Benefit take-up rates matter. A lot. If households aren’t actually receiving the benefits that government policy entitles them to, their incomes will be lower and the social safety net will not work as intended. The government’s own estimates of benefits take-up suggest that billions of pounds worth of benefits probably go unclaimed each year. Take-up … Continued

Universal Credit (UC) was a surprise contender for one of the big stories of the Budget, with the Chancellor announcing a welcome reinjection of cash into the system. UC has (finally) hit another important milestone too ­– as of December 2018, it is on offer to all new claimants of working-age benefits in jobcentres across … Continued

Today we learnt that the government is preparing a package of measures for Universal Credit (UC) ahead of the upcoming Budget – but what are they changing and what difference might it make? The first thing to understand is that these changes aren’t about the fundamentals of either the generosity or operation of Universal Credit … Continued

All is not well in the land of Universal Credit (UC). Cabinet ministers are angsting in private about the challenges of rolling out this government’s single biggest domestic policy reform. Two ex-Prime Ministers are worrying in public that the benefit risks becoming a new poll tax. And Labour has (rhetorically at least) promised to scrap … Continued

Another busy period of Brexit debate has pushed other big domestic issues out of the headlines. This is particularly true of Universal Credit (UC) – where two key government publications last week have slipped under the radar. In the coming year we can expect the profile of UC to rise again, with the pace of … Continued

Universal Basic Income (UBI) is the policy idea du jour, especially among Labour, Lib Dem, SNP and Green members. But those three words by themselves are not a policy. The concept draws support for a range of different – and sometimes contradictory – reasons, and a UBI could be designed in countless ways with vastly … Continued

A new year brings with it a new Work and Pensions Secretary, with Esther McVey the fourth incumbent since Iain Duncan Smith stepped down in January 2016. For a department in the midst of rolling-out Universal Credit (UC), a radical reform of social security, change at the top brings both opportunity and risk. UC delivery … Continued

The pace of the roll-out of Universal Credit (UC) has quickened in recent months – and so too have the complaints and reputational hit that the reform is taking. Much of the focus has been on the six week wait before new claimants moving out of work receive their first payment, which is the result … Continued

Calls for an end to austerity have dominated the media in recent days with the focus largely on removing the public sector pay cap. But from a living standards perspective, ongoing ‘austerity’ via cuts in Universal Credit (UC) will make a much bigger difference to those families affected. The roll-out of UC, which is set … Continued

Britain’s unprecedented pay squeeze – and the resulting impact on living standards – was one of the main talking points of the last parliament. But with real wages rising again and employment at a record high, has concern over living standards abated? Not if you factor in housing.  Indeed, barely a day goes by without … Continued

On welfare reform, something is moving in the undergrowth. It’s called Universal Credit. The new benefit will amount to £53 billion by 2020-21, with almost half of families with children entitled to it.  Only the State Pension will be bigger. Implementing this mammoth policy is the key task facing the new Secretary of State for … Continued

Incentives matter. That was one of the central assumptions behind the creation of Universal Credit. As well as creating a simpler benefits system (a good thing in and of itself), the purpose of the new benefit is to drive up employment by providing a clearer financial incentive to enter and progress in work. But incentives … Continued

There are some issues where a little bit of knowledge, and a lot of bluster, are all that’s needed for a politician – whether government or opposition – to get through a standard media grilling. Universal Credit (UC), the government’s flagship and troubled welfare reform that integrates six separate welfare benefits, is a case in … Continued

The program to deliver Universal Credit (UC) has already been reset by the Major Projects Authority, and now the National Audit Office has raised further doubts about whether UC will be successfully implemented at all. Their report tells us that the new digital service been delayed by six months due to a lack of staff … Continued

Despite parties gearing up for the next election and the chancellor already placing further spending cuts to welfare firmly on the table, attention has moved away from the expected impact of Universal Credit on families, and has instead turned to the implementation issues that have dogged it so far. Cuts in welfare spending have already … Continued