Ulster Unionist welfare spokesperson, Andy Allen MLA, has called on the UK Government to start putting right the flaws of Universal Credit by using next week’s Budget to scrap the rape clause and increase the work allowance. This is the amount people can earn before they start to lose the benefit.  

Andy Allen said:

“Universal Credit, and the amalgamation of six benefits into one, remains a sound logic. Its implementation however, has been disastrous.  

“Anyone who applies for Universal Credit today won’t actually receive a payment until next January. That demonstrates the absurdity of the current situation in which families are forced to wait 6 weeks for their first payment.

“Similarly, the initial ideology behind the new benefit was that it would make work pay and help the growing numbers of people getting caught in a cycle of welfare dependency.

“Initially the UK Government started well, but then the Treasury got involved and started moving the goalposts. Whilst it makes sense to reduce the level of benefits for every pound earned through employment over a certain level, in their drive for austerity the Conservatives have once again tipped the balance away from incentivising work.  

“Next week the Chancellor of the Exchequer has an opportunity to rectify this by raising the work allowance. In addition, this year’s Budget should be accompanied by a commitment that the despicable rape clause will be scrapped. This would once and for all see the demand which requires woman who had a third child as result of a rape to revisit the trauma just in order to claim tax credits removed.

“No woman should ever have to prove they were raped to receive a benefit. To even suggest that they should is frankly disgusting and showed a shocking callousness from the Government. Not only is the policy immoral but it’s also incredibly dangerous as it forces victims of rape to endure further trauma by making them relive the experience in order to claim a benefit.

“The Conservatives have a golden opportunity next week to put right some of their mistakes.”