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Forum Home  →  Discussion  →  Universal credit administration  →  Thread

Complex rules for universal credit see one in five claims fail

Andrew Dutton
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Welfare rights service - Derbyshire County Council

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https://www.theguardian.com/society/2018/may/12/one-in-five—turned-down-for-universal-credit-rules-too-complex

According to data released under the Freedom of Information Act, which analysed applications for universal credit over one month, a fifth were turned down because of “non-compliance with the process”. Of those, half failed to book an initial interview. The rules state that if the applicant has not called a helpline to set up an interview within a week of making their application, their claim may be closed.

(……)
A spokesman for the Department for Work and Pensions said the figures “don’t capture the reasons” for people not completing their application. “It may be they’ve found higher-paying employment and no longer need support,” he said

The excuses just keep on coming…..

 

Mr Finch
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Benefits adviser - Isle of Wight CAB

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A spokesman for the Department for Work and Pensions said the figures “don’t capture the reasons” for people not completing their application. “It may be they’ve found higher-paying employment and no longer need support,” he said.

So it should be fairly straightforward to demonstrate that a similar proportion of people find high-paying employment within a few days of claiming tax credits and JSA.

Benny Fitzpatrick
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Welfare Rights Officer, Southway Housing Trust, Manchester

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Ah, the parallel universe of UC, where everything is rosy and problems simply don’t exist, (or can be lied into non-existence).

Have they checked whether these assertions are borne out by RTI from HMRC?