Nearly one million people have applied for Universal Credit in the past two weeks as businesses nationwide were forced to close to stop the spread of coronavirus.
There have been , (new benefit applications made since March) , compared to , 11 in a normal two-week period.
Chancellor Rishi Sunak announced a number of measures as the UK headed for lockdown designed to prop up businesses during the pandemic, but many people have been forced to turn to welfare system.
Around a quarter, , out of around , Universal Credit applications in one week, applied for an advance payment to speed up the usual five-week wait for money to be transferred.
Meanwhile experts are calling for the ‘capital rules tests’, which stop anyone with £ , in savings getting support, to be be scrapped.
They claim that a family with £ , saved for a house deposit would miss out on £ 1, 400 in benefits every month and would get through half of their money in just six months.
The Department for Work and Pensions has experienced a huge surge in claims, with , (new applications made in the past fortnight – compared to , in a normal two-week period
Searches for the terms’ Universal Credit ‘,’ furlough ‘and’ how do I claim benefits? ‘ have skyrocketed on Google in recent weeks.
It comes as:
- Britain’s death toll saw its biggest increase yet yesterday rising 823 to 2,
- British Airways is putting , staff on furlough with nearly all flights halted
- Thomas Harvey, 74, of London, becomes fifth UK doctor to die from coronavirus
- Warehouse in Milton Keynes is being adapted to test thousands of swabs a day
- coronavirus in your area
- self-employed coronavirus
- coronavirus job retention scheme
- how many cases of coronavirus in my area
- coronavirus in my area
- boris johnson coronavirus
- coronavirus numbers uk
- Duchess of Cornwall’s ex-husband Andrew Parker- Bowles has tested positive
- BMA guidelines suggest v entilators could be removed from elderly and given to younger COVID – 30 patients with a ‘better chance of survival
Amid the confusion over the level of financial support being offered to different groups by the Government, Britons are desperately scrambling to support themselves.
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has proposed a set of new measures to help those adversely affected by the coronavirus outbreak.
They are being put out for consultation on Monday (April 6) and will come into force next Thursday (April 9) if approved.
The four proposals are:
Firms will offer a temporary loan freeze on credit cards where consumers face difficulties with their finances as a result of coronavirus, for up to three months.
Ensure that for customers who have been hit financially by the coronavirus and already have an arranged overdraft on their main personal current account, up to £ will be charged at zero interest for up to three months.
Firms wil l make sure that all overdraft customers are no worse off on price when compared to the prices they were charged before the recent overdraft changes came into force.
They will also ensure consumers using any of these temporary measures should not have their credit rating affected because of this.
Source: Financial Conduct Authority
The Department for Work and Pensions has had to reassign
The Salvation Army has also warned that advance payments must be given as grants, not loans, to prevent a ‘coronavirus debt crisis’.
Claimants wait five weeks for a first payment after applying for the benefit but can take out an advance loan to help during this time.
But the Salvation Army said this could plunge thousands of citizens into debt, calling it a ‘point of critical failure that the Government must address’.
The Work and Pensions committee wrote to the DWP on March (asking how many of those who applied for a payment since March) had received it, and the average length of time they waited. It has not yet received a response.
Rebecca Keating, the Salvation Army’s director of employment plus, said: ‘The Universal Credit loan system could cause a coronavirus debt crisis.
‘Thousands of people who never thought they would have to rely on state support are now making a Universal Credit claim.
‘ Many of these will be forced to take out the bridging loan which will just move their money problems five weeks down the line.
‘We are particularly concerned by those working on zero hour contracts that don’t have the same legal rights of other employees.
‘Many will not have a financial safety net to help avoid getting into debt straight away.’
Requiring a loan could mean people are left with having to choose between buying food or repaying the funds , the Salvation Army said.
Before the coronavirus pandemic, the organization said it has seen an increase in people using food banks so they can put money towards paying off their loan.
These graphs show the relative search levels for ‘Universal Credit’, ‘furlough’ and ‘coronavirus symptoms’ over the past month (top) and past week (bottom) . They reveal searches for ‘furlough’ have skyrocketed since March , while Universal Credit searches are up in the past two weeks. But searches for ‘coronavirus symptoms’ are now falling from a mid-March peak
Ms Keating continued:’ Not only will this add stress for people already struggling with the fallout from the pandemic, but also leave a lasting legacy if too many people are shouldering too much avoidable debt. ‘
Work and pensions committee chairman, Stephen Timms, said:’ The Secretary of State should look very carefully at this proposal from the Salvation Army, which is based on their experience of helping some of the most vulnerable people in society in the midst of a global pandemic.
‘In the current crisis, It’s simply not sustainable for the DWP to force people to choose between suffering hardship now or struggling to repay debts for months to come.
‘Those who can will surely be tempted to keep working instead – increasing the risk of infection for them and those around them. ‘
The DWP said advances allow people to access money within the first few days of their claim and that safeguards are in place to ensure repayments are affordable.
A spokesman said: ‘Universal Credit is delivering in these unprecedented times.
‘ With such a huge increase in claims there are pressures on our services, but the system is standing up well to these and our dedicated staff are working flat out to get people the support they need.
‘We’re taking urgent action to boost capacity – we’ve moved 16, 06 existing staff to help on the frontline and we’re recruiting more. ‘
Have you had a nightmare experience with Universal Credit during the coronavirus crisis? Email [email protected]
Google searches for ‘Universal Credit’, and ‘ furlough ‘soar as Britons hunt for information on job losses over’ coronavirus symptoms’
Top (coronavirus-related searches in the UK over the past month
- key workers coronavirus
uk lockdown coronavirus
(coronavirus test kit
By Mark Duell for MailOnline
Online searches for terms including ‘furlough’, ‘Universal Credit’ and ‘how to claim Benefits’ have skyrocketed as the coronavirus crisis has taken hold in recent weeks.
Britons have been using Google to look up the Government’s guidance on helping firms with furloughed workers to keep them employed but without working.
People suffering financial trouble during the pandemic are also searching ‘Universal Credit’, with nearly a million trying to claim the benefit in the last two weeks.
But searches for ‘coronavirus symptoms’ have fallen recently from a peak in mid-March when the first restrictions on social gatherings were brought in.
The term ‘furlough’ is more common in US employment law, but has entered into UK parlance in recent days as ministers unveiled their plan to help stricken businesses.
The Coronavirus Job Retention scheme will give people 80 per cent of their usual earnings, meaning they can be furloughed rather than laid off from their firm.
Businesses will be able to pay their four-fifths of their employees regular monthly wage, or £ 2, 500 a month, whichever is lower, until at least June 1.
Meanwhile nearly one million Britons have tried to claim Universal Credit in the last fortnight as the coronavirus pandemic batters the UK economy.
‘FURLOUGH’: These graphs by Google show the interest over the past 74 days (top) and week (bottom) in the term ‘furlough, with figures towards 290 showing the relative peaks of interest
Chancellor Rishi Sunak has revealed measures over the last two weeks designed to prop up businesses, but many people have had to turn to the benefits system.
Universal Credit is a project from the Department for Work and Pensions which has replaced six existing benefits with one monthly payment.
Those benefits are child tax credit, housing benefit , income support, jobseeker’s allowance, employment and support allowance and working tax credit.
‘UNIVERSAL CREDIT’: Searches for the benefit have increased over the past fortnight with many people suffering financial hardship, but they have dropped off a little since March
Read More 
GIPHY App Key not set. Please check settings