Arab Press

بالشعب و للشعب
Thursday, Oct 02, 2025

Universal credit could 'steamroll vulnerable into poverty'

Universal credit could 'steamroll vulnerable into poverty'

Salvation Army calls on government to make it easier for people to access the benefit
Thousands of vulnerable people on low incomes – particularly those with mental illness – are at risk of destitution because they do not have the skills or support to apply for and maintain a universal credit benefit claim, the Salvation Army has warned.

The Christian church and charity said there was “overwhelming evidence” that many people found it a struggle to engage with the mainly digital benefit, leaving them unable to pay rent or buy food and effectively locking them out of employment support.

It called on the government to increase the level of support to make it simpler for vulnerable people to make a claim before the next phase of the universal credit programme later this year, when about 750,000 ill and disabled benefit claimants start to be moved on to the benefit.

“Rolling out universal credit in its current form will steamroll vulnerable people into poverty, but the government has time to turn this around by accepting our recommendations and making it easier to apply,” said Rebecca Keating, the Salvation Army’s employment director said.

There is concern among campaigners and even the government’s own social security advisers that the government has not done enough to ensure vulnerable claimants do not fall out of the system altogether when they are transferred to universal credit in the process called managed migration, which is due to start in late autumn.

Claimants with mental health problems, learning disabilities and physical disabilities, as well as homeless people were especially at risk, it said. Some lacked computer skills, or could not access the internet because they did not own a smart phone or because there was no public computer nearby.

The charity cited the case of Daniel, a young man with dyslexia, who struggled to read and write. He had his benefits stopped and ended up homeless after putting the wrong phone number on his online form and missing a text appointment with the job centre.

Although Daniel was allocated a key worker he said the extent of his dyslexia was never fully understood. “I needed things explained to me properly and I couldn’t read all the leaflets he was giving me to go away with. That went on for six months,” he said.

The government’s own figures showed one in five online claims were dropped before they were completed, the Salvation Army said, suggesting 20% of people who were eligible for universal credit because of low pay or unemployment were effectively dropping out of the benefit system.

Some of those who managed to sign up to universal credit subsequently dropped out after being sanctioned for failing to keep up with its tough conditionality requirements, such as 35 hours a week of online job searches. These rules, known as claimant commitments, often did not take a person’s vulnerabilities into account

About 85% of those interviewed reported problems signing up to universal credit. Of those, 42% said mental ill health was a barrier. The charity said that overstretched job centres were failing to identify vulnerable people and offer them appropriate support, while government help to claim programmes could not meet demand.

The charity insisted it wanted universal credit to be a success, but it had a duty to point out where it was going wrong. “This is not just another paper for decision-makers to ignore and label as scaremongering,” it said. “These are people’s lives.

“We are not saying ‘bin universal credit, it’s no good’; this is about us wanting to make the system work,” said Keating. “Digital works for a lot of people but there is a significant group of people that it is not working for.”

The Department for Work and Pensions said that although 98% of people make their claim for universal credit online, people who struggled with computers were able to make a claim in person or over the phone. Extra support was available through the Help to Claim service, delivered by Citizens Advice.

A DWP spokesperson said: “Jobcentres across the UK have staff trained in supporting vulnerable people and tailor people’s benefit claims to match their circumstances, including taking into account mental health, issues with domestic abuse and homelessness.”

The Salvation Army’s research was based on interviews between March and June 2019 with 160 people across England and Wales who were out of work and looking for a job and had signed up to the charity’s Employment Plus programme.
Newsletter

Related Articles

Arab Press
0:00
0:00
Close
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
Nvidia and Abu Dhabi’s TII Launch First AI-&-Robotics Lab in the Middle East
UK, Canada, and Australia Officially Recognise Palestine in Historic Shift
Dubai Property Boom Shows Strain as Flippers Get Buyer’s Remorse
JWST Data Brings TRAPPIST-1e Closer to Earth-Like Habitability
UAE-US Stargate Project Poised to Make Abu Dhabi a Global AI Powerhouse
Saudi Arabia cracks down on music ‘lounges’ after conservative backlash
Saudi Arabia Signs ‘Strategic Mutual Defence’ Pact with Pakistan, Marking First Arab State to Gain Indirect Access to Nuclear Strike Capabilities in the Region
Turkish car manufacturer Togg Enters German Market with 5-Star Electric Sedan and SUV to Challenge European EV Brands
World’s Longest Direct Flight China Eastern to Launch 29-Hour Shanghai–Buenos Aires Direct Flight via Auckland in December
New OpenAI Study Finds Majority of ChatGPT Use Is Personal, Not Professional
Kuwait opens bidding for construction of three cities to ease housing crunch.
Indian Student Engineers Propose “Project REBIRTH” to Protect Aircraft from Crashes Using AI, Airbags and Smart Materials
Could AI Nursing Robots Help Healthcare Staffing Shortages?
Turkish authorities seize leading broadcaster amid fraud and tax investigation
Apple Introduces Ultra-Thin iPhone Air, Enhanced 17 Series and New Health-Focused Wearables
Big Oil Slashes Jobs and Investments Amid Prolonged Low Crude Prices
Social Media Access Curtailed in Turkey After CHP Calls for Rallies Following Police Blockade of Istanbul Headquarters
Gold Could Reach Nearly $5,000 if Fed Independence Is Undermined, Goldman Sachs Warns
Uruguay, Colombia and Paraguay Secure Places at 2026 World Cup
Trump Administration Advances Plans to Rebrand Pentagon as Department of War Instead of the Fake Term Department of Defense
Tether Expands into Gold Sector with Profit-Driven Diversification
Trump’s New War – and the ‘Drug Tyrant’ Fearing Invasion: ‘1,200 Missiles Aimed at Us’
At the Parade in China: Laser Weapons, 'Eagle Strike,' and a Missile Capable of 'Striking Anywhere in the World'
Information Warfare in the Age of AI: How Language Models Become Targets and Tools
Israeli Airstrike in Yemen Kills Houthi Prime Minister
After the Shock of Defeat, Iranians Yearn for Change
YouTube Altered Content by Artificial Intelligence – Without Permission
Iran Faces Escalating Water Crisis as Protests Spread
More Than Half a Million Evacuated as Typhoon Kajiki Heads for Vietnam
HSBC Switzerland Ends Relationships with Over 1,000 Clients from Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Qatar, and Egypt
Sharia Law Made Legally Binding in Austria Despite Warnings Over 'Incompatible' Values
Dogfights in the Skies: Airbus on Track to Overtake Boeing and Claim Aviation Supremacy
Tim Cook Promises an AI Revolution at Apple: "One of the Most Significant Technologies of Our Generation"
Are AI Data Centres the Infrastructure of the Future or the Next Crisis?
Miles Worth Billions: How Airlines Generate Huge Profits
Zelenskyy Returns to White House Flanked by European Allies as Trump Pressures Land-Swap Deal with Putin
Beijing is moving into gold and other assets, diversifying away from the dollar
Trump Backs Putin’s Land-for-Peace Proposal Amid Kyiv’s Rejection
Zelenskyy to Visit Washington after Trump–Putin Summit Yields No Agreement
Iranian Protection Offers Chinese Vehicle Shipments a Cost Advantage over Japanese and Korean Makers
United States Sells Luxury Yacht Amadea, Valued at Approximately $325 Million, in First Sale of a Seized Russian Yacht Since the Invasion of Ukraine
Saudi Arabia accelerates renewables to curb domestic oil use
Cristiano Ronaldo and Georgina Rodríguez announce engagement
Asia-Pacific dominates world’s busiest flight routes, with South Korea’s Jeju–Seoul corridor leading global rankings
Private Welsh island with 19th-century fort listed for sale at over £3 million
Sam Altman challenges Elon Musk with plans for Neuralink rival
×