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Universal Credit worry !

I’ve looked for info i’m So worried how UC
will alter my income ect there seems no guidelines ?
imon PIP middle Care and high mobility . Also ESA with the severe disability premium. I heard will lose the severe premium ? What else I pay Motability for a car , this takes chunk out of PIP ? The income aspect will pip be in the equation ? I’d like to be prepared before it gets to me ? The worry of the unknown is making me worry and making me feel ill
😕. Also if income is more than UC allow what do they take off you ?
I’m worried about It I have to pay bedtax as it is because of 2 room house only me ! There are not other properties available 😕. I live in a housing association house . Please advise me if you can before I worry myself into an early grave it’s so scary .
thank you in advance for any help from anyone .
will alter my income ect there seems no guidelines ?
imon PIP middle Care and high mobility . Also ESA with the severe disability premium. I heard will lose the severe premium ? What else I pay Motability for a car , this takes chunk out of PIP ? The income aspect will pip be in the equation ? I’d like to be prepared before it gets to me ? The worry of the unknown is making me worry and making me feel ill
😕. Also if income is more than UC allow what do they take off you ?
I’m worried about It I have to pay bedtax as it is because of 2 room house only me ! There are not other properties available 😕. I live in a housing association house . Please advise me if you can before I worry myself into an early grave it’s so scary .
thank you in advance for any help from anyone .
Replies
Just wanted to confirm what Poppy has said. UC won't affect you before 2019 at the earliest, unless you have a change of circumstances which meant you had to make a new claim. For example if you were to move house into a different local authority area where UC was available, you'd have to claim UC instead of Housing Benefit. If your circumstances stay the same however, then you don't need to worry.
If you are moved to UC as part of 'managed migration', this won't happen until 2019, and it could be much later than this. As Poppy says, when it does happen, you'll get transitional protection, so you won't be worse off than you are now. You may need to think about things like how you'd manage with a monthly payment, but you could always ask for more frequent payments and you can also ask for a payment of your housing costs direct to your landlord if that is a worry.
There will be no change to the bedroom tax, so if you have to pay that now, you'll pay it in UC too - no better, no worse. Like Poppy says, it may be worth asking for a discretionary housing payment (DHP), especially because it isn't your fault there are no one beds available - if you haven't had a DHP before, you might be able to get one, at least for a few months (you ask your local council about this).
And like Poppy says, PIP isn't part of UC, and the income you get from PIP isn't taken into account for the UC calculation.
My only advice would be if a one bed does come up, try to stay in the same local authority area so that you aren't making a new claim for Housing Benefit, just the same claim with a change of address. And avoid other changes of circumstances which mean making new claims, if you can. But don't worry about things like a PIP review - that isn't a new claim and doesn't interact with UC at all.
I hope this helps, and you can relax for a bit, at least about this issue.
Will
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) was thrown into chaos on Saturday 6 October. What appeared to be leaked comments from government meetings show that Universal Credit is in meltdown. The DWP has refused to comment to The Canary. But is everything as it actually seems?
The DWP in meltdown?
As the Times first reported, the Conservative government has serious concerns over the rollout of Universal Credit. The controversial new benefit replaces six old ones (known as “legacy benefits“), with one payment. Currently, in what’s known as “live service”, Universal Credit has been rolled out in certain areas for new claims. Eventually, the DWP will move everyone onto “full service“, including those on legacy benefits. This process is due to start in 2019.
But now, the Times reports that work and pensions secretary Esther McVey has gone rogue. Kind of. She allegedly told “cabinet colleagues”:
The Times said that the cabinet also discussed:
This is, if true, somewhat unprecedented. Because it now puts the Conservative Party at odds with the DWP itself.
Tory wars
On Friday 5 October the DWP spoke to The Canary in relation to food bank network The Trussell Trust’s damning report into Universal Credit. It said that:
The DWP’s notion that people will essentially be better off under Universal Credit is now somewhat at odds with McVey. The Canary asked it for its response, and was given a flat ‘no comment’.
Social media reacted accordingly:
As journalist Paul Lewis pointed out, McVey’s claims at the Conservative Party conference are in bits:
But is this leak to the Times really about Universal Credit? Or is it more the Tories running scared after the Labour Party conference?
Is this party political?
As the Guardian reported, Labour’s slick party political broadcast coupled with its social justice-led policies left the Conservative Party rattled. It’s because Labour is directly targeting low-income, working-class families; of which many may be affected by Universal Credit. As one senior Tory noted Labour’s offering was:
So the cabinet’s and McVey’s leaked concerns over Universal Credit may well be a reaction to this. Could there be a Tory policy shift on the benefit to stave off Labour’s threat? Possibly – but if and when that will happen is unclear. Meanwhile, the DWP’s chaotic rollout of Universal Credit will continue. For now.
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– Support the blogs Universal Credit Sufferer, Politics and Insights and The Poor Side of Life.
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Featured image via geralt – pixabay, UK government – Wikimedia and UK government – Wikimedia
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