Mum opens up about her Universal Credit struggle
THOUSANDS of Welsh people could run into debt ahead of Christmas because of Universal Credit delays, a housing association body has warned.
Universal Credit was rolled out to all job centres in Wales in December last year to replace six other benefits with a single monthly payment.
People applying for the new benefit face a five-week wait until the first payment comes through, meaning that those applying after this week face running into debt ahead of the festive season.
A Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) spokesman urged people to “apply without delay”.
Community Housing Cymru (CHC) has warned the five-week wait will cause significant hardship for many people who are facing shortfalls in income around the festive season.
Gina Francis, of Talbot Green, in Rhondda Cynon Taf, found herself in that situation last Christmas.
Ms Francis found she couldn’t afford to pay the rent on her previous house after her daughter moved out and her benefits were reduced.
Being behind on her rent, she was placed on the list for people under the threat of homelessness and, after a couple of months, she was offered a two-bedroom flat in Talbot Green.
She moved into the flat in midNovember last year and, on the same day, the mum-of-five was told she had to apply for universal credit.
She was then told she would not receive any benefits for five weeks. She was offered an advanced payment but didn’t take it because she was worried that she could not afford to pay it back.
“That is when my troubles started,” Ms Francis continued. “It was Christmas time as well and it was awful. I felt suicidal.
“On Christmas Eve, I borrowed £20 off my friend to buy reduced microwave food for Christmas.
“I feel so sorry for people going through the same thing.”
The 50-year-old said her mental health deteriorated because of the financial stress she was under, and she had to rely on food banks and donations from Rhondda Housing Association.
By January, when she started to receive Universal Credit, she was more than £700 in debt, including £400 rent arrears.
The mum, who can’t work at the moment because of severe back problems and mental health issues, said it was only now that her life is back on track and she has caught up with her debts.
“They should not have any wait when you go on universal credit,” she said. “I could not buy any Christmas presents for my children last year. They were the worst days of my life.
There shouldn’t be a wait at all.”
The mum thanked Rhondda Housing Association for its support, describing it as amazing.
CHC said latest data showed 84% of housing association tenants claiming universal credit owe an average of £556 on their rent.
This level of debt has increased during the past 12 months despite improvements to the new Universal Credit system, the organisation said. It added that the figure was more than double of what was owed by tenants receiving housing benefit through the old system.
Will Atkinson, policy and external affairs manager at CHC, said: “Despite some improvements to the universal credit system, the increase in food bank usage and surge in rent arrears shows it is still causing unnecessary hardship for people.
“With political parties now campaigning for next month’s General Election, welfare needs to be a priority for manifestos.
“We are now calling on the next UK Government to recognise the impact Universal Credit has had by ending the five-week wait and delivering a first payment within days rather than months.”
A DWP spokesman said: “If people think they might be eligible for Universal Credit they should apply without delay and advance payments are available for those in urgent need.
“Last December we made payments of £774m to approximately 1.2 million households.”