MP disappointed over “missed opportunities” in budget

WARRINGTON North MP Helen Jones has expressed disappointment with the Budget, on the grounds it failed to fix the problems with Universal Credit.
She says chancellor Philip Hammond missed an opportunity to make changes to Universal Credit (UC) so as to avoid unnecessary hardship for many working families.
The MP has been campaigning with the shopworkers union USDAW who were seeking three fundamental changes to UC so that it supports working families and doesn’t penalise them.
They were:
*An increase in the “work allowance” and a reduction in the “clawback” to provide a genuine incentive to enter employment.
*A lowering of the six-week waiting time to counter unnecessary hardship.
*Measures to address the systemic problem for claimants on weekly and 4-weekly pay.
Analysis carried out by USDAW reveals that a couple (one working full time and one part time) earning just above the government’s National Living Wage would be £1,866 a year worse off when transferred from tax credits to UC, Ms Jones claims.
A worker on UC doing extra hours and earning £7.50 an hour takes home just £1.89 an hour which often barely covers their travel costs.
Workers paid every four weeks have five pay days assessed instead of four in a calendar month on four occasions throughout the year. When this happens people may lose their entitlement to UC and have to reapply.
Ms Jones said: “The Chancellor had the opportunity to tackle the huge penalties on people working extra hours – 63 per cent of their additional earnings are clawed back. This is an issue for many shopworkers here in Warrington because many will be working additional hours over the Christmas period.
“The Chancellor also ignored the problems weekly and 4-weekly paid workers have with Universal Credit. He has shown a failure to understand the pay arrangements of many low and middle income workers and that is inexcusable.
“The reduction in waiting time for the first payment is welcome but is not nearly enough. People will still have to wait too long causing unnecessary hardship.
“The work allowance remains low and the clawback of net earning remains high. The scheme should be put on hold whilst these serious problems are properly addressed and rectified.“