75% of Jobcentres will have Universal Credit by year end

The government is accelerating the implementation of the Universal Credit. The often delayed welfare programme has now had many of its issues worked out and an increasing number of cities and districts will now be enrolling new claimants into it.

The pace of enrollment has picked up over the last few months. There are currently now more than 5,000 new claims each week, which equates to over a quarter million individuals per year. With only a little over 100,000 people on it, the recent pick up in claims being files could more than double the number of families on the Universal Credit welfare reform schemes within a matter of months.

By Christmas of this year, about 75% of jobcentres will be signing individual up to the scheme. It is now projected that every single centre will be processing applications by the Spring of 2016. This rate is a marked improvement.

The local offices now have the technology they need in order to properly sign up new families. This should cut down on the number of families that face delays before their benefits start up, which will be a bring relief to those families that depend on this government benefit to pay their bills.

While there are still many disagreement on whether these welfare reforms are good or bad for the country as the programme is very controversial, studies done by the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) show that claimants are finding work in less time than before and are earning a higher income. Now whether this is the result of the Universal Credit or the improving economy, time will tell.

With the acceleration in the number of claimants, there are now almost 5,000 households signing up per week to this welfare scheme. This means they will only receiving one monthly payment from the government, and they need to manage that money so they can pay their bills or buy food. This does present many challenges for those that are living in poverty and that may not have the budgeting skills they need.

Those that are enrolled will need to mange one payment instead of six separate benefits. They were normally paid for Income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance, Housing Benefit, Employment and Support Allowance, Child Tax Credit, Income Support, and the Working Tax Credit. Now they will only get the one government payment. While the changes may simplify the programme for the government and reduce fraud, it causes challenges for claimants.

DWP claims that Universal Credit is saving about £2.5bn each year in fraud. This will not only save the central government money, but it also saves funds from local councils. As they can streamline their application system and reduce expenses involved in processing applications.

This may in fact allow the local authorities to increase the funds available for their own safety net programmes. Find a list of local council welfare schemes that can be used to provide additional financial support, in combination with Universal Credit.  Those to may be an option for struggling families to turn to in an emergency.

While Universal Credit still remains controversial, families that use a government benefit for paying their everyday bills can expect to soon be enrolled, for better or for worse.