Universal Credit was first introduced in 2012 to replace six legacy benefits and simplify the system. However the gradual process of moving all claimants onto Universal Credit was halted because of the pandemic.
Nearly six million Britons are already claiming Universal Credit either because they are looking for work or on a low income.
However, many others are still relying on legacy benefits including tax credits and disability benefits.
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) started slowly moving people over to Universal Credit before the pandemic put a stop to its plans.
Now, it has confirmed it is planning to migrate another 1.7 million Britons over which could mean some see their payments change.
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Universal Credit is supposed to be more generous than legacy benefits, but critics say this isn’t always the case.
They are also worried about how long people have to wait for payments.
Anela Anwar, chief executive of anti-poverty charity Z2K, said the Government must ensure it doesn’t leave people without essential finances.
She said: “It ensures DWP avoids a repeat of the shambolic early stages of Universal Credit, when many people were left without anything to live on for weeks or sometimes even months on end.”
She added: “That resulted in MPs getting hundreds of complaints from desperate and angry constituents.”
A DWP spokesperson said it has always been clear about moving everyone onto Universal Credit given time.
“We have always been clear about our ambition to move people over from the legacy systems, which are complex, inefficient and based on ageing, inflexible IT.”
They continued: “The Department will continue its regular engagement with the committee and our ambition remains to see the rollout of Universal Credit delivered safely and on time by 2024.”
They continued:“The Department will continue its regular engagement with the committee and our ambition remains to see the rollout of Universal Credit delivered safely and on time by 2024.”
Meanwhile, £15billion goes unclaimed in benefits every year.
This could be due to lack of awareness or because people think there’s a stigma attached to being on benefits.
Britons can check their entitlement by using the benefits calculator on Gov.uk.
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