Universal Credit

The House of Commons was due to vote on proposals to move a further three million claimants onto the universal credit by summer 2019, but this will now be postponed with the Work and Pensions Secretary Amber Rudd seeking approval to move just 10,000 onto the new system.

The House of Commons Library highlights that 4,810 households in Inverclyde claim UC and there are still 7,250 on legacy benefits with many of these still to transfer over.

A United Nations Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty recently opened a scathing attack on universal credit warning that the system was “mean spirited and often callous”.

Here in Inverclyde, we’ve had full service Universal Credit for over two years and my constituency office continues to receive stories from constituents who are suffering at the hands of policy decisions by this UK Government

The roll-out has already seen more people pushed into poverty, debt and destitution – forcing families to rely on food banks and emergency aid just to get by.

Any movement to mitigate the worst of the problems that the botched rollout of Universal Credit has caused is welcome, but fundamental reform is urgently needed for those who have already been affected.

https://ronniecowan.com/2018/12/14/universal-credit-public-petition