Blog: A free helpline is not enough

Despite a day of intense focus in Westminster on Universal Credit, it is extremely worrying that the UK Government is still choosing to ignore calls from a wide range of bodies, including the SFHA, to pause the roll-out of Universal Credit until its issues – which are having catastrophic consequences – have been resolved.

Yesterday, Secretary of State for Work and Pensions David Gauke and Director General of Universal Credit Neil Couling appeared before the Work and Pensions Committee, which had received over 100 submissions raising concerns with the current state of the system. The committee was thrown a bone in the form of a pledge from David Gauke that DWP helplines would be converted to freephone numbers by the end of the year, something that Glasgow MP Chris Stephens had been championing.

That was the only concession. The call by Heidi Allen MP for the end to the seven-day wait period was rejected by Mr Gauke, who said that there has always been a waiting period (there was no waiting period for Housing Benefit). Rather than shorten the assessment period and bring forward the first payment, Mr Gauke promised that advanced payment loans will be made more readily available. However, there will be no extension of the repayment rate. He also declined to respond to the question posed by Frank Field regarding whether his local food bank would still need to stock up with 15 tonnes of supplies to cope with Christmas demand.

In response to concerns over the rising number of evictions, Neil Couling said he had written to the National Housing Federation asking it to remind its members of pre-action requirements, the implication being that housing associations are not making sufficient effort to find out whether there were DWP payments in train before they take action.

The afternoon saw the opposition day debate on the call to pause the roll-out of Universal Credit, which passed with 299 votes in favour and 0 against after most Tory MPs abstain. The vote is a symbolic victory and is not binding on the government. It is disappointing, to say the least, that the UK Government has chosen to ignore the concerns of so many organisations and individuals who have seen the consequences of the roll-out of Universal Credit Full Service at first hand. The provision of freephone helplines is welcome and long overdue. However, it will remain to be seen whether the DWP has sufficient numbers of fully trained staff at the other end of the line to resolve issues. 

The government’s insistence on sticking with the seven-day wait and assessment and administration period, which often leaves claimants with no money to see them through, is intolerable. At least a fifth of claimants do not get that first payment within the six-week time frame, and it is for that reason, if no other, that the roll-out should be paused.

Mr Couling implies that the rising number of evictions is due to landlords failing to take sufficient care to find out whether a tenant is due Universal Credit. The failure of the DWP to properly consider the best interests of claimants when it comes to informing third parties is, however, a systemic failure for which government is accountable for. The removal of implicit consent is obstructing the efforts of housing associations that want to provide support for their tenants. These issues will not go away and, while they persist, we will continue to work with our members and other organisations to highlight the devastating effects of Universal Credit and press for change.