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Rudd reveals pilot area for Universal Credit managed migration
Work and pensions secretary Amber Rudd has revealed the first area where existing benefit claimants will be transferred to Universal Credit.
Harrogate will be the pilot for the managed migration phase of the government’s flagship welfare reform.
Ms Rudd made the announcement while appearing before the Work and Pensions Select Committee this afternoon.
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She said: “Obviously there’s been a lot of interest in what progress we’re making with our managed migration pilot and we have decided to go ahead and do that in Harrogate, and that is being set up for early piloting as soon as possible.
“We’ve chosen them because they’ve had Universal Credit for three years, they’re an experienced Jobcentre, and they’re an area [with] both urban and rural claimants.
“And we will be making sure that we have the opportunity to test as many as possible in an effective way so that we can really learn and demonstrate the success of managed migration.”
Conservative-led Harrogate Borough Council still retains a housing stock of around 3,800 homes.
A number of housing associations operate in the Yorkshire spa town, including Anchor, The Guinness Partnership, Places for People and Sanctuary.
Around 3,000 people registered at Harrogate Jobcentre are currently claiming legacy benefits.
They will be the first of three million to switch over to Universal Credit by the end of 2023.
A 10,000-person pilot for managed migration was announced in January and is due to start in July.
As of December, all new benefit claimants in the UK must use Universal Credit.
More than 1.6 million are currently receiving income support through the six-in-one benefit system.
In a press release, the Department for Work and Pensions said that all those in Harrogate moving to Universal Credit will be personally supported by Jobcentre staff, with vulnerable claimants given home visits.
“Moving people from the old and outdated benefits system to Universal Credit is a positive and important moment,” Ms Rudd said in the statement.
“But the switch needs to be done carefully, which is why we are taking a step-by-step approach to this, starting in Harrogate.
“I want to be sure that the switch to Universal Credit is a hassle-free process for claimants and everyone receives the personalised service they deserve.”
Gareth Roebuck, senior income services manager at Yorkshire Housing, said: “We want to ensure that tenants on benefits don’t fall into any arrears as they transition to Universal Credit, this pilot area may give us an opportunity to learn some of the potential pitfalls they may face.
“We will certainly give support to our Yorkshire Housing customers, using the information we hold to target our resources at those most at risk.”
Simon Clark, group director of housing at Sanctuary, said: “In our experience, the key to a successful migration is offering tailored one-to-one support to the tenant, understanding their needs and working closely with the DWP.
“We have about 250 social housing properties in Harrogate. We will continue to learn through the pilot and refine our offer to tenants.”
Andy Powell, customer experience director of Broadacres, said the association will “be talking to all our customers who are impacted by the Universal Credit migration pilot to reassure and support them through the transition”.
A spokesperson for Harrogate Council said the decision “is testament to the hard work by Harrogate Jobcentre Plus and the borough council to support claimants” and that it would work with the DWP and Jobcentre to make the roll-out “as smooth as possible for our residents”.
Update: at 14.03pm, 13/03/19 comments from the council and housing associations were added to the story.
Universal Credit timeline: how the policy developed
September 2009 – Centre-right thinktank the Centre for Social Justice, chaired by former Conservative leader Iain Duncan Smith, publishes Dynamic Benefits: towards welfare that works.
The report advocates simplifying the existing 51 potential benefits into two simple “universal credits”.
May 2010 – David Cameron becomes prime minister and Mr Duncan Smith is appointed work and pensions secretary.
July 2010 – The government publishes ‘21st Century Welfare’ – a consultation document that proposes ‘Universal Credit’, a system to “remove much of the complexity that burdens the system today” by rolling six payments into one. In October’s Spending Review the system is adopted.
February 2011 – The Welfare Reform Bill, which provides the legislative framework for the system, is introduced to parliament.
March 2012 – The bill passes into law as the Welfare Reform Act 2012. In July, small pilots are launched in six areas testing the ‘direct payment’ of housing benefit.
February 2013 – The Major Projects Authority, which oversees government projects, expresses serious concern about the policy. The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) “resets” the programme. Early evidence from the pilots shows soaring rent arrears as a result of the direct payment of benefit.
April 2013 – Roll-out of a limited ‘live service’ begins in specific pilot areas, focusing at first only on single claimants with straightforward circumstances for claiming. The DWP plans a ‘test and learn’ approach which will see it use evidence from the early roll-out to inform its development of the ‘full’ service.
September 2013 – A damning National Audit Office (NAO) reportaccuses the DWP of “weak management, ineffective control and poor governance” in developing the new system.
June 2014 – The live service begins to roll out across North West England, beyond the pilot areas. By October, the service is rolled out to 17,850 claimants, with roll-out steadily continuing.
July 2015 – After securing a majority in the general election in May, Conservative chancellor George Osborne (pictured) announces £3.2bn of cuts to the service, including a controversial reduction in work allowances.
Sept 2015 – As fears over rent arrears mount, 33 social landlords test a ‘trusted partner pilot’ which allows them to recommend tenants be switch back to direct payment of rent to landlords.
November 2015 – The roll-out of the full service begins, with south London boroughs Southwark and Croydon the first to experience it.
March 2016 – The roll-out of the ‘live service’ to new single, healthy claimants completes across the UK, and the roll-out of the full service expands at pace. Mr Duncan Smith resigns citing “too much emphasis on money saving” in the welfare programme.
February 2017 – “Compelling evidence” of problems with the full roll-out leads to an inquiry from the Work and Pensions Committee led by Frank Field (pictured). In September, the committee calls for the roll-out to be paused, warning of a “human and political catastrophe”.
November 2017 – In the Budget, the government slows the roll-out, scraps the seven-day wait for new claims to be processed and makes other changes aimed at limiting negative impacts.
March 2018 – Full roll-out to all claimants is delayed until 2023.
June 2018 – Another damning NAO report slams the policy for failing to deliver the planned savings and exposing claimants to hardship.
Research from housing association trade bodies across the UK shows 73% of Universal Credit claimants are in arrears compared to 29% of all other tenants.
June 2018 - Inside Housing asks housing association sector leaders for their views on how the policy can be fixed:
Click here to read their suggestions
October 2018 – In his Budget speech, the chancellor increases work allowances. The Office for Budget Responsibility says Universal Credit will cost “billions” more than the legacy system.
December 2018 – Roll-out of the full service completes, going live in the final 44 Jobcentre areas in the UK.
