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Hammond announces extra funding for Universal Credit
Philip Hammond has announced plans to pump more money into Universal Credit in the Autumn Budget today.
The chancellor said the controversial new welfare system represents “long-overdue and necessary reform”, but said he recognised “the genuine concerns” about the programme’s implementation and “rates and allowances” for claimants.
The government will provide an extra £1bn to assist the new welfare system’s implementation over the next five years, he said, which will mean “additional protections” for existing benefit claimants as they switch to Universal Credit.
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Work and pensions secretary Esther McVey will announce details of the funding package when she introduces the managed migration regulations for Universal Credit later this year, he added.
The announcement met with loud cries from Labour MPs, which Mr Hammond sarcastically said was “a surprising response”.
And the chancellor said he was “increasing work allowances in Universal Credit by £1,000 per annum at a cost of £1.7bn annually once roll-out is complete”.
This move, Mr Hammond said, will benefit 2.4 million working families with children and people with disabilities by £630 a year.
He added: “Universal Credit is here to stay and we are putting in the funding it needs to make it a success, because on this side of the house we believe that work should always pay.”
Universal Credit, which rolls six existing benefits into one, has come under intense scrutiny in recent months as it is introduced across the UK.
Last week, a cross-party group of MPs blasted the Department for Work and Pensions for a “systemic culture of denial and defensiveness” in response to criticism of the programme.
Ministers intend to transfer around four million people onto Universal Credit by 2023, with further delays to the roll-out revealed earlier this month.
A number of organisations have called on the government to pause the roll-out while problems with the system are fixed.
Autumn Budget 2018 - the key housing policies at-a-glance
- £1bn to help fund the implementation of Universal Credit over the next five years
- £500m in Housing Infrastructure Fund to unlock a further 650,000 homes
- The next wave of strategic partnerships with nine housing associations, which will deliver 13,000 homes
- British business bank guarantees for SME house builders
- ‘Simplification’ of process to convert commercial properties to new homes
- Providing funding to empower 500 neighbourhoods to allocate homes to local people in perpetuity
- Help to Buy equity loan scheme extended by two years to 2023 and limited to first-time buyers
- Retrospective inclusion of first-time buyers of shared ownership in stamp duty relief
