No Govt credit where it’s due 400,000 BENEFIT CLAIMS STOPPED OR REJECTED
ONE in three people applying for Universal Credit has their claim knocked back.
Around 400,000 applications for the controversial new benefit have been rejected or stopped in the past year.
The shocking figures will pile more pressure on the Tories, who have been accused of using the switch to Universal Credit to save money.
The most common reasons for halting claims were pen pushers disputing the “commitment to work” and failure to book an interview. Others provided the wrong National Insurance number or were simply not considered eligible.
But critics say thousands do not book an interview because of a head-wrecking system that means they must verify their identity online or by phone.
Problems with payments, which roll six benefits into one, have already seen women turn to prostitution and families relying on foodbanks.
Labour has urged new Work and Pensions Secretary Amber Rudd to stop the Universal Credit roll-out, saying it will plunge tens of thousands into poverty. The figures, uncovered by MP and anti-poverty campaigner Frank Field, show that in August last year, 19,500 claims were halted. But by July this year, that stood at 64,500. Around 100,000 people make new claims every month.
Most are being stopped because officials do not believe they are trying hard enough to look for work.
Mr Field said: “These figures offer a glimpse of the sheer horror that awaits all too many families when they try making a claim for Universal Credit.
“A small army of people seem to be disappearing from the system and an unknown number into destitution, shortly after they try making a claim.”
The DWP said it was making it easier for people to prove their identity and that rejected claimants could still reapply.
The new payment rolls Child Tax Credit, Jobseeker’s Allowance, Housing Benefit, Income Support, Employment and Support Allowance and Working Tax Credit into one payment. It is paid to 1.3 million people and is expected to cover 3 million by December 2019.
Police in Scotland have claimed the switch may be linked to a 30 per cent rise in robberies. But the DWP said there was “no firm evidence”.