Universal Credit: Dame Louise Casey says rolling out new system 'like jumping over a cliff'

A former government social welfare tsar has given a damning analysis of the Conservatives’ new benefits system, saying aspects of it make her “hair stand on end”.

Dame Louise Casey, who has been commissioned by successive Tory administrations to deal with social issues, said the implementation of the Universal Credit expansion should be paused as the “country is fraying at the edges”.

“It’s like jumping over a cliff,” she told BBC Radio 4’s PM programme. “Once you’ve jumped, people end up at the bottom and we don’t want that to happen.”

Tory MPs have also called on the Government to halt the rollout of its new benefits system amid concerns about the impact on claimants.

Dame Louise said: “Where they’re ending up is that benefits will punish. And I don’t think that’s the intention of anybody here.

“And it’s about delivery. So, the overall strategy might be right, the overall intention might be right, but the fact of the matter is the actual delivery of it, means that some people – because of the waiting time before benefit kicks-in – will end up in dire circumstances; more dire than I think we’ve seen in this country for years, and that we have to stop.

“And I think it’s ok occasionally to say we didn’t get the implementation completely right, let’s pause and see what we can do and at the moment everybody’s holding out with we’re pressing on, we’re pressing on, we’re pressing on. It’s like jumping over a cliff. Once you’ve jumped people end up at the bottom and we don’t want that to happen.”

A letter backed by 12 MPs has been sent to Work and Pensions Secretary David Gauke urging him to temporarily halt the Universal Credit (UC) expansion, due to accelerate over the next year.

The push is being headed by backbencher Heidi Allen, but is also backed by an ex-parliamentary aide Iain Duncan Smith, UC’s architect.

Mr Gauke has been considering the UC rollout since taking up his post after the June election and is expected to make a decision within days about whether it should continue.

Ms Allen spoke out in the Commons earlier this month to call on the Government to “slow down a little bit and get it right” on the rollout of UC, which combines payments such as housing benefit and tax credits among others into a single one.

Department for Work and Pensions data shows that 42 per cent of families in arrears under UC say it is due to the waiting time to receive payment, support being delayed or stopped, or administrative errors in the system.

Around half of new claimants are receiving DWP loans to cover the wait, which can be six weeks, for their first payment.

Citizens Advice has warned the acceleration of the regime in its current state is a “disaster waiting to happen,” and has also called on the DWP to suspend it.

A Government spokesman said: “Universal Credit lies at the heart of our commitment to help people improve their lives and raise their incomes.

“It does that by providing additional, tailored support not available under the old benefit system, including more help for those in work so they can eventually stop claiming benefits altogether, and under UC people are moving into work faster and staying in work longer than under the previous system.

“The vast majority of claimants are comfortable managing their money, and for anyone who needs extra help, we have budgeting advice and benefit advances. Continuing to roll out Universal Credit in a safe and controlled way will mean many more will benefit from moving into employment.”