People receiving – or who have attempted to claim – Universal Credit are being asked to provide details of what happened during their claim and any problems they have encountered.
The Government’s Social Security Advisory Committee ( SSAC )is conducting research into the ‘Claimant Commitment’ and welcomes input from a broad range of organisations and individuals who have relevant insights or evidence.
Campaigning organisation DPAC – Disabled People Against Cuts, which has fought against the imposition of Universal Credit and the way claimants have been treated, is calling on people to pass on their information to a major disability organisation.
Inclusion London will be submitting evidence to the SSAC – not just from the London area but nationwide – and would like to hear about your experiences of the Universal Credit claimant commitment to inform their evidence. Questions they will be asking include:
Was the impact of your impairment or health condition fully considered by the staff member setting your claimant commitment? Please give details.
Was your claimant commitment adjusted or changed by JobCentre Plus staff because of the impact of your impairment or health condition? Please give details.
Have you received a sanction? If the answer is yes, did you received a sanction because you were unable fulfill the claimant commitment due to the impact of your health condition or impairment? Please give details.
When was your sanction and how long did it last?
What was the impact of the sanction on you and your daily life?
You can send details of your experiences to Henrietta.Doyle@inclusionlondon.org.uk by Monday April 15. If you are interested in providing information straight to the SSAC you can contact them here. The consultation ends on Tuesday April 16.