Minister defies Tory rebels over welfare shake-up

MINISTERS will today pledge to push forward with flagship welfare reforms despite a revolt from Tory MPs.

David Gauke will reject demands to pause the roll-out of Universal Credit, which combines six benefits into a single payment. But the Work and Pensions Secretary will vow to make it easier for claimants to access help if they are left short of money when they first move over to the scheme.

Twelve Conservatives led by Heidi Allen signed a letter to Mr Gauke urging him to slow down the number of claimants being moved on to Universal Credit.

The MPs raised concerns about how new claimants can have to wait six weeks for their first payment. But Mr Gauke yesterday argued there was already support in place, including cash advances. Speaking at a fringe event, he said more than half of new claimants were already receiving advances and that new guidance would be issued so that everyone knew what was available to them.

He said he would be ready to scrap the whole system – devised by predecessor Iain Duncan Smith – if he felt it was a ‘mistake’, but did not believe this to be the case. Mr Gauke, who is tipped for future promotion in the Cabinet, added: ‘Let’s not be carried away in terms of what is scheduled over the next few months. If you look at the total number of households that are going to move over to Universal Credit by the end of this process, we are 8 per cent of the way through.

‘Under the scheduled plans, by January we will be 10 per cent of the way through. Nobody is talking about a reckless or risky approach.’