Universal Credit

In advance of the Queen’s Speech later today, Citizens Advice Scotland (CAS) has called for Universal Credit reform to be a UK Government priority in its legislative agenda.

Problems with the five-week wait to receive the first Universal Credit payment and sanctions which lead to payments being withdrawn if claimants don’t meet certain conditions have directly contributed towards homelessness in Scotland, a new report has revealed. Analysis from the Scottish Gover

A temporary £20 uplift to Universal Credit announced by Chancellor Rishi Sunak said in his Budget speech yesterday must be made permanent, campaigners have urged.

Citizens Advice Scotland (CAS) is telling MPs ahead of this week’s Budget that the Chancellor must make the £20 uplift to Universal Credit (UC) permanent. In a briefing sent to all Scottish MPs, the charity sets out how without the uplift UC will fall below the rate of inflation and risk

Shocking new analysis from Citizens Advice Scotland (CAS) shows that Universal Credit will fall below its 2013 value in real terms if plans to end the £20 uplift are not reversed.

Citizens Advice Scotland (CAS) has called on Chancellor Rishi Sunak to retain the £20 increase in Universal Credit ahead of a Westminster debate today.

People struggling to make rent payments are continuing to benefit from support funding from North Lanarkshire Council. The targeted support is available to council tenants who find themselves falling into rent arrears due to waiting times for Universal Credit payments and those who have seen their i

Citizens Advice Scotland (CAS) has expressed disappointment that Chancellor Rishi Sunak failed to confirm whether the temporary £20-per-week increase to Universal Credit will be made permanent beyond March 2021. Introduced in March this year as a measure to help people whose income was hi

A new report from the Scottish Government has revealed the full impact of the planned withdrawal of emergency benefit measures, brought in by the UK Government to support people through the pandemic. Scottish Government analysis shows that if the UK Government takes away the £20-a-we

A woman who argued it was unlawful to distinguish between Statutory Maternity Pay and state Maternity Allowance when calculating how much a person should receive in Universal Credit has failed in her claim before an English court.

A starter payment should be made to people claiming Universal Credit (UC) for the first time to ensure that everyone has enough money for basics such as food and heating during the five-week wait for their initial monthly payment, a report by the Work and Pensions Committee has recommended. The 

North Lanarkshire Council has added a further £500,000 to its Universal Credit Assistance Fund and is providing more help to tenants falling into rent arrears due to built-in waiting times for Universal Credit payments. The fund, which is in place for council tenants struggling with the impact

A new Universal Credit system which will see social landlords receive direct rent payments on the same day that tenants are paid the rest of their benefits is to be rolled out from next month, the UK Government has announced.

The proportion of claimants receiving their first Universal Credit payment on time has seen “significant” improvements but the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) needs to do more to support vulnerable people and others who struggle to make a claim, according to the National Audit Off

Independent research agency Ipsos MORI is conducting research on behalf of the Scottish Government on the Universal Credit Scottish Choices scheme, which includes an option for tenants on Universal Credit to choose to have their housing cost element paid directly to their landlord.