New revised guidance has been issued by the DWP in relation to advance payments to Universal Credit claimants who can’t manage until they receive their first payment of Universal Credit.
View DWPS revised Universal Credit Advanced Payment guidance
The DWP says:
“To establish if the claimant has a financial need and requires an advance they should then be asked if they have enough money to live on until the first payment of Universal Credit is due.
This might be money from savings, earnings, redundancy payments or support from the claimant or partner’s parents, family or friends. If the answer is no, then a claimant should be offered an advance.”
The new guidance adds that –
- the claimant should be informed of the maximum amount they are entitled to (based in 50% of their overall estimated entitlement);
- “to guard against hardship”, the repayment amount will be no more than the equivalent of 40% of the claimant’s Universal Credit Standard Allowance;
- the claimant should be offered support to calculate the most appropriate amount of advance payment, based on their monthly outgoings and their ability to repay it;
- claimants should be informed that they have six months to repay the advance (i.e. the maximum period).
Under the ‘old’ benefits system, benefits are payable within two weeks of a claim.
Under Universal Credit, there is a formal waiting period of one week with no money, with the benefit then being paid monthly in arrears.
The effect of this means an in-built wait of six weeks before people get their Universal Credit - three times as long as the old system – and the DWP admits that in around a fifth of cases it is failing to meet even that target.
DR UK’s Welfare Rights Adviser Ken Butler said:
“The current six weeks first UC payment waiting period is too long with the consequence that there are increasing numbers of people in ever increasing rent arrears and resorting to food banks.
Instead, UC payments should be made fortnightly in arrears not monthly. There is a real risk of people making a claim over Christmas having nothing to eat and nowhere to live in. This has led the Scottish Government to introduced the option to have fortnightly UC payments.
Claimants should not need to take out a loan and be asked to pay it back in just six months when it is money that is rightfully theirs.”
He added -
“However, fundamental changes are also needed to the level of Universal Credit payable to disabled people.
The severe disability premium (SDP) currently gives additional support to disabled adults who receive the middle rate or higher rate of the care component of DLA or the standard or enhanced PIP daily living component and live on their own and no one is paid carer’s allowance for assisting them.
This additional support helps to cover the additional costs of both living alone with a disability and having no carer. SDP is abolished under universal credit. This will cost disabled adults with no one to care for them, or with only a young carer, about £62.45 per week (£3,250 per year).
You qualify for an Enhanced Disability Premium (EDP) if you are under Pension Credit age and receive DLA higher rate care component or PIP Daily Living component enhanced rate. You can also qualify for an enhanced disability premium if you receive ESA and are in the support group. EDP is abolished under universal credit. This will cost disabled adults £15.90 per week (£825 per year).”