The Government is aiming to complete the long-running and severely delayed process of moving tax credit claimants onto Universal Credit by 2024. The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) plans to send 500,000 tax-credit claiming households a migration notice by the end of this financial year, meaning that if the proportion of no-claims stays at 28%, around 140,000 households could have their current benefits stopped. Usdaw has joined CPAG in calling on the DWP to change the rules so that no-one has their old benefits halted until they have been successfully moved on to Universal Credit. In the meantime, Usdaw is clear that anyone receiving a migration notice from the DWP should respond or risk having their payments stopped.
Paddy Lillis – Usdaw General Secretary says: “Many low-paid workers already claim in-work tax credits or Universal Credit. With the cost of living crisis hitting family incomes hard, lots of people will be will be extremely worried about any loss of financial support as they struggle to makes ends meet. Usdaw’s recent cost of living survey found that a staggering 83% of members who are in receipt of in-work benefits reported that they feel worse off now than they did 12 months ago.
“Universal Credit remains universally discredited and continues to have a significant detrimental impact on many low-paid workers. Usdaw has consistently called for a fundamental overhaul of how the Government supports the incomes of working people. We need a proper social security system that supports families and provides a proper safety net. We welcome CPAG raising these concerns and join the call for additional protections for claimants going through the migration process.”
Notes for editors:
Usdaw (Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers) is the UK's fifth biggest trade union with over 350,000 members. Most Usdaw members work in the retail sector, but the union also has many members in transport, distribution, food manufacturing, chemical industry and other trades
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