Universal Credit

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.

The Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) has lost its appeal against an earlier victory for four working single mothers challenging the rigidity of the Universal Credit (UC) system for calculating their earnings.

The tenant chair of Glasgow Housing Association has renewed calls for “urgent and radical” change to Universal Credit as the coronavirus crisis continues. Bernadette Hewitt today called on the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) to take immediate action on five fronts, including ending

CIH Scotland has published new proposals as part of an urgent call to action to avoid a potentially disastrous spike in evictions once the current coronavirus protections end. Following measures from the Scottish and UK governments to help tenants keep their homes during the pandemic, the housing ch

Tenants have praised “brilliant” Wheatley Group staff for “fighting their corner” in helping them with benefit claims.

Nearly two million claims have been made for Universal Credit across the UK during the COVID-19 outbreak, new figures have revealed.

Household claims for Universal Credit in Scotland have increased from an average of 20,000 per month in 2019 to over 110,000 between 1 March and 7 April, highlighting the impact the coronavirus pandemic is having on people’s finances.

People applying for Universal Credit will now be able to use their existing Government Gateway account to confirm their identity, helping to speed up their claim.