UK government being forced into making considerable chanmges to the flawed system
More concessions to Universal Credit have been forced from the UK government.
Work and pensions secretary Esther McVey said claimants will now be given more time to switch to the new benefit under changes to the managed migration programme.
Those transferring to the new system currently have to wait on average six weeks without payment, pushing many into debt and rent arrears.
It has led to charities, campaigners and politicians from across the political divide demanding the government make concessions to mitigate the worst impact of the controversial scheme.
Addressing the House of Commons, McVey said people claiming either income support, jobseeker's allowance or employment support allowance will be paid for an extra two weeks when they move on to Universal Credit from July 2020.
Advance loans available to help bridge the gap between payments will only be repaid at 30% of benefits per month not the current 40% from October next year. And the deadline for claimants told to move on to universal credit will be extended from one month to three months.
She said: “This is targeted support to help work pay and support the vulnerable.
"While the party opposite may hanker for the dark old days, trapping people on benefits, excluding them from opportunity of work and getting on in life, and at the same time delivering a big bill to the taxpayer, we do not."
However Phillip Anderson, head of policy at the MS Society, said the concession, while welcome, will do little to reassure the people with MS waiting to be told their money will stop.
“The stop-start approach to managed migration remains a real concern,” he said. “The government has said it will provide a one-off sum to help people manage, but this will not be enough. The best and only solution is for claimants to remain on their existing benefits until a universal credit claim is in place.
“More than 100,000 people in the UK live with MS and the fact remains that many of them, once on universal credit, will still be significantly worse off than on their current benefits.”
Labour's shadow work and pensions secretary Margaret Greenwood said: "Universal credit is failing. The opposition has consistently called on the government to stop the rollout but this government is pressing ahead despite the terrible hardship it is causing."
