Universal Credit worry !

Dippy · May 2018

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 .

poppy123456 · May 2018

Hi,

Relax! When your area becomes a full UC area then unless you have a change of circumstances that will prompt a move across, then you won't have to change over until the Managed Migrations begin. Managed migrations will not start to take place until 2019 and for a lot of people it will be much later than this, it could even be years. When they do start the managed migration then there will be a transitional payment protection in place that will make sure you're not any worse off than what you are now.

The only time you would be worse off is if you had to move across because of a change of circumstances. For example, If you moved house to a full UC area.

PIP is not part of UC either.

Bedroom tax is part of social housing and affects everyone that claims housing benefit if they have more bedrooms than they need. If the bedroom tax affects you now then it's possible that you could claim a discretionary housing payment but you have to apply for this.

BenefitsTrainingCo · May 2018

Dippy,

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

medwaymum · October 2018

I was with the only housing society that didnt have to pay bedroom tax when it came in and still get full housing benefit for my 3 bed house , Iv since found out I will have to pay £120. for my 2 empty bedrooms and due to my disability and care help (on PIP) I cant move out of my town but there is no smaller homes for me to downsize ,Iv had lots of major addaptions done to my home so I can live here ok and im a protected tenant so dont have to move out but now I have the fear of this extra rent so it will affect me badly , I will have to use my PIP to pay extra rent and not for the help and care I need ,I get lower rat for mobility and enhanced for care , so we are losers there ,if you have no change of circumstances it says 2019 it will affect us but it can be as late as 2023 as i have a family member who works for UC , so many will be worse off .

keira · October 2018

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”:

that millions of families would lose £200 a month under the new system.
Ms McVey told cabinet colleagues that half of lone parents and about two thirds of working-age couples with children would lose the equivalent of £2,400 a year.

The Times said that the cabinet also discussed:

The scale of the cuts facing low-income families.
Fears that the new system, which involves one monthly payment, will cause cashflow problems for families.
The new system will force low-income families to pay back far more “benefit debts”, which under the old system they were able to ignore.

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:

Managed Migration extends the benefits of Universal Credit to legacy claimants, opening up work and ensuring that support reaches those who need it most – there are currently hundreds of thousands of people failing to claim £2.4bn of benefits because they are unaware of what they can receive, and Universal Credit will fix this.

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:

BREAKING#DWP boss Esther McVey admits millions to lose £200 a month on #UniversalCredit
McVey has been forced to admit single parents face a £2400 a year benefit cut when they move to Universal Credit.
The nasty party has gone full tilt!#GTTO https://t.co/8Hp4eylYjK
— Alex Tiffin (@RespectIsVital)October 6, 2018

So while the Conservatives claim to have ended austerity they’ve now learned that Universal Credit will mean all single parents and most working age families are £200 a month worse off. No wonder food bank use has soared in areas it’s already been introduced. Needs to be scrapped
— Matt Zarb-Cousin (@mattzarb)October 6, 2018

FINALLY McVey admits UC will make people £200 worse off. It already is in #Oldham Govt must #StopUniversalCredit in #Budget @SamCoatesTimes
— Debbie Abrahams MP (@Debbie_abrahams)October 6, 2018

As journalist Paul Lewis pointed out, McVey’s claims at the Conservative Party conference are in bits:

Esther McVey, who told her party conference that benefit cuts were ‘fake news’, admits privately to Cabinet colleagues that the move to Universal Credit will mean half of lone parents and two thirds of couples with children will lose £2400 a year https://t.co/E90j2ygZMT
— Paul Lewis (@paullewismoney)October 6, 2018

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:

serious stuff… that may resonate with millions of workers…

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.

Get Involved!

– Support the blogs Universal Credit Sufferer, Politics and Insights and The Poor Side of Life.

– Get involved with Disabled People Against Cuts (DPAC), fighting for disabled people’s rights.

Featured image via geralt – pixabay, UK government – Wikimedia and UK government – Wikimedia