Universal Credit claimants are fighting to keep a roof over their heads, according to a damning new report from Citizens Advice.
One in two people the charity helped were in rent arrears or struggling to meet mortgage payments. This figure has remained the same in spite of the wait for the first payment being reduced from six weeks to five.
According to the data, 60 per cent of people helped by Citizens Advice had also taken out advances while they waited for payment, with almost half (47 per cent) having no money left to pay creditors after essential living costs such as food, housing and transport.
Our new research reveals that half of people claiming #UniversalCredit are still struggling to make ends meet while they wait for their first payment. The government needs to do more to make sure people have enough money to live on https://t.co/x0mbTmodHApic.twitter.com/rnenbc4G9I
— CitizensAdvice (@CitizensAdvice) February 6, 2019
Gillian Guy, chief executive of Citizens Advice, said that while changes had “improved things for many people, Universal Credit must continue to be reformed so it works for all claimants and leaves people with enough money to live on”.
The figures are just the latest in a lengthy war raging over Universal Credit. The long-delayed rollout suffered yet another setback in January when Amber Rudd, Work and Pensions Secretary, reduced the upcoming managed migration stage to a 10,000-person trial.