i have been told today that once the universal benefit comes into being that the total amount that people are going to receive is going to be £500 per month. this is inclusive of any housing benefit people are entitled too. i do not know where the figures have come from but it seams mean spirited if its true

Universal Credit is not my forte, but I don't think that is correct.

I think that UC will be set at a capped limit of £500 per week

Mind you, if they try to implement UC, there will be utter chaos. IDS is completely deranged.

ian jones wrote:
Until the actual regulations for UC are published it is impossible to tell what claimants may/may not receive or how it will affect individual claimants.

Until then anything is just speculation.

Pete

pete17971 wrote:One thing we do know is that UC is designed to be a "digital" benefit, operating primarily through information fed into a new IT system whose design and implementation are already under way.

We also know that its first trials - and presumably the rest of the timetable - have been brought forward 6 months. Shortening the testing process for an IT system is never a good idea.

I think we can make a fair guess, based on previous experience (e.g. the NHS integrated IT system, the CSA IT debacle) that a period of real confusion and massive lack of the very data integration upon which the case for UC rests is inevitable.

We will all have to very vigilant and keep our own records very full. Expect the DWP to be as confused as everyone else.