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?
Every child should be able to make the most of their time at school, but we know that the cost of school can put pressure on low-income families and put some children at risk of missing out on opportunities and feeling different and stigmatised. CPAG’s Cost of the School Day project in Scotland is working with schools and local authorities to understand the barriers that costs create for children from low-income families, and to support policy and practice change to reduce or remove them. With the project set to be introduced in England and Wales, and expanded in Scotland, what can be learned from the last six years.
