A charity says almost a third of the people they are assisting are experiencing difficulty with the Universal Credit managed migration process.

The process involves a shift from a range of legacy benefits to one single benefit and calculated depending on specific individual circumstances.

It replaces Child and Working Tax Credits, Income Support, Income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance and Income-related Employment and Support Allowance as well as Housing Benefit.

Universal Credit was introduced in 2013, with the rollout expected to be fully completed early next year. However, many advice agencies have reported issues with the migration process.

Sarah Hayle, Community Law Service Chief Executive, said: “There are persistent issues with incorrect payments due to missing elements, incorrect calculations, incorrect overpayments – resulting in incorrect decisions being made, as not all correct facts and circumstances are being taken into account.

“This means the need for both complaints and disputes to challenge missing elements and amounts. There’s a lack of urgency by the Department for Work and Pensions to resolve things in a timely manner. There’s also a clear lack of understanding of client vulnerability and health challenges, along with lack of information on how decisions are reached. The majority of the people we’re advising have mental health issues, or a disability, and depending on the issues involved, disputes could take anywhere from a few months to one or two years to resolve.

“The team are proactively working throughout Northamptonshire, to promote early advice and assistance where it’s needed, working closely with partners and through community outreach, to encourage people to seek advice and assistance before things escalate to crisis point. Last year, the team supported clients to maximise their income by a collective £3.3m.”

Community Law Service is part-funded by British Gas Energy Trust, helping to assist people who are struggling with their energy bills. Last year, it supported almost 2,000 people with their energy issues. Similarly to the issues around Universal Credit, the team are finding that providers are taking too long to resolve issues raised with them.

Sarah added: “There’s a theme around closure of complaints without a resolution of issues and poor communication with customers. Our recent development with British Gas has been very welcome, providing us access to a dedicated team with whom we can address issues affecting the most vulnerable clients.”

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