Delay to Universal Credit is embarrassing, says TUC

Commenting on the announcement from the Department of Work and Pensions today (Thursday) that there is to be a yet another delay to the introduction of Universal Credit, TUC General Secretary Frances O’Grady said:

“Such a major overhaul of the benefits system was always going to take a good while to get right. But despite concerns that the government is rushing through complex changes far too quickly, the Secretary of State continued to insist that all was well.

“Today we have seen an embarrassing admission from Iain Duncan Smith that it is to be several more years before Universal Credit is properly in operation.

“The government’s desire to steamroller ahead – ignoring all the warnings to slow down – will have made thousands of vulnerable people on benefits feel needlessly anxious about how the changes might affect them. It has also wasted millions of pounds at a time when there is huge pressure on social security spending.”

NOTES TO EDITORS:

- Back in March the government said that by 2014/15 there would be 1.7m claimants receiving Universal Credit (UC). Today the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) says that there will be virtually no-one receiving it by then. Similarly ministers said there would be 4.5m people on UC by 2015/16. Today the OBR says it will only be 400,000 people.

Contacts:

Media enquiries:

Liz Chinchen   T: 020 7467 1248    M: 07778 158175    E: media@tuc.org.uk

Rob Holdsworth    T: 020 7467 1372    M: 07717 531150     E: rholdsworth@tuc.org.uk