[Skip to Content]
The National Audit Office comment on Universal Credit

The National Audit Office comment on Universal Credit

The National Audit Office comment on Universal Credit

Tuesday, August 14, 2018

The National Audit Office published its report on Universal Credit on 15 June 2018.

Universal Credit is here. The Department for Work and Pensions plans to have rolled out its digital service by December 2018 and has already made many changes to its jobcentres, digital systems and the working practices of its staff. It has already been rolled out to a million claimants. From July 2019 the Department is due to begin moving claimants on existing benefits to Universal Credit. As numbers on Universal Credit increase, pressure on the Department’s staff, systems and local organisations will also increase. We concluded that it would be so costly and complex to move back to the old system that the programme had now passed the point of no turning back.

Universal Credit requires not only changes within the Department, but also changes to how claimants access and communicate with the Department and to how they manage their money. Many national and local front line organisations that represent or work closely with claimants showed us evidence that a significant minority of claimants are struggling to adapt, and are suffering difficulties and hardship as a result. Issues included:

• Claimants struggling to make a claim - problems can include a lack of identification or bank account, language barriers or being given the wrong information about which benefit to claim;
• Delayed payments - around 20% of claimants do not receive their full initial payment on time. We found that 113,000 claims were not paid in full and on time in 2017, and estimate the number of late payments in 2018 will be between 270,000 and 380,000. From January to October 2017 those affected by payment delays faced average additional waits of four weeks;
• Inadequate support - local providers told us that ‘Universal Support’ funded by the Department to help claimants adjust to Universal Credit does not meet claimants’ needs; for instance, it does not include debt advice;
• Problems with the identification and treatment of vulnerable claimants – the Department’s own research showed that some work coaches were struggling to identify and apply processes flexibly for vulnerable claimants. Some also reported feeling ‘overwhelmed’ with the number of health claimants they are dealing with; and
• Additional burdens on those that support claimants - housing providers report increased rent arrears since the introduction of Universal Credit. And the Trussell Trust has reported a more rapid increase in the use of foodbanks in areas where Universal Credit has been rolled out.

We recommended the Department improve the way it works with front line organisations to understand what is happening with those claimants that are struggling to adapt. Many organisations that support claimants told us that the Department has often been unresponsive to issues they have raised. Many have seen demand increase since the introduction of Universal Credit, and told us that providing support is made more difficult due to rules around a claimant’s consent to provide access to their information. Some organisations voiced concerns that the level of support they are providing will not be sustainable as claimant numbers increase.

But the Department has now made clear that it intends to listen. Its approach is based on trialling ways of working and testing whether they work. It has already demonstrated that it can adapt the programme and its systems when it understands that things are not working. We look forward to seeing the Department reach out, and front line organisations responding by providing the constructive feedback and evidence that the Department needs to make the programme work.

News and Views

collapse/expand
  • Brain Injury Guidance

    Brain Injury Guidance

    Leigh Andrews of Change Communication offered specialist advice on brain injuries and homelessness through a digital...
  • End Furniture Poverty Survey

    End Furniture Poverty Survey

    End Furniture Poverty have recently spoken with the Frontline Network to discuss their important ongoing survey, seek...
  • Cover the Cost Campaign

    Cover the Cost Campaign

    Jasmine Basran, Senior Policy Officer at Crisis, talks to us about the Cover the Cost Campaign, asking the Government...
  • VRF Impact Report 2018/19

    VRF Impact Report 2018/19

    Over the past year we have given out 3827 grants totaling £1,156,805 through the VRF. Read the latest Impact Report t...
  • Influence from the Frontline

    Influence from the Frontline

    Frontline workers are crucial at giving insight into the viewpoints of the people they work with as well as the chall...
  • The Vagrancy Act

    The Vagrancy Act

    Crisis, along with others including Homeless Link, Cymorth Cymru, Centrepoint, St Mungo’s, Shelter Cymru and the Wall...
  • Influencing local decisions

    Influencing local decisions

    Zoe, Frontline Network Coordinator at Coventry Citizens Advice, talks to us about the Coventry Frontline Network and...
  • The Litigant in Person Network

    The Litigant in Person Network

    Martha de la Roche, Network Development Manager at Litigant in Person Network (LiP Network), tells us about The LiP N...
  • VRF Impact Report

    VRF Impact Report

    Find out what impact VRF had last year and how to get involved in shaping its direction in the coming year.
  • Housing First Scotland

    Housing First Scotland

    Please see here for the first issue of Housing First Connect - a twice-yearly newsletter for Scotland’s new Housing F...
  • Slaying the Dragon

    Slaying the Dragon

    Will Golding, Edinburgh Tutor at Crisis, talks to us about 'Slaying the Dragon'.
  • CPAG - Early Warning System

    CPAG - Early Warning System

    Dan Norris, from CPAG, talks to us about a new Early Warning System to record the impact of benefit changes implement...
  • The Hostile Environment

    The Hostile Environment

    Bethan Lant, a Project lead from Praxis, writes about the creation of a hostile environment for migrants and refugees.
  • Wrexham’s Crisis Cafe

    Wrexham’s Crisis Cafe

    Sinead Kelleher writes about Wrexham's Crisis Cafe, a multi-agency response to Universal Credit.
  • Frontline Worker Survey

    Frontline Worker Survey

    We are asking frontline workers to participate in a survey, aimed at those working with clients who are experiencing...
  • A map through conflict

    A map through conflict

    A Cyrenians Mediator writes about their innovative Amber Mediation and Support Project, a model of mediation and supp...
  • “A place to call home"

    “A place to call home"

    Hannah Gousy was seconded from Crisis to the Centre for Social Justice (CSJ) to help design policy recommendations to...
  • A London Nightshelter

    A London Nightshelter

    On 7 November we opened our church-based shelters for the winter with more churches signed on then ever before. Glass...
  • 'Step Up' at The Connection

    'Step Up' at The Connection

    Wyn Newman introduces the volunteer programme 'Step Up' that has been developed at The Connection for service users.