Budget 2017: Philip Hammond ploughs £1.5bn into reducing Universal Credit waiting time by 7 days
UNIVERSAL Credit wait times will be slashed by seven days and the project will get a fresh £1.5bn of cash to fix its problems, Philip Hammond has announced.
The Chancellor used today's Budget to announce the new moves - after weeks of pressure for the Government to shake-up the policy.
He bowed to pressure after Tory rebels expressed major concerns about the roll-out of the new benefits system, which left many people waiting weeks to get their money.
Today he said that although the reforms were "long overdue", he would plough more money into dealing with the problems in the system.
That will mean that people applying to claim new benefits will have to wait no longer than five weeks - a cut of seven days.
It was expected that it would be slashed to four weeks after fierce opposition from furious MPs in all parties, and reviews from committees.
Universal Credit replaces six other types of benefit including jobseeker’s allowance and housing credit.
The scheme - currently being rolled out to all benefits claimants - is meant to make the welfare system easier to understand and encourage the jobless to return to work.
Mr Hammond said that he would make it possible to apply for a benefits advance online, and that the money would get to "any household that needed it" as soon as possible.
What is Universal Credit and what problems have there been with it?
UNIVERSAL Credit is a new benefit that is being rolled out across the UK.
The aim of Universal Credit is to simplify the welfare system by replacing different benefits for things like jobseeker's allowance or housing benefit with a single monthly payment.
The Government had said that three million working households would see cash gains from Universal Credit.
By 2022, it is expected there will be a full roll out of the system across the UK.
But Universal Credit has previously been criticised for lengthy delays to benefit payments, with a third of families having to wait six weeks for their first installments.
In September 2017 as the plans were being rolled out Tory rebels called for a halt.
Twelve MPs wrote to the Work and Pensions Secretary David Gauke demanding a pause in the roll out of the welfare reform.
Rebels feared the change could be as damaging to the party as the Poll Tax reporting concerns that claimants were missing out on money when they switched from their existing benefit to the new one.
Citizens Advice, which helps people navigate the benefits system, had warned the acceleration of the regime – in its current state – is a “disaster waiting to happen”.
More than one in ten applying for Universal Credit turned to the advice centre.
There are currently 590,000 people on Universal Credit in England and Wales, with around 50,000 new claims each month.
But defiant Theresa May insisted the roll out of the credit would continue as it was the "right thing to do."
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And Mr Hammond announced that he would change the rules to extend the repayment period from six months to twelve months.
Work and Pensions Secretary David Gauke will reveal more details of the changes to MPs tomorrow.
Earlier this year MPs forced Theresa May to scrap charged to a 55p-per-minute number which was designed to help people struggling on Universal Credit.
It will be changed to a freephone number by November.
Budget 2017: Key points at a glance
CHANCELLOR Philip Hammond has delivered his second Budget as Chancellor. Here are the key points:
- Stamp Duty: Stamp duty to be abolished immediately for first-time buyers purchasing properties worth up to £300,000.
- Living Wage: The National Living Wage will rise from £7.50 to £7.83 for those aged 25 and over from April.
- Diesel cars: New £500 diesel road tax from April next year.
- Booze: Duty on beer, wine, spirits and most ciders has been frozen.
- Plastic Plan: Takeaway boxes and bubble wrap are to be taxed in an attempt to tackle the growing usage of single-use plastics.
- Crackdown on tech giants: Tech giants like Apple, Google and Spotify may have to pay tax on royalty payments.
- New railcard for under 30s: Hammond confirmed a new railcard for 16-30 year-olds which will give a third off fares.
