Half a million DWP Universal Credit claimants denied £326 cost of living payment
09.10.2022 - 23:27
/ dailyrecord.co.uk
More than half a million struggling Brits were denied a £326 summer cost-of-living payment to help with rocketing bills. Boris Johnson offered the fund - the first half of a total £650 - to more than 8 million people on benefits in July to show them “we are on their side”.
But ministers now admit 551,000 Universal Credit claimants missed out because they earned too much from work, according to The Mirror. Labour believe some of them had two paydays fall in the same 30-day qualifying period because their wages come every four weeks.
This “staggering” technicality meant their income was temporarily too high to get a cost-of-living payment - even though usually it is much lower. A further 6,600 Universal Credit claimants were refused the £326 payment because they got a benefit sanction - a catch first revealed by the Mirror in August.
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) refused critics’ pleas to ditch this “outrageous” policy - instead saying anyone who had a “nil award” can appeal, and get the £326 retrospectively.
Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary Jonathan Ashworth, who obtained the figures, said: “It’s staggering that so many people struggling to cope with the pressures of rising energy bills were denied help simply because of the quirks of DWP computer system or sanctions. This is a crisis for thousands of households. Ministers should get this vital help to those who need it.”
Some 5.6 million people claim Universal Credit, but not all of them get a benefit payment every month - because UC drops by 55p for every £1 they earn through work. Claimants’ earnings are assessed monthly and they are given a “nil award” if it their pay is too high.
This can also happen if two pay checks fall in one 30-day period, or if they
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