DWP keeping people on Universal Credit 'in the dark' over losing payments

Claimants were not 'fully knowledgeable' about the factors that could lead to the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) stopping or reducing their payment, a new study has found.

Universal Credit claimants are "in the dark" over losing benefits from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP). Claimants were not 'fully knowledgeable' about the factors that could lead to the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) stopping or reducing their payment, a new study has found.

A report published by the DWP last week shows that 24 per cent of new claimants did not know how to get the benefit, and one in five claimants did not know what would happen if they did not comply with the rules of DWP's Universal Credit.

The report also revealed that half of claimants were not “fully knowledgeable” about the factors that could lead to their universal credit payments being stopped or reduced. Sumi Rabindrakumar, head of policy and research at Trussell, said: “This research shows how vital personalised support offers are – particularly for people with ongoing barriers to work.

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“Trussell’s community of food banks hear every day from people too fearful to apply for support from our social security system, and who feel they cannot trust our social security and employment support systems to provide the compassionate, tailored support they need to afford the essentials and prepare for, enter and sustain work.”

The report states that claimants “did not understand how universal credit would interact with personal independence payments (PIP). This created a barrier to engaging with universal credit support, as claimants were worried about losing their other benefits.”

Rabindrakumar added: “With the UK government promising a new localised model of support, it must confirm in the spending review sufficient investment to ensure announced reforms deliver accessible and trusted support for people facing significant barriers to work – particularly disabled people and people with caring responsibilities.”

The revelations in the official studies echo previous research showing that the benefits system can be “unnecessarily difficult to navigate”. Charity Turn2Us found that two-thirds of UK adults find it “confusing” to know if they are eligible for benefits.