Concerns raised over the benefits system

JIM McMahon, left, chairs the talks with, from left, Jonathan Yates chief executive CAB, Louise Brogan-Shaw CAB, David Smith First Choice Homes, Martin Burroughs Oldham Council, Andrew Barr, Oldham Foodbank and Amanda Cawdron, Oldham Council

CONCERNS have been raised by groups in Oldham about changes to the universal credit benefits system.

Jim McMahon, MP for Oldham West and Royton, chaired a meeting with representatives of Citizens Advice Bureau, First Choice Homes, Oldham Council and Oldham foodbank to discuss their concerns around universal credit.

Labour MPs and the Green party MP Caroline Lucas have urged David Gauke, the work and pensions secretary, to delay the expansion of the new universal credit benefit system to stop their constituents suffering hardship over Christmas.

Ministers are planning to accelerate the introduction of universal credit, which rolls six benefits into a single monthly payment, to about 50 new areas. MPs have said it would cause misery for thousands of new claimants who may not get their first payments for up to seven weeks after applying.

Benefit

The benefit is paid to about 530,000 people in trial areas, but this number will rise sharply in the autumn, when it is due to be extended.

Mr McMahon said: "Universal credit has hit the press for all the wrong reasons and pressure is growing for a fundamental review before it is allowed to roll out across the country.

"Oldham was one of the original pilots. The council did not welcome cuts or pain, in fact it was a fierce critic of welfare reform and the impact it was having on the town. Having invested in a new welfare advice service to help resident's access benefits they were entitled to but not claiming, the council felt it could work in partnership to get it right.

"Even the council feel frustrated that while relationships with DWP staff on the ground are reported to be good, many problems with the IT system, delays and errors have failed to be addressed. My constituency office has been helping many individuals with increasing frequency and it is clear that not only is the system itself broken, but more than that it is littered with rules which add nothing to the process but which send many decent people into unnecessary debt and depression.

"I was so concerned with the impact on my own constituents that I called together a meeting of charities, public bodies and of course those directly affected by the universal credit system to hear first-hand the impact of the system. During the discussion it was clear that even those who wanted it to work seemed to think it had gone too far to save."

According to the Department of Work and Pensions figures, the number of people in Oldham on universal credit as of June 8, 2017 stands at 4,334.

Last month, Oldham foodbank gave out 541 three-day emergency food supplies to 364 Adults and 177 Children, of which 392 were due to benefit delays and benefit changes.

Mr McMahon added: "Nationally the roll out of Universal Credit is only seven per cent complete but there are such serious problems MPs from across the country are demanding that its expansion is halted.

"I'm going further to say that not only should the national rollout be stopped but areas like Oldham which was part of the earlier adopted programme see no more people transferred as part of the 'Full Service' roll out until government address the failings of this broken system."

A spokesperson from DWP said that the majority of people claiming Universal Credit are comfortable managing their budgets and that advance payments are available to people who do need extra help ­- an important part of the safety net.

They added: "We are rolling out Universal Credit in a gradual, safe and secure way and the majority of people are managing their budgets well. The best way to help people improve their lives is to help them into work, and under Universal Credit people are moving into work faster and staying in work than under the old system."