Universal Credit roll-out delay welcomed by Telford & Wrekin Council leader

The system, which replaces other working-age benefits, is due to be introduced in Telford and Wrekin next month.

The Department for Work and Pensions says there will be no delay for new claimants and existing claimants of the six benefits it replaces will transition onto Universal Credit when they are advised by their local jobcentre.

The Government was intending to begin moving almost four million people onto universal credit from January 2019, initially in small batches. Larger scale movements were due to start next July.

Now though, initial testing has been pushed back to next summer, and large-scale movement won't begin until November 2020 at the earliest.

Leaked documents predict that overall, the latest delay will add an additional nine months to the final deadline for full implementation.

The Government said it always intended to introduce the benefit slowly.

The roll-out has already taken place in the Shropshire Council area.

Telford & Wrekin Council’s leader Shaun Davies said he is very concerned about Universal Credit.

He said: “I welcome any delay.

“In fact I think the Government should go one step further and abolish Universal Credit.

“The principal is a good idea but what you can’t do is use the principal, take £3 billion out of the budget and then roll it out, that’s what’s happening.

“Charities and voluntary organisations including our food banks are very concerned about Universal Credit.

“I welcome any delay but I do think the Government needs to take the view now actually, it hasn’t done what they want it to do because they’ve tried to use it as a vehicle to save money.

'Awful'

“I’ve heard some real horror stories of people on Universal Credit in the rest of the country which has caused great hardship and even people attempting to take their lives, which is just awful.”

A DWP spokesperson said: “We have long said that we will take a slow and measured approach to managed migration. This will not begin in January 2019, but later in the year, after a period of preparation.

“For a further year we will then begin migration working with a maximum of 10,000 people, continuing with our ‘test and learn’ approach. This is to ensure the system is working well for claimants and to make any necessary adaptions as we go.

“We will publish full plans for the next stage of Universal Credit roll-out, including managed migration, in due course. Anything before that point is speculation and we do not comment on leaks.”

The policy was first announced under the coalition Government in 2010.

It is supposed to simplify benefits for working-age people but it has been widely criticised.

Much criticism has centred on the time it takes for people applying for Universal Credit to receive their first payment – 35 days.

It has left some claimants struggling to pay their bills in that period.

It is understood that the Government is planning to make changes in an attempt to reduce the negative impact on people being moved to Universal Credit.

Universal Credit replaces six existing benefits – income support, income-based jobseeker’s allowance, income-related employment and support allowance, housing benefit, working tax credit and child tax credit – with a single payment.