Recent Changes to Universal Credit System - Which You Might Not Have Heard About

DWP is making incremental changes to Universal Credit all the time, to improve the experience for claimants they say.

This is the latest news from the DWP. In their own words:

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In addition to the measures set out above, a few recent changes introduced in the last quarter include:

Supporting vulnerable claimants in verifying their identity

We have introduced improvements to the way we can verify identity.
The vast majority of claimants are verified successfully using the options currently available. However, it is sometimes the case that our most vulnerable claimants have to be verified using third parties. The following improvements are expected to support this group in particular if the claimant is unable to use the core identity verification options.

Gather Information and Confirm

Information can be gathered from the claimant and compared against any information held by DWP in order to confirm the claimants’ identity.

Know and Recognise

If the claimant has not provided at least two pieces of documentary evidence, or has failed ‘Gather Information and Confirm’, identity can now be verified if two or more members of the Jobcentre know the claimant as part of their job role.

New Documentary Evidence

The following documents can now be considered as primary evidence for Universal Credit:

• Non-EEA Passport
• Bank Card supported by bank statement showing full account information. This account must be in the claimant’s name and must be the account their Universal Credit is being paid in to
• Citizen’s Card
• Young Scot Card with PASS hologram 

The following document can now be considered as secondary evidence for Universal Credit:

• Building Society Passbook

These changes make it easier to confirm identity for some of our most vulnerable claimants and will speed the payment of advances where claimants do not have identity documents available.

Statement Enhancements

We have acted to support people who need to prove that they receive Universal Credit, for example where employers need to confirm receipt of Universal Credit, or as part of ID verification for those attempting to open a bank account.

We have improved the layout and detail on the Universal Credit statement so that it is printable and clearly sets out the name and entitlement of the claimant.

The statement has also been enhanced to ensure that employed earnings, self-employed earnings, earnings surpluses and self-employed losses, and how they have affected the calculation, are explained more clearly. This makes it easier for claimants to understand the calculation and for agents to understand and explain, if asked by the claimant.

Landlord Portal Expansion

We have extended the Landlord Portal. 538 social landlords are now using this tool which streamlines the verification process for claimants and provides more information for landlords.

The Landlord Portal allows social sector landlords to verify their tenants’ housing costs. Landlords are also able to request managed payments of rent for potentially vulnerable claimants.

Fit notes

We have made changes to clarify parts of the Work Capability Assessment (WCA) process for claimants. We only need valid medical evidence that covers the duration of the condition(s), up until the WCA decision. The requirement for the medical condition on a Statement of Fitness For Work to match that declared by the claimant has been removed. This means that claimants will no longer be asked to obtain a new fit note where their declared health condition is not identical to the Statement of Fitness For Work.

Advances

It is now possible for claimants to request advances online. The service gathers the amount required and repayment schedule, as agreed with the claimant, to automatically grant the advance. Previously claimants had to call a service centre to claim an advance.

Claimant view of housing

We have made it easier for claimants to report a change in their housing declaration, and to review the information they have declared previously.

Now, when a claimant reports a change in ‘Where you live and what it costs’ their current housing declaration will be displayed along with a ‘change’ button. This means the claimant will be aware of their current housing declaration and will be able to change it if necessary.

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