Half of universal credit claimants don't know why DWP might stop their benefits

Just under a quarter of new universal credit claimants did not understand how to get the benefit, the government’s own analysis has found.

A report published by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) last week shows that 24% of new claimants did not know how to get universal credit, and one in five claimants (19%) did not know what would happen if they did not comply with the rules of universal credit.

It is one of 31 documents that Liz Kendall, the work and pensions secretary, ordered to be published last week. She claimed that the Conservatives had “hidden” them.

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The report also revealed that half of claimants were not “fully knowledgeable” about the factors that could lead to their universal credit payments being stopped or reduced.

It follows previous research showing that the benefits system can be “unnecessarily difficult to navigate”. Charity Turn2Us found that two-thirds of UK adults find it “confusing” to know if they are eligible for benefits.

Sumi Rabindrakumar, head of policy and research at Trussell, said: “This research shows how vital personalised support offers are – particularly for people with ongoing barriers to work.

“Trussell’s community of food banks hear every day from people too fearful to apply for support from our social security system, and who feel they cannot trust our social security and employment support systems to provide the compassionate, tailored support they need to afford the essentials and prepare for, enter and sustain work.”

The DWP further revealed that awareness of the universal credit childcare support offer was limited.

The most common reasons given by parents for not claiming the childcare element of universal credit was because they were not sure they would be eligible (19%), that their childcare was covered by another government scheme (12%), and that they weren’t aware of the universal credit offer.

Misconceptions surrounding universal credit and the taper and work allowance were revealed in the report. Some universal credit claimants thought that their payment would be reduced by 100% of their earnings.

Understanding surrounding support for people with a disability or health condition was also low.

The report states that claimants “did not understand how universal credit would interact with personal independence payments (PIP). This created a barrier to engaging with universal credit support, as claimants were worried about losing their other benefits.”

Rabindrakumar added: “With the UK government promising a new localised model of support, it must confirm in the spending review sufficient investment to ensure announced reforms deliver accessible and trusted support for people facing significant barriers to work – particularly disabled people and people with caring responsibilities.”

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