Steve Double, Member of Parliament for St Austell and Newquay has welcomed clarity from Secretary of State for Work and Pensions David Gauke on advance payments for the new Universal Credit benefit.
Steve was one of 14 Conservative MPs who wrote to the Secretary of State asking that Universal Credit’s roll-out be paused amid concerns that the many new claimants were having no payments for the first six weeks of the claim.
Speaking at Conservative Party Conference yesterday, David Gauke said:
“I can announce that we are refreshing the guidance to Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) staff to ensure that anyone who needs an advance payment will be offered it upfront.”
“Claimants who want an advance payment will not have to wait six weeks. They will receive this advance within five working days.”
Speaking after the announcement Steve said:
“I fully support the principles behind the introduction of Universal Credit in simplifying the benefits system but there is often a need for some fine tuning in these big changes, that is why I wrote to the Secretary of State. I am therefore pleased to see that the Secretary of State is refreshing the guidance available to the Department for Work and Pensions staff, to ensure that all payment options are available to new claimants for Universal Credit as and when they need it.”
“I will be watching the rollout of Universal Credit carefully as it proceeds and encourage anyone who finds they have a problem to get in touch with my office at office@stevedouble.org.uk or on 01726 829379 in order that I can help them with their claim and also feedback nationally on systemic issues.”