Rollout of Universal Credit in Grenfell area halted until 2018
By Natalie Bloomer
Wednesday, 27 Sep, 2017
dwp / grenfell-tower / universal-credit
The rollout of Universal Credit in North Kensington has been put back by almost a year, following its initial pause after the Grenfell fire in June.
The area was due to move to a "full service" of Universal Credit in July but that was put on hold until October to allow local jobcentre staff to focus on claims from survivors of Grenfell.
The government has now confirmed that the new benefit will not be fully introduced in North Kensington until September 2018.
This comes amid widespread concerns about the impact on people in areas where the system has already been rolled out. A recent investigation by the Citizens Advice Bureau found that 39% of claimants asked had waited more than six weeks to receive their first payment and 57% of those had been forced to borrow money while they waited.
Last month 31 MPs wrote to the work and pensions secretary urging him to delay further expansion of the programme to avoid hardship over Christmas.
Former work and pensions secretary Iain Duncan Smith insisted in 2013 that the programme would be "essentially" complete by 2017. It's now believed it will be 2021 before it is close to being fully implemented.
The Department for Work and Pensions has been contacted for a comment.
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