Universal Credit roll out

The roll out of Universal Credit (UC) for new benefit claimants continues with more Scottish job centres transitioning to UC over the next few months. The latest roll out schedule can be found here.

From 2019 to 2023 existing claimants will move from legacy benefits over to UC.

Under devolved legislation claimants in Scotland can choose to have the housing element of their UC paid directly to their landlord from the second month of their claim. All claimants are offered this option when their claim is set up and according to the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) about a third of tenants elect this. If the DWP consider that direct payment is necessary because of concerns about the tenant’s ability to manage their finances the direct payment to the landlord will be put in place from the first payment.

SAL is continuing to campaign for automatic direct payment of the housing element of UC to all landlords in Scotland.

Further information on UC can be found in our factsheet online   (members please remember to log in to access our factsheets).

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