Thousands missed out due to a technicality
551,000 people who claim Universal Credit were not given a £326 cost of living payment this summer because of a technicality, the Department for Work and Pensions has said. The money was the first half of a £650 handout being given to everyone on Universal Creidt and other benefits his year to help with rising energy bills.
This technicality meant their income was temporarily too high to get a cost-of-living payment - even though usually it is much lower. A further 6,600 Universal Credit claimants were refused the £326 payment because they got a benefit sanction, reports The Mirror.
Some 5.6million people claim Universal Credit. Claimants’ earnings are assessed monthly and they are given a “nil award” if their pay is too high. This can also happen if two paychecks fall in one 30-day period, or if they are hit with the harshest benefit sanctions for “failing” to look for work. Universal Credit claimants who had a ‘nil award’ in the second qualifying period, August 26 to September 25, will once again miss out. A further 470,000 housing benefit claimants did not receive the £326 because they were not claiming one of the benefits that qualifies for targeted cost of living support.
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