Government changes to Universal Credit announced today will include:
- Paying parents on Universal Credit childcare support up-front, when they are moving into work or increasing their hours, rather than in arrears.
- Increasing the maximum amount parents on Universal Credit can receive in childcare support.
- A stiffer conditionality regime and greater sanctions forcing working parents to increase their hours if they currently work under 18 hours a week.
Paddy Lillis – Usdaw General Secretary says: “The Government plans to use this Wednesday’s Budget to offer a small carrot and larger stick to working parents. Yet again they have missed the point and failed to recognise that Universal Credit is fundamentally flawed. The system they created has repeatedly been shown to provide significant disincentives for working parents to increase their working hours.
“The lack of affordable childcare is a huge challenge facing working parents, especially women. The changes proposed for Universal Credit are only a small step in the right direction, but much more is needed to help working parents with the cost of living crisis and encourage more parents into work or extend their hours.
“Past Tory inaction means many low-income parents simply cannot afford formal childcare and the Chancellor should go much further to tackle that next week. Workers need urgent and substantial reform to address the long-running childcare
challenge. We welcome Labour’s commitment to a new system to give children the best start in life and parental choice, enabling them to get back into work or to increase their hours and give our economy the growth we need.
“Universal Credit remains universally discredited. Usdaw has consistently called for a
fundamental overhaul of the Universal Credit system and 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 also need a new deal for workers to end low-paid and insecure work. That would not only give working people the dignity of properly paid and secure employment, but also reduce the need for Universal Credit payments.”
Usdaw has long called for a fundamental reform of Universal Credit, including:
- Significant investment in Universal Credit, to ensure it provides a social security benefit that more consistently supports workers in low-paid employment.
- Five week wait scrapped, by making advance payments non-repayable.
- Two-child limit removed.
- Reducing the taper rate and increasing the work allowance to incentivise work.
- Benefit Cap stopped.
- Universal Credit payments paid to the main carer by default.
Notes for editors:
Usdaw (Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers) is the UK's fifth biggest trade union with around 360,000 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.
For Usdaw press releases visit: http://www.usdaw.org.uk/news and you can follow us on Twitter
@UsdawUnion