[ivan edake]

According to the Mirror anybody who signs on to Universal Credit after Nov 20th will not receive any payment until the new year.This is at least 6 weeks.How on earth is anybody expected to last this length of time with no income? The mirror calls UC a Premeditated Cruelty and they are absolutely right.Thousands of cases of UC causing poverty, people to lose their homes,a massive increase in the use of food banks and people having no food,electricity or gas for weeks on end have been confirmed and reported yet this government still persists in carrying on with this useless payment system.When asked how she slept at night Amber Rudd said " very soundly". This country is, I believe the 5th richest in the world,yet needy people are treat like this.The government needs to sit up and take notice or it will get kicked out.Still, no worries ,all the MPs will have enough money to manage.

[ECCOnoob]

What do you mean by "signs on"?     

 

Are you talking about someone who has become out of work and then applies?     If that is the case, then they would get paid up to the point they left employment and would live on that until UC commences - just like they would have had to do whilst they are employed.    Its not beyond the realms of reality that people survive gaps between payments WHATEVER their source of income

 

Applications have to be reviewed and things set up in place.    Benefits have always been like that and UC certainly hasn't changed the position.

 

What exactly was the procedure before when someone applied for ye olde' Jobseekers Allowance or back in the days of Family Credit?   How long was the waiting time back then compared to now?

 

I like facts not the "Mirror's" sensationalised opinion. 

Edited November 30, 2018 by ECCOnoob

[Cyclone]

It's been well established and widely reported that UC is causing huge delays for a moderate number of people.  And that's longer delays than the system of benefits which it is supposed to replace.  It's being the direct cause of hardship and harm.