Not Casino Dice

Universal Credit Pilot from April 2013

Posted: 19 Dec 2012 at 2.30 pm

UC Pathfinders - who’s included ...

"Here is my latest analysis:

From 29th April 2013 universal credit is due to start in Tameside, Oldham, Wigan and Warrington. The actual areas will be a number of postcodes within those council areas, not necessary corresponding to the council borders.

Not all claimants in these areas will claim universal credit. To be able to claim people must meet the following conditions:

• They must be single
• They must be aged between 18 and 60 years and six months
• They must be a British citizen who has lived in the country for the last two years and has not left for more than four continuous weeks;
• They must not be already on means tested JSA, means tested employment and support allowance, income support, housing benefit, child tax credit, working tax credit:
• They must not now be entitled any of those benefits or to contributory JSA or contributory ESA or waiting for a claim to be decided for any of the benefits in these two paragraphs or still have a live appeal about any of these benefits.
• They must not be pregnant,
• They must accept that they are fit for work;
• They must not have had a claim for JSA or which finished in the previous 2 weeks;
• They must not have had a claim for ESA which finished in the last two weeks unless it was decided that they were fit for work;
• They must not be likely to earn more than £330 in the next month if they are aged 25 or over( £270 if under)
• They must not have savings of more than £6,000`
• They must not be homeless within the meaning of section 175 of the Housing Act 1996;
• They must not be in exempt accommodation;
• They must not be an owner occupier or shared owner;
• They must not be responsible for a child
• They must not be responsible for providing care to someone who needs it (unless this is for a part time job or volunteering activity)
• They must not be about to take up self-employment;
• They must not be in education or training and must be unlikely to take up this in the next month;
• They must not have a formal appointee;
• They must have a national insurance number
• They must have a bank, building society or post office account.

However if they form a couple later after claiming they can claim universal credit together.

So who does that leave?

It looks like “standard” single people who become unemployed and are looking for a job, but are not entitled to contributory job seekers allowance."

*****

24 May 2012

Government names universal credit pathfinder

18th October, 2012

Universal Credit Pathfinder and national rollout

"Welfare reforms that will see a range of benefits lumped together into a single payment are to be introduced in Greater Manchester and Cheshire six months ahead of national roll out.

The Department for Work and Pensions has today announced 1,500 claimants will move onto universal credit across Tameside, Oldham, Wigan and Warrington each month from April 2013."

Tuesday 1 January 2013 18.48 GMT

Universal credit welfare pilot beset by IT failures

"Real-time system required to match employers' payments to employees' bank accounts has 25% failure rate."

Nigel