This research study examines the extent to which universal credit adheres to the rule of law principles of transparency, procedural fairness and lawfulness.
Universal credit (UC) is the UK’s first digital-by-design benefit. The vast majority of UC claimants make their claims and manage their ongoing awards online, and some processes for calculating awards have been automated, including gathering employees’ earnings information directly from HM Revenue and Customs. What has been the impact of this major change in social security administration? And has this digitalisation of means-tested benefits been implemented in a way that adheres to the rule of law?
When the coalition government published its flagship paper on universal credit (UC) in 2010, it promised a ‘digital first’ benefit. Since then we have seen the digitalisation of the UK’s working-age social security system, a process that continues today. But what impact has this transformation had on claimants and their rights?
