As part of a press release, the benefit department recently claimed that the number of people claiming Universal Credit who were not required to look for work had increased by 383% since the COVID-19 pandemic
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has been ordered to correct a false claim that said a large number of Universal Credit claimants had no requirement to look for work.
As part of a press release, the benefit department recently claimed that the number of people claiming Universal Credit who were not required to look for work had increased by 383% since the COVID-19 pandemic. The press release was sent to journalists on March 13 as part of the government’s plans for welfare reforms for disability benefits.
Currently, when you claim Universal Credit, you are placed into either one of four work activity groups, which highlights what you should be doing to keep your Universal Credit claim. According to Citizens Advice, these include:
- No work-related requirements group – You don’t have to do anything to prepare or look for work
- Work-focused interview group – You have to go to regular meetings with your work coach
- Work preparation group – You have to meet your work coach regularly and also prepare for work. This includes things like writing a CV and going on training or work experience
- All work-related activity group- You have to do all you can to find a job or earn more. This includes looking for jobs, applying for jobs and going to interviews
For people who are fit to work, the DWP places claimants into groups known as “Light Touch” and “Intensive Work Search” and the Government’s Administrative Earnings Threshold (AET) determines which group a person is placed into.
It is based on how much they earn per calendar month with those above the threshold falling within the light touch group and those below into the intensive work group. If you fall into the latter, you need to work more to keep your benefits.
Rob Kent-Smith, the deputy head of the UK’s Office for Statistics Regulation (OSR) – which is the UK’s independent monitor of official statistics – said the department had presented an “entirely misleading picture to the public”.
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The statistics regulator said the government department had inflated the rise in the number of people in the no work-related requirements group. According to the OSR, the true figure sits at 50%. The figure shared by the DWP had counted people who had migrated from legacy benefits.
In a letter to the DWP’s permanent secretary Peter Schofield, Kent Smith said: “The statement that the number of people claiming disability elements of universal credit has increased by 383% presents an entirely misleading picture to the public,”
“The figure does not recognise that the majority of this increase is due to the process of migrating people from legacy benefits, such as employment and support allowance (ESA), to universal credit over the last few years. When these people are accounted for, the actual increase in the number of people claiming disability elements of Universal Credit is 50%.”
The DWP subsequently updated its press notice after receiving the letter from the OSR. However, the reference to a 383% increase remained. The OSR has asked the benefits department to remove the line by April 4 – almost a full month after the claim was first made.
In response to the claim, a DWP spokesperson said: “Our press notice focused on new data released by the department at the time. We accept the views of the OSR and have made the necessary amends to reflect their feedback, honouring our commitment to transparency.”
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