Some key changes will be delivered to benefits from the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP).
Earlier this week, Chancellor Jeremy Hunt delivered his Spring Budget to the House of Commons which confirmed changes that could affect millions of people. Mr Hunt highlighted that the Budget's focus towards claimants on Universal Credit and Personal Independence Payments (PIP) was to boost their contribution to the workforce.
The Chancellor said he wanted to remove the barriers that are prohibiting claimants from getting back into Work. He also targeted disabled benefit claimants who want to work and stated that such people "will always be able to seek work without fear of losing financial support" as a result of the new changes, the Mirror reports.
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Here is a breakdown of the five key Universal Credit and other benefit changes announced in the Spring Budget...
Tougher Universal Credit sanction
The government will introduce more severe sanctions towards Universal Credit work requirements. The Chancellor said sanctions will be applied "more rigorously" towards those who fail to meet their work-search requirements and not taking up reasonable job offers.
Meanwhile, Job Centre staff will be given extra training to ensure "they are applying sanctions effectively".
Increase to Administrative Earnings Threshold
The minimum amount of hours people must work before needing to engage with job coaches has been raised. Those working low hours will not have the AET increased from the equivalent of 15 hours to 18 hours at the national living wage.
If someone works below the new hours, they will be required to meet up with Job Centre work coaches more frequently. This is predicted to affect more than 100,000 Universal Credit claimants who will be encouraged to step up their search for work or risk having their benefits cut.
Extended childcare allowance
Universal Credit claimants will be offered extra childcare support. Previously, they received £636 a month towards childcare for one child and £1,108 for two children.
Now, this will be raised to £950 for one child and £1,630 for two children. Payments will also now be made upfront instead of claimants needing to pay the childcare and then claiming it.
Scrapped Work Capability Assessment (WCA)
The Work Capability assessment will be scrapped in a bid to allow disabled claimants back into the workforce. Instead, people will be subjected to an assessment that focuses on what sort of work they believe they can do.
'Universal Support' for disabled people
A voluntary employment scheme for disabled people with jobs will be launched by the government. The "Universal Support" scheme will provide such people with additional funding to go towards training to help them find work.
According to the government, £4,000 worth of funding for each person who signs up for the scheme will be available per year. Mr Hunt claimed that 50,000 disabled people a year will benefit form the new scheme.
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