Latest news with #universalcredit
Telegraph
21 hours ago
- Business
- Telegraph
Liz Kendall faces fresh benefits backlash
Liz Kendall is facing backlash over her planned benefit cuts after MPs warned that slashing universal credit (UC) payments would push more disabled people into poverty. On Tuesday, the influential Work and Pension Committee said it was alarmed by Ms Kendall's proposed changes to UC, which will see top-up payments to new claimants who are disabled halved from £423.27 to £217.26 a month from 2026. The committee, chaired by Labour MP Debbie Abrahams, warned that slashing the benefits risked forcing more disabled people into poverty. The reforms risk reducing payments for people with severe mental health conditions, the committee said, because their condition may not qualify for a full UC payment. Ms Abrahams said that the Government's own analysis showed that the reduction in the UC health top-up payment would push approximately 50,000 people into poverty by the end of the decade. However, Helen Whately, shadow work and pensions secretary, said: 'Politicians should be trying to get welfare spending under control, not handing out even more cash. It's a sobering fact that the British Government spends more on sickness benefits than on defence – this cannot be allowed to continue.' UC is Britain's main benefit and it replaced a myriad of other payments, such as jobseekers' allowance, child tax credits and housing benefits in 2012. Claimants who are disabled can claim a top-up payment in addition to standard UC, but the Government is hoping to change this amid fears too many people are claiming it on spurious grounds. Welfare battle Ms Kendall had been battling rebels from her own party to push through a watered-down version of her welfare reforms. Following a government policy reversal and a series of major concessions to Labour rebels, it eventually passed at the start of the month. As part of her reforms, Ms Kendall, who is the Work and Pensions Secretary, has sought to address Britain's ballooning welfare spending, which is estimated to reach £378bn by 2029-30 – almost double the £210bn paid out to claimants in 2013-14. Yet concessions made to the bill are expected to wipe out a third of the £5bn they had been expected to save taxpayers, piling further pressure on the Treasury. Ms Kendall warned earlier this month that once workers start receiving the health element of UC, only 3pc a year manage to get off the benefit again. Despite this, Ms Abrahams said: 'There are still issues with these welfare reforms, not least with the cut in financial support that newly sick and disabled people will receive.' Ms Abrahams has been a staunch critic of the Government's welfare reforms bill alongside other Labour rebels, including Meg Hillier and Rachael Maskell, who had pushed for changes to the bill. The fallout over the bill is far from over, as Ms Abrahams told Sir Kier Starmer at the Liaison Committee that the 'fear and anxiety' felt by disabled people following the Government's welfare reform bill 'cannot be underestimated'. In a tense exchange between the Left-wing MP and the Prime Minister last week, Ms Abrahams said the reforms were 'far removed from Labour values' and warned that the Government 'must do better'. A recent report from the Office for Budget Responsibility warned that the UK's national debt is on track to spiral from just under 100pc of GDP to 270pc in the next 50 years if nothing is done to reduce the benefits bill. A government spokesman said: 'Our welfare reforms will support those who can work into jobs and ensure there is always a safety net for those that need it. The impact assessment shows our reforms will lift 50,000 children out of poverty – and our additional employment support will lift even more families out of poverty. 'The reforms will rebalance universal credit rates to reduce the perverse incentives that trap people out of work, alongside genuinely helping disabled people and those with long-term health conditions into good, secure work – backed by £3.8bn in employment support over this parliament.'
Times
a day ago
- Business
- Times
More than 600,000 graduates are claiming benefits
More than 600,000 graduates are claiming benefits, according to newly released official figures. In response to a parliamentary question from the Conservative MP Neil O'Brien, the UK Statistics Authority revealed that between March to May this year 639,000 people with a level six qualification — equivalent to a degree with honours — or above were claiming universal credit, making up 12 per cent of those being paid the benefit. The figures came from the Office for National Statistics' Labour Force Survey, which also found that 88 per cent of graduates were in employment last year compared with 68 per cent of non-graduates. There was an economic inactivity rate of almost 10 per cent among graduates and an unemployment rate of 3 per cent. The median real-terms salary for graduates aged under 65 was £26,500, the study found — an increase of £500 compared with the previous year. Graduates were more likely to be in work according to the survey, which was released last month. The unemployment rate was 5.6 per cent for non-graduates. The inactivity rate — a person outside the labour force who has not been seeking work — stood at almost 30 per cent for non-graduates. These figures include the long-term sick, students and people who have taken early retirement. The Conservative Party said that graduates were suffering because of Labour's policies. Helen Whately, the shadow work and pensions secretary, said: 'Today's graduates face the triple jeopardy of low-value degrees, a labour market crippled by Labour's job taxes and competition with AI for entry-level roles. 'The government needs to grip this challenge. Their failure to reform welfare and economic mismanagement threatens the future of a new generation. Meanwhile, the taxpayer is footing the bill for unpaid student loans and graduates on benefits.' The annual survey by the Higher Education Statistics Agency revealed that Medicine and dentistry graduates earned nearly £10,000 more than the average university leaver after 15 months, at £37,900. The lowest salaries were paid to graduates from media, journalism and communication subjects, at almost £25,000. The number of graduates on universal credit will fuel concern over so-called 'Mickey Mouse' degrees with high dropout rates and poor job prospects. Before Labour took office, Rishi Sunak promised a crackdown on courses that were 'ripping young people off' by offering degree places that did not increase their long-term earnings potential. He said that one in eight university places would be scrapped. At the time, Labour criticised Sunak's remarks, accusing his government of 'trashing' the sector. Since taking office Bridget Phillipson, the education secretary, has increased tuition fees to £9,535 — the first increase in eight years — and increased maintenance loans. A government spokesman said: 'We remain committed to our principles to reform the welfare system — those who can work should work, and if you need help into work the government should support you.'
BBC News
18-07-2025
- General
- BBC News
Mothers lose two-child benefit cap 'rape clause' case
Two women who conceived their eldest children when they were in abusive relationships have lost a legal challenge to rules around the so-called "rape clause" to the two-child benefit non-consensual conception exception allows universal credit (UC) recipients to claim benefits for more than two children - but only if the third or subsequent children were conceived mothers brought legal action against the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), saying the rules breached their human rights.A DWP spokesperson said victims of rape and coercion should be treated with "dignity and respect" but the court decision was about how the policy was being implemented. The policy leaves some women unable to use the exception if their first two children are conceived in rape but they have further children in consensual relationships.A previous hearing at Leeds Administrative Court heard both women were young and vulnerable when they began relationships in their teens and first became Monaghan KC, representing the women, said both were subject to regular violence and first woman conceived her two eldest children through rape and was told she could not claim the benefit for her third and fourth children, both of whom were conceived consensually in a later long-term was initially paid the child element of UC for the third child, but this was later cancelled, after the fourth child was second woman, a mother of six, was subjected to domestic abuse and violent and coercive behaviour by former partners with whom she had Monaghan said she had older children in care and two living with her, but then one of the older children returned to her was refused an exception to the two-child limit under these "ordering provisions".The Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG), which provided the women's legal representation, said that while the first woman was eventually granted an exception for her youngest child, she went for years said this amounted to thousands of pounds of support which will not be backdated. Mrs Justice Collins Rice said the two women were survivors of "appalling relationship abuse" which involved "sustained physical, sexual and psychological violence".But she also said their argument is part of the "intensely controversial" political debate about the two-child benefit said the issue must be resolved in the "political arena" and "the forum of public opinion". Ms Collins Rice concluded: "It is also a question with potential resonances in family law more generally... it is a political law reform question."Responding to the judgment, the first woman said the decision was "disappointing" but that she would "keep going and fight this to the end"."All of my choices were taken away from me for years by my abuser before I fled," she said."I've fought hard to get on with my life for me and my kids."Claire Hall, the CPAG solicitor who represented the women, said the organisation would look to appeal the said that "in the meantime all eyes are on the government which has the chance to do the right thing and abolish the inhumane two-child limit in the autumn child poverty strategy".The DWP spokesperson said: "Violence against woman and girls is a national emergency - and our mission is to halve it within a decade."This policy will be considered along with all other levers including social security reform by the Child Poverty Taskforce and the Child Poverty Strategy will be published in the autumn." Listen to highlights from West Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North.
The Guardian
18-07-2025
- The Guardian
Women who conceived in abusive relationships lose legal challenge over benefits ‘rape clause'
Two women who conceived their eldest children while they were in violent and controlling relationships have lost a legal challenge to the rules around the two-child benefit cap. A high court judge said the accounts of the abuse the women faced when they were 'vulnerable girls barely out of childhood' were 'chilling'. But in a judgment delivered on Friday, Justice Collins Rice said it was for politicians to settle the matter, not the courts. The women, and campaigners who support them, said they were disappointed but would fight on to have universal credit rules changed. The two mothers, identified only as LMN and EFG, launched a challenge to the rules around the so-called rape clause in universal credit claims at a court in Leeds in June. The two-child cap for universal credit claims has exceptions to cover a limited number of circumstances, including if a child is conceived nonconsensually. But the court heard how this only applies to third or subsequent children, leaving some women unable to utilise this exception if, for example, their first two children are conceived after rape but they have further children in consensual relationships. The women, whose claim was against the Department for Work and Pensions. were supported by the Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG), which describes the benefit rules as 'inhumane'. The judge said the two women endured abusive relationships that included rape. 'They are chilling accounts of appalling domestic abuse,' she said. 'Vulnerable girls barely out of childhood themselves caught in toxic relationships, or repeating cycles of such relationships, in which their personal, reproductive and family autonomy is acutely compromised by the physical, sexual and emotional violence of controlling perpetrators.' She said the women were 'among the most harmed and vulnerable' members of society while as mothers they were 'making an important and valuable' contribution to it. The judge said CPAG had brought a legal challenge to the two-child cap before. 'That made its way to the supreme court, which, in 2021, firmly returned the matter to the political realm.' She said she had reached the same place as the supreme court did before, saying it was 'a policy question dealing in social, economic, moral and ethical subject matter' and a 'political law-reform question'. The judge added: 'The law does not compel a government, or a parliament, to provide the answer the claimants seek. This claim is dismissed accordingly.' In a statement after the ruling, the mother named EFG said: 'All of my choices were taken away from me for years by my abuser before I fled. I've fought hard to get on with my life for me and my kids. But the two-child limit makes it more difficult. 'The government says that the exceptions are to protect people who – like me – didn't have a choice about the number of kids in their family, but the rape clause doesn't do that. The rules need to change to protect families like mine. The result today is disappointing but I will keep going and fight this to the end.' The other mother, LMN, said: 'I want to keep going with the case as I feel like it's against my human rights. When my oldest came back to live with me from care and before I got the exception for my youngest, we had to survive on less money. That stopped me doing things with the children – I never planned on having the children but that's not their fault.' Claire Hall, a solicitor at CPAG who represented the women, said they would look at appealing against the decision, but in the meantime, 'all eyes are on the government which has the chance to do the right thing and abolish the inhumane two-child limit in the autumn child poverty strategy'. Hall added: 'Our clients have provided their children with safe and loving home environments but the rules have failed to protect them and their children from the impacts of the two-child limit.'
The Independent
18-07-2025
- Business
- The Independent
Martin Lewis' charity says DWP is ‘more aggressive than banks' in clawing back debt
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) is carrying out 'aggressive and rapid' debt collection practices which are more severe than most banks, a charity founded by Martin Lewis has claimed. The Money and Mental Health (MMH) Policy Institute says that the way the DWP treats people who are overpaid benefits is 'harsh', and risks putting vulnerable claimants at risk. Benefit overpayments occur when someone is paid more by the DWP than they are entitled to, most often because of a change in their circumstances or due to a an error by the department. While these overpayments can accumulate over the course of many months without the claimants' knowledge, the DWP can rapidly begin taking payment within weeks of spotting the issue. Agents can then directly deduct 15 per cent of someone's monthly universal credit payment to recoup these overpayments. This can be a significant loss of income, MMH argues, with 15 per cent equating to a deduction of around £60 a month for a single adult aged 25 and over. Meanwhile, commercial lenders would need to go through the courts to recoup debts, in a process which could take months. Ahead of an expansion of the DWP's debt recovery powers, researchers from MMH argue that its powers should be reformed to be more manageable for those on low incomes. The Public Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Bill currently passing through Parliament will give the DWP more ways to recover debt, including forcing banks to share account holders' transactions, and being able to make direct deductions even from people no longer on benefits. The charity also argues that many people are unaware they are able to call the DWP to try to negotiate an affordable repayment plan. This process could be brought more in line with consumer laws they add, with creditors like banks and energy companies required by regulation to engage with people who owe money. The charity, which carried out research into the issue, said one person commented: 'Having money deducted from my benefits has made it difficult for me to make ends meet and some days I have been not eating because I can't afford to, which is leaving my mental health in tatters.' The charity also said that debt management standards guidance on how to protect people in vulnerable circumstances from harm, including people with mental health problems, should be strengthened for all government departments. MMH chief executive, Helen Undy, said: 'When people are paid more in Universal Credit than they are entitled to, it's often through no fault of their own, and sometimes the first they know of it is when the government takes sudden and brutal steps to claw those payments back. 'Many people we work with are already running out of money for food before the end of the month, suddenly taking £60 from what they have left plunges them into further financial hardship and needless distress.' Ms Undy adds that the charity would 'like to see better standards applied across all government debt collection,' adding: 'It cannot be right that the state is lagging far behind the standards that consumer creditors have to meet in treating people fairly and with respect if they fall behind on payments.' A DWP spokesperson said: 'While we would urge people to report a change in circumstances to avoid falling into debt, we understand debts do occur and will always support those struggling with repayments to agree affordable plans. 'We have introduced a new Fair Repayment Rate, which caps debt repayments made in Universal Credit at 15%, allowing 1.2 million households to keep more of their Universal Credit. 'Our new Fraud Bill will help us to identify overpayments at the earliest stage so we can help prevent people falling into debt, and to do so in a way that is fair and proportionate.'
