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Universal Credit rolled out to whole of UK
Universal Credit has today reached every Jobcentre in the UK – meaning new benefit claimants will no longer be able to use the old welfare system.
The full digital service of the government’s flagship welfare reform programme, which rolls up to six benefits into one monthly payment, has been introduced to the final 44 parts of the country across 25 different local authorities.
Among these places is North Kensington – where Grenfell Tower is located.
In July, the government is set to begin the “managed migration” of existing benefit claims on to Universal Credit with a limited pilot.
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At the last count in November, there were around 1.4 million people on Universal Credit.
By the time the managed migration completes in late 2023, this figure will rise to more than four million.
Universal Credit began its roll-out in Ashton-under-Lyne in April 2013 for people with simple Jobseeker’s Allowance claims only.
Full service roll-out began in May 2016, after a series of pilots starting in Croydon and Southwark.
Blackpool, Everton, Carmarthen and Milton Keynes are also among the areas where Jobcentres will only offer Universal Credit to new claimants from today.
Roll-out completed in Northern Ireland on 5 December, finishing with Ballymena and Antrim.
Universal Credit has been controversial, with a number of organisations calling for ministers to pause its roll-out.
In some areas, the new system has been associated with spikes in rent arrears and demand for food banks.
The Office for Budget Responsibility, the government’s official spending watchdog, predicts that Universal Credit will cost £7.1bn more than the old system between 2019/20 and 2023/24.
