Delay roll-out of ‘disastrous’ Universal Credit in Hackney, Mayor Glanville tells government
‘Pause and reflect’: Mayor says changes threaten social safety net
Mayor Philip Glanville has called for the “disastrous” Universal Credit system’s roll-out in Hackney next June to be delayed, warning the scheme fuels debt, poverty and rough sleeping.
The Hackney Mayor, writing to David Gauke, Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, on Wednesday, said the benefit changes threaten the social safety net for “those who need it most”.
His letter comes as Universal Credit, which combines all benefits into one payment, is rolled out across the country, with the number of job centres affected set to double by January 2018.
Mayor Glanville said: “I am writing to urge you to delay the roll-out of Universal Credit full service until major flaws, highlighted by the motion passed in the House of Commons this week, are resolved.
“Hackney has the largest Housing Benefit caseload in London, and a total of 48,400 people receiving benefits. Universal Credit full service is due to go live in Hackney in June 2018, but already we are hearing from residents who are worried about the impact it will have on them.”
He added: “Pilots in London and across the country have proved disastrous, with well-documented reports of vulnerable residents feeling confused and distressed, a significant spike in rent arrears and an increase in the use of food banks.
“Delayed payments are dragging people into debt, which is completely unacceptable in a system designed to act as a safety net to help those who need it most.”
The Mayor said the changes could lead to more homelessness and have a negative impact on people with mental health issues. He warned delays to benefit payments could slash council revenue from rents, leaving the borough with less money.
Mayor Glanville also asked the government to pay £10 million for a “comprehensive support and advice service for Universal Credit recipients in Hackney” to help residents with the switch.
He concluded: ” Universal Credit is the single biggest change to welfare and benefits this country has ever seen and [I] urge you to take this opportunity to pause and reflect.”
As a system Universal credit has a lot going for it. Having helped a friend deal with the complexities of housing benefit, child and working tax credit, plus council tax reduction while working as an agency classroom assistant, I can truthfully say that the current diverse systems stink and can lead to people ending up in serious debt. Bringing these payments together into one paid in arrears so that overpayments are less likely suggests lots of long term potential advantages.
The problem is obviously the notion of payment in arrears coupled with a six week or more delay in getting the first payment – during which new claimants might have little or nothing to live off. It doesn’t take a genius to see that for some people, used to a weekly income and expenditure routine, would face serious problems if they have, as is likely, no rainy day savings to fall back on. Given that the old system paid weekly it seems that there is a temporary advantage to the government in slipping payments onto a later schedule, but they need to look beyond that to the real needs of people who might have been “just about managing” while money came in weekly, who face “very definitely not managing” if having to wait so long for the first payment. But that should be solvable and with some common sense (not often found in politicians) a better implementation process would allow universal credit to help people much better than the current mish mash of systems that would tax even the brightest of us to understand.
An obvious amendment would be a fund to ease UC claimants into the new system, but as Mr Hall says, a unified system has attraction with respect to efficiency of delivery. Could the current administrator be conflicted with respect to efficiency savings?
The Hackney council, Housing benefit and Council Tax employees with their criminal associates the Sanctuary Housing Group Association with Chief executive officers, financial directors and financial stake holders and their so call officers Ms Ama wilson, MsDiane Rogerson,Ms Hassan Begum who are formally street prostitutes and drug dealers employed by the Sanctuary Housing Group Association 9A kingsmead way Homerton Rd E9 5PH. The Sanctuary Housing Group Association employees are made up of sex offenders, criminal hoodlums, criminals hustlers, street prostitutes, street gigolos, child molesters of all kinds from national pimps to local pimps that both works with the famous Hackney council ,Housing benefit and Council Tax as their employees together with criminal associates the Sanctuary Housing Group Association employees across London . This kind of people that works with Hackney council Housing benefit and Council Tax as their employees with their criminal associates the Sanctuary Housing Group Association employees is causing tremendous amount of criminal havoc in a very civilized world made of decent people of different colour and creed that lives in an healthy environment known as Earth. take for example Kay Brown director of customer service finance and resource directorate she international human trafficker trafficking under age boys and girls age of 6 years old lock up in her dungeon to be well they much old to men old as 70 years council officer just like Ms P Mcfarlane senior benefit officer is a other child trafficker who spent her rest of life to monitor the children lock up dungeon to grow faster before they sell them to council officer like Hackney council Mayor Jules Pipe and new Hackney council Mayor Philip Glanville or to Mr Hamid Magbool is a Parkishan and his families Parkishan members who are all paedophilias. Mr Hamid Magbool is working with sanctuary Housing Association. and also the all the Hackney council Mayor Jules Pipe and new Hackney council Mayor Philip Glanville are all children molester they both molesters tenants in their flats who have not pay their rents or council tax regularly especially family with young children from 4 years old to 6 years. they both sexually molesting mother children or molest their children front of their mother. this case needs to be reported to the police straight way. pl