Image copyright Getty Images Labor leader Jeremy Corbyn is to pledge to scrap universal credit, calling the welfare scheme “
Universal credit is a benefit for working-age people which merges six existing benefits into one payment.
Mr Corbyn will promise an interim payment after two weeks to replace the five-week waiting period currently in place.
But the government said Labor’s plans were “reckless” and amounted to “political point-scoring”.
Universal credit,which is being introduced in stages across the UK, combines six separate benefits for working age people into one payment.
Supporters of the welfare reform say it helps simplify the old complicated benefits system – and to ensure no-one would be better off claiming benefits than working.
But since its introduction in 2013, it has been accused of making things harder for people receiving it.
Some women have described beingforced into sex workbecause of the failings of the scheme, while landlords have said tenants haveslipped into rent arrearssince being put on universal credit.
A loophole in the online system has been exploited to make fraudulent applicationsand claim advance loans, with millions of pounds stolen as a result.
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Mr Corbyn will promise that a Labor government would introduce “an emergency package of reforms” including:
- scrapping the two-child limit, whereby families only receive welfare support for the first two children of a family
- dropping the benefit cap which limits the amount of benefit a person can receive
- suspending sanctions whereby a claimant’s support can be reduced if they miss appointments
Mr Corbyn will make his announcement on Saturday at a rally in Chingford and Woodford Green – the Greater London parliamentary seat of Conservative MP Iain Duncan Smith, who originally implemented the universal credit scheme when he was work and pensions secretary.
The Labor leader is expected to criticize the welfare project for being “over-budget” and “inhumane”.
“Social security is supposed to give people dignity and respect, not punish and police them, make them wait five weeks for the first payment or fill out a four-page form to prove their child was born as a result of rape, “he will say.
Labor also says it would drop the system’s “digital-only” requirement, arguing that it excludes those who do not have access to the internet.
The Department for Work and Pensions says claimants can get paid urgently if they need it.
Work and Pensions Secretary Therese Coffey said: “This is totally irresponsible from Jeremy Corbyn, who now admits he would happily scrap financial support for vulnerable people with no plan as to what Labor would replace it with. “
The Joseph Rowntree Foundation said it would welcome significant reform” but any changes need to avoid further upheaval for those who depend on it “.
Food bank charity the Trussell Trust welcomed the end of the five-week wait proposed by Labor but warned that the party’s plans could create further problems.
It said that “scrapping universal credit may only result in further upheaval “.
How does universal credit work?
- Universal credit combines six “legacy benefits” into one monthly means-tested payment. The legacy benefits are working tax credits, child tax credit, jobseeker’s allowance, income support, employment support allowance and housing benefit
- A single universal credit payment is paid directly into the claimant’s bank account each month
- More than 1.5m people across Great Britain currently receive benefits through universal credit
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