Universal Credit implementation

The BBC reports this morning that it has been able to view evidence about growing concern on Universal Credit. That should not be surprising, because the evidence to the Work and Pension Committee is public: it is available here.

There are valuable comments on the process of implementation from UNISON, South Lanarkshire Council and East Riding of Yorkshire Council. The Institute of Chartered Accountants also makes an important point I have to admit I’d not much thought about before – the situation of self-employed people, small businesses and independent workers means they will have to return their books monthly when currently many struggle to do it annually.

Much of the evidence consists of apprehension either about principles or about elements of the scheme which have not been settled. There is a growing sense, beyond that, that the problems that have to be resolved cannot be tackled in the time-scale that is planned, and that we are heading for a crash.

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