The Daily Mirror has reported today that the government’s mandatory 6-week waiting time for receipt of Universal Credit (UC) will mean sixty thousand households and around forty thousand children will be deprived of all income from now until Christmas – forcing those families into a penniless Christmas.
The Tories’ advice to those affected? Call the helpline – which won’t reduce the waiting period.
The Mirror reports that the government makes an emergency fund available – but that this is limited to two weeks’ worth of payments, nowhere near enough to bridge a gap of at least six weeks, with almost a fifth of claimants waiting significantly longer.
The UC waiting period was originally just three days, but was increased as a cost-saving measure. According to the Mirror, Foodbank usage has leaped by thirty percent in areas where the system has been rolled out.
MPs yesterday held an emergency debate
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