Written evidence from London Unemployed Strategies [UCW0068]
London Unemployed Strategies (LUS) is a voluntary sector organization devoted to giving benefits claimants of all kinds a say in how the system needs improving in order to cater for their various needs. We are funded by Trust for London and the Joseph Rowntree Foundation but the views expressed below come directly from claimants we work with.
Concerning the Five Week Wait, the LUS position, drawn from close working with claimants since UC’s inception, and reflected in most of the views expressed below, is that it should be scrapped and replaced with payments commencing as soon as is technically possible in advance. As indicated, the loan/advance system, while bringing some short-term relief, only stores up more debt for the future, thus adding to claimants’ problems.
If as is evident it is technically possible to pay the loan/advance within 2-3 days of a claim being made, then surely there is no technical barrier to redefining this as an advance payment i.e. the first payment of UC which therefore is not subject to repayment?
Re the length of time the first payment should cover, one of our respondents suggests below that the claimant should be able to choose between fortnightly and monthly payments. This seems the best option. If this is said to be too complex then the default, based again on our experiences with claimants, should be fortnightly. We believe this to be the default in Scotland and Northern Ireland so there should be no difficulty in applying this to the rest of the UK.
The extra costs involved would be a tiny percentage of the overall DWP budget and would be far outweighed by the relief of suffering it would enable. In fact, even in financial terms it could become a net benefit, given the resources currently devoted to foodbanks, debt advice, emergency payment schemes etc. as a direct consequence of the Five Week Wait.
Please see below a selection of responses made by various sick, disabled and jobseeking claimants from our various self-help support groups around London.
Claimant 1
I would like it to be scrapped five weeks waiting time , as people need money when they come to the jobcentre .I think the rule ,should be the same for everyone, especially the carers and long term sick and disabled .Some people may need emergency payout , especially in light of this corona virus .So people don’t lose homes .Remember institutional racism and disablism exist and make sure they are not the group left ,without good advocacy and support. Further it leaves people with additional stress in this awful time of uncertainty. Low self-esteem impacts on their confidence. People left more vulnerable, isolated and homeless. Relationship hindered and domestic violence rife. Please do the two weeks payment ASAP.
Claimant 2
The backdrop is a system and DWP staff creaking under the exceptional increased volumes of activity. Applicants are typically already very anxious with the virus and losing incomes and / or jobs. They are finding it very difficult to get through on the phone when they encounter problems trying to sign up for UC e.g. documents do not upload. They do not need more hassle and a longer period without money.
The Advance payments process is more work for DWP staff and more hassle for applicants. Avoid.
To Do:
Claimant 3
I thought the wait was unbearable. I had to put my life on hold for 5 weeks. I prayed that each day would end quickly so that the 5 weeks would come quickly. By chance I had managed to save a little bit of my jobseekers when I applied for UC. It was still so tough and if I hadn’t, I would have been out on the streets. It was a nightmare experience. Also my advisor didn’t tell me I could apply for an advance loan so there was obviously an assumption I’d just live on thin air! So there was nothing good about this experience.
2. I think the best way to ease any problems is to scrap the 5 week wait. Everyone claiming is in urgent need. Benefit claimants aren’t living in luxury so it would be helpful if the DWP were mindful of that (I know, wishful thinking).It really is the best way to avoid complications. Advance payments should be instantly accessible on demand and most of all they should be non-repayable.
I just forgot to add in reference to question 1 I had done all my research on what I was entitled to with UC so I knew I could get a loan. It should be made compulsory that DWP coaches ask and not make false assumptions. I’m annoyed because I struggle with memory problems and forgot to ask. And if I had forgotten I would have been screwed. So overall an undignified, dehumanising experience.
Claimant 4
The problems that claimants still experience during the five week wait is to make up the money to pay what is due in advance, for instance the rent.
Maybe the best way of offsetting the impact of the five week wait could be paying UC two-weekly instead of monthly.
Claimant 5
The huge rise in new UC claims makes it even more important to crack the 5 Week Wait blockage - 'advances' are not enough as they only create more debt.
If we roll the clock back to a few years ago, the wait could be as long as three months in the extreme cases with the wrinkles in sub-systems working with things like HRT and verifying rent. The whole push was to reduce this to the *target* five week wait, which itself was set by the need to reconcile the payments with the actual in-work earnings of monthly paid workers receiving top ups. There was never a mechanism to address ways of getting this lower - that is exactly why it is 'baked in' and there was never a realistic prospect of adjusting the waiting period downward in the existing system. The bolt on fixes have all been ways of imposing debt on the claimant at the first step of the process.
The five week wait could be abandoned if there was a standard (generous?) first payment and a way of adjusting subsequent UC amounts. This in itself is difficult in a world where zero-hour contracts have become far more common then they ever were when the initial outline for the current version of UC was drawn up.
Reconciling the various elements of UC was always a more complex task than it appeared. The more reactive the DWP want to make the current system, the more out of control the complexities become. I'll keep thinking, but there may not be a 'stop and tweak' option that will rescue UC in its current form. All the elements that are making it fail really are 'baked in'!
Claimant 6
They would help those who have savings and who are not working paycheck to paycheck. The latter will be left with debts they'll have to cover on an already extremely reduced income.
Debts, fines, fees for non/late payment, CCJs, delays in rent payments and frightening/threatening letters for delayed payment
Give people the choice between weekly and monthly payments. Increase payments to a more reasonable amount and include support to enable more work to take place from home.
Claimant 7
Problems:
UC Advance payments have not helped claimants, in the five week wait claim period. Repayment deductions after five weeks, put extra financial burden on claimants.
If claimants have arrears, with mortgage or rent, they are being threatened, by lenders & landlords.
Answers:
If claiming SSP, increase to max £219/wk, reduce £118 min eligibility. If claiming UC, increase to £150/wk single & £260/wk couples. For Advance payments, the repayment deduction period, be increased to min six months, includes: SSP, UC, JSA, ESA & IS (helping to repay: GOV, Councils, Utilities & Financial commitments: mortgages and rents). For Social Housing, an increase in Local Housing Allowance to Councils.
Claimant 8
I think the start date of Universal Credit payment should be the date of application. While the application is being considered they could start the payment (as with advance payments). If the application is accepted then no change is necessary but if it is, for some reason, rejected then they should allow the person to return the money in instalments, while repayment should not start if there is an appeal. If the appeal is accepted, payments should be back dated to the first day of application and any gaps filled.
Apart from many benefits such as the effects on the mental health of the recipient, security of family and children, this would help people who have debts. Universal Credit system does not consider people's debts, it considers what they may be holding in their accounts.
Claimant 9
I personally think 5 weeks is too much to wait. I experienced myself in 2016 when I was introduced to it. I have been in arrears with my rent for a long time and still didn’t recover for it completely. It worsened also my anxiety and since then I have been experiencing also panic attacks. I am a very worrisome and emotional person and it has affected my life , my relationship with my son and consequently either any chance to get better on a prospect of looking at least for some part-time or voluntary job because of my mood swing and memory loss . It’s horrible also having to deal with scaring eviction letters when you encounter not very sympathetic or understanding housing officers whom probably not realising they dealing with vulnerable people or they just careless . That has been my experience ... I needed to go and ask help from my MP because also when finally they pay me I realised money was missing.
April 2020