UK Government White Paper, Universal Credit: welfare that works

On 11th November 2010, the UK Government published the White Paper that heralds the introduction of a Universal Credit. This proposal was one of the options for welfare reform outlined in the DWP's 21st Century Welfare consultation paper published in July 2010. The Universal Credit will be available to people both in and out of work and will replace Working Tax credit, Child Tax Credit, Housing Benefit, Income Support, income-based Job Seekers' Allowance and income-related Employment and Support Allowance.

The House of Commons Select Committee on Work and Pensions has been conducting an inquiry on the Universal Credit proposal.  SFHA submitted evidence to the Committee, which is downloadable below. The UK Government is introducing a Welfare Reform Bill in January 2011 that will contain the legislative powers required for the introduction of the Universal Credit. The SFHA will be lobbying politicians about our views and briefing members on the detail of the new Credit and its implications. If you have any views/concerns that you would wish to see raised and which we have not covered in the evidence, please email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . We also need case examples to highlight the potential impact of the proposal, which can be anonymised if necessary.

Universal Credit Full Document (download from DWP website)

SFHA Evidence to Select Committee Inquiry on Universal Credit December 2010

SFHA Briefing on Universal Credit White Paper November 2010

A summary of the responses received to 21st Century Welfare was published on the same day as the White Paper and can be downloaded here:

Summary of Responses to 21st Century Welfare

SFHA's response to 21st Century Welfare