Tory voters want universal credit waiting time cut, finds poll

Three-quarters of the British public – including the majority of Conservative voters – want government action now to cut the time vulnerable people are waiting before receiving universal credit benefit payments, a poll has revealed.

The exclusive survey by BMG Research for The Independent showed 74 per cent of people think the average six-week wait facing most new claimants before they get a first full payment is too long.

There is growing pressure to use the Budget next month to tackle the issue, with a group of Tory MPs and even the benefit’s architect Iain Duncan Smith saying the waiting time should be shorter.

Labour called a further Commons universal credit debate on Tuesday to push the Government into making changes as the new welfare system is rolled out across the country, with Work and Pensions Secretary David Gauke attacked for not attending the session.

Respondents to the poll were asked whether they thought the average six-week period new claimants are made to wait before receiving their first full payment is “an acceptable wait, or should the Government take steps to reduce waiting times?”.

Just 15 per cent of people said it was an “acceptable” amount of time and 11 per cent said they did not know, while the other 74 per cent said “the Government should take steps to reduce waiting times”.

Some 71 per cent of people who would vote Conservative at the next election also wanted the Government to cut the six-week period.

The biggest criticism of universal credit, which will eventually merge six existing benefits into one, stems from the fact that people must wait for their first payment, with a six-week gap being the norm, though Labour suggested on Tuesday that one in four wait longer and one in 10 wait more than 10 weeks.

A government spokesman highlighted the system of advances that is in place, allowing claimiants to get up to half of their first payment within five days, with future payments then being reduced to make up the difference.

Responding to the poll, the spokesman said: “We note with interest that people were not asked or informed about the new system of advances put in place which means that people can get payments within five days or on the same day if urgent. We are committed to ensuring that people do not face hardship while they await their first full payment and we are continually monitoring the system and will take action if necessary, as we did to provide upfront advances.”

But even former Work and Pensions Secretary Mr Duncan Smith, seen as the universal credit’s architect, has said the waiting time should be cut, adding that he had envisioned a four-week wait.

“The idea of the extra days was not something which I or my colleagues came up with,” he said.

“It was a Treasury matter at the time and I think it’s certainly worth them reviewing that to see whether or not they can get rid of the waiting days – they’re not wholly necessary.”

Conservative MPs Heidi Allen and Kevin Hollinrake were among those who repeated calls this week for the period to be reduced from six weeks.

Polling on whether the roll-out of universal credit should be halted altogether was more equivocal, with 36 per cent saying the roll-out should be halted, 35 per cent saying it should continue and 29 per cent saying they did not know.

The Government had been rolling out the benefit to new claimants at a rate of five jobcentres a month, but in July they completed 29.

With officials having deemed the increase over the summer a success, the roll-out is being increased to 50 jobcentres a month for new claimants up to January, potentially going up to 60 after that.

Mr Gauke has said he hopes that by the autumn 2018 all new claimants would be on the new benefit and the Government would begin to convert longer-term claimants.

But in the Commons opposition MPs relayed stories of vulnerable claimants being affected by the roll-out.

In the Commons session on Tuesday, Mr Gauke was accused of snubbing Parliament after he failed to turn up to the emergency debate on the issue, with employment minister Damian Hinds sent in his place.

Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary Debbie Abrahams said: “I always welcome the minister to his place, but I would like to ask why the Secretary of State isn’t here to answer.”

A spokesperson later explained that Mr Gauke had been undertaking departmental work, while the debate went on, highlighting that he had taken part in a long debate last week.

Ms Abrahams later claimed that the roll-out had meant “food banks are running out of food” as people struggled to get by and called for a pause in the policy’s implementation.

Mr Hinds urged caution in “ascribing the reasons for the usage of food banks to individual or simple causes” and argued that universal credit “continues to improve in its performance”.

Fieldwork was carried out between 17 October and 20 October, interviewing a 1,506 GB adults, aged 18+. Results were weighted to reflect the profile of GB adults. BMG are members of the British Polling Council and abide by their rules