Calls to scrap Universal Credit as DWP payment replaces six other benefits

Legacy benefit claimants will transition onto Universal Credit from the DWP from this year.

There are calls for Universal Credit "to be scrapped" as the Department for Work and Pensions payment looks set to replace six other benefits this year. Legacy benefit claimants will transition onto Universal Credit from the DWP from this year.

These include: Housing Benefit, income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA), income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA), Child Tax Credits (CTC), Working Tax Credits (WTC) and Income Support. Campaigner Geoffrey Rutlidge has started a petition to get Parliament to debate the issue.

He warned: “The reason why Universal Credit needs to be scrapped and for legacy benefits to be reinstated is I think it is making a lot of people worse off and putting them into debt, into poverty and putting them at increased risk of bankruptcy and homelessness.

READ MORE Met Office speaks out over five-day Beast from the East hitting UK with snow

“Claimants who make a claim for Universal Credit have to wait for up to at least five or six weeks before they receive their first payment which can make it very difficult for people to have the ability to buy food and pay their bills and rent.”

The petition has over 100 signatures at the time of writing. At 10,000 signatures, government will respond to this petition. At 100,000 signatures, this petition will be considered for debate in Parliament, the government has confirmed.

If you’re getting any of these benefits or tax credits, you do not need to do anything unless either, your circumstances change, or you get a letter called a ‘Migration Notice’ telling you that you must claim Universal Credit.

If you get a Migration Notice, you must move to Universal Credit within 3 months to keep getting financial support. You’ll stop getting these benefits and tax credits when you or your partner claims Universal Credit. If you or your partner gets Pension Credit, this will also stop if one of you claims Universal Credit.

This will not affect any other benefits you’re getting, such as Personal Independence Payment (PIP) or Carer’s Allowance.