discussion forum

Has anyone heard if there will be PW allowed under UC?(with appropriate earnings disregard of course!)
No mention of it in CPAG’s ‘UC What you need to know’ publication and haven’t seen any reference to it anywhere else

No idea either.  If it comes it will be somewhere in the detail yet to be drafted.

I’ll try to check up through Disability Benefits Consortium, to see whether anyone else has any ideas on this at the moment. Given the importance in helping people think about moving back into paid work, one would hope that there has been some thinking going on within DWP.

Thinking about it a little, while watching the not very good 2nd Italian Job, I’m not sure permitted work has any relevance in UC. 
Hours of work won’t matter. 
Earnings disregards are, broadly, higher, even at floor levels, for all, although single people will be below the current disregard figure. 
The relationship with housing costs makes twiddling disregards very tricky.
LCW and LCWRA components are there already. 

What’s to gain?

“what’s to gain?”

well, keeping the ‘ESA’ component in UC while still doing some work, even if for a time limited period

Yes but I haven’t seen any proposals on LCWRA / LCW compomnents in UC that link them to earnings / hours / thresholds yet.

Saw this quote from Chris Grayling in Hansard 20/2/12.

“We are currently considering how the permitted work rules for ESA may change once universal credit is introduced.

The Department is committed to engaging with organisations representing disabled people on an ongoing basis as part of our wider consultation on the implications of our proposals for welfare reform, to ensure that the social security system supports disabled people and those with health conditions in the most sensitive, fair and appropriate way. As part of this engagement, I would be happy to meet with representatives of the Down’s Syndrome Association.”

Not sure how informative it is.