DWP urged to 'take urgent action' as one in five households had benefits stopped over Universal Credit migration

manchestereveningnews.co.uk:

A fifth of households claiming old-style benefits from the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) have had them stopped after failing to switch to Universal Credit, a new report has found.

The National Audit Office (NAO) has called on the government to ensure people are getting the benefits they are entitled to as the process of moving people off so-called legacy benefits, known as managed migration, continues The government had originally planned to complete the move from legacy benefits to Universal Credit by March 2025, but the changeover is taking at least six years longer than first planned - and costing £900 million more than first thought - according to the report. READ MORE: DWP removes £20 charge for parents from today to 'ensure no child misses out' Try MEN Premium for FREE by clicking here for no ads, fun puzzles and brilliant new feature s. As of March last year, the NAO said about 2.2 million households were still getting old benefits like working tax credit, child tax credit, housing benefit, income support, income-based jobseeker’s allowance, and income-related employment and support allowance (ESA).

By December, there were 6.3 million people claiming Universal Credit across Great Britain, the report said. But the report warned that 21 per cent of households claiming old benefits have not switched to Universal Credit after being told to, and have had these older benefits stopped.

Almost all of these households had been receiving tax credits, the report said. HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has estimated that 80 per cent of tax credit claimants will move to Universal Credit with outstanding debt.