£15 million funding boost to Help to Claim as Government ramps up move to Universal Credit

A £15 million funding boost to the Help to Claim scheme will support thousands of people moving from Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) to Universal Credit, the Department for Work and Pensions has announced on:- Tuesday, 12 November 2024.

The cash injection will support the free and independent advice delivered by Citizens Advice, in partnership with Citizens Advice Scotland, which has supported over 1 million people making a claim to Universal Credit since the programme launched in 2019.

The additional funding follows an announcement at Budget bringing forward benefit reform with more than 800,000 people on the old ESA benefit moving to Universal Credit by March 2026, instead of 2028.

The acceleration will bring more people into a modern benefit regime, continuing to ensure they are supported to look for and move into work, and comes ahead of the Get Britain Working White Paper; set to be unveiled later this Autumn.

Minister for Social Security and Disability, Sir Stephen Timms MP, said:- "This funding boost will support many people as they make the move from old benefits to Universal Credit; ensuring customers feel confident and informed throughout the application process. I want to encourage anyone receiving a migration notice over the coming months to act without delay to secure quick access to benefit entitlement. The biggest reforms to employment support for a generation will also ensure more people get the help they need to get into work and on at work, by overhauling jobcentres, tackling inactivity with local work, health and skills plans, and delivering a Youth Guarantee."

Help to Claim's trained advisers provide help and support to anyone making a new Universal Credit claim, including:- people moving from a legacy benefit, and offer support up to their 1st correct payment. The advisers offer guidance on how Universal Credit works, how much you will get, collecting relevant evidence, and helping people complete the application.

Dame Clare Moriarty, Chief Executive of Citizens Advice, said:- "Over the last 5 years our specially trained advisers have supported thousands of people across Britain to navigate the move from old benefits to Universal Credit. We make our service as accessible as possible, offering phone, chat and British Sign Language options, so we're there for people as they move over. This funding boost is credit to the vital support our advisers provide and means we'll be able to help even more people make their 1st application."

The £240 million for Get Britain Working White Paper includes:- funding for the rollout of:- "trailblazers" in local areas. These trailblazers will focus on reaching people who are not normally in touch with the system, while ensuring work and skills support is better integrated with the health service, so people get the joined-up health and employment support they need to get back into work and stay in work.

The White Paper will develop:-

• A new jobs and careers service to help get more people into work, and get on in their work, by linking jobseekers with employers, with an increased focus on skills and careers.
  
  

• Joined up work, health and skills plans to tackle economic inactivity and boost employment, led by Mayors and local areas.
  
  

• A new Youth Guarantee so that every young person is given the opportunity to earn or learn.

Fustratingly, the UK Government is still not addressing the problems with support for the self employed and SME owners who can not get help from CAB, due to complications around what is classed as business and employment. They also reportedly are still demeaning unrealistic requirements on SME owners and the Self Employed, which is likely to driving many under, and no matter what CAB suggests, unless the rules around Universal Credit are changed, many small businesses will close in 2025, leading to a massive economic impact and job shortage!

Let us know your thoughts about this apparently growing problem facing our local NHS services via emailing our Newsroom at:- News24@SouthportReporter.Com or send us a message on:-  Mastodon, Facebook, or Twitter.