A GROUP of single mums on Universal Credit have won a battle with the Government – who today said they would fix a loophole in the rules.
DWP minister Will Quince told the House of Commons that they would be issuing fresh guidance to HMRC and employers to stop people who get two paychecks in one assessment period – which wipes out their benefits for the next month.
Earlier this week judges ruled that Universal Credit assessment dates are “irrational and unfair” after it pushed four single mums into poverty and forced them to rely on foodbanks.
Today the Government said they would not fight the ruling – but there was a row over how many people could be affected.
The court heard that around 85,000 claimants are left skint and out of pocket because sometimes two paydays falls into the same assessment period.
But ministers said they were only aware of around 1,500 people who were affected.
Mr Quince said today: “We are working as quickly as we possibly can to identify the solutions on line with the court order.”
He added: “We do recognise the budgeting issues this may have caused and we are now assessing remedial options.”
However, he did not give an answer for when the problem would be fixed or how, saying: “This is not straightforward, it is not simply a click of a switch.”
Over 3.2 million people have received Universal Credit payments since March 16 – just before the lockdown came into force.
The number applying for the benefit has taken a steep increase thanks to coronavirus.
The errors can happen when a person’s monthly pay day changes because it was otherwise fall onto a weekend or bank holiday.
Labour’s Stephen Timms said the loophole “treats people as if they had had 100% payrise” and means people have to reapply for the benefit all over again.
He went on: “Their income will be severely disrupted.
“One says she was more financially stable out of work than in work.
“One turned down an NHS job as she knew Universal Credit would wreck her finances
“Nobody will dispute the view that this policy is irrational.”
And Labour’s Jonathan Reynolds said: “Four single mums should not have to go to the Court of Appeal to be listened to their own government.”
Mum Danielle Johnson, 26, from West Yorkshire, was left £500 a year worse off due to the loophole when she worked as a part-time dinner lady.